Happy Halloween all.<!—-><!—-> <!—->
I’m having occasional problems with veneering. I sometimes get ruffled areas covering a few square inches or a raised irregular line. The raised areas are not severe but sanding them flat would probably cut through the veneer. I also sometimes have problems with joints beneath the veneer telegraphing through to the surface, such as a solid wood front on a shelf with a plywood body. I always use quarter-sawn wood for edging to cut down on shrinkage, I biscuit join the edges and wait at least 24 hours before sanding them flat and applying veneer.<!—-><!—->
I use paper-backed veneers and attach them with titebond III. I use a neoprene roller to get a thin even covering of adhesive on both bonding surfaces and use a vacuum bag veneer press. The substrate is usually plywood.<!—-><!—->
What am I not doing right?<!—-><!—->
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Thanks, Glendo.
Replies
Hi Glendo:
I've been delinquent from the forums for a few weeks so I apologize for the delayed response. You probably could have read through all of the articles in our entire veneering section in the time it took me to respond.
It sounds to me like you're doing a lot of things right: even thin adhesion and a consistent pressure from a vacuum bag. So I can only add a few other things to pay attention to based on your experiences.
As far as the joints and seams go, the area should feel flat to the touch before you apply the veneer, which means you may need to spend more time with the preparation. Your fingers can feel a tiny fraction of an inch difference between two surface much keener than your eyes, so if it doesn't feel flat or even, spend more time sanding or planing before the veneer goes on.
The other thing to note is that some joined parts are just going to move or shift over time and reveal ridges no matter how well you prepare the surface. Even solid wood quarter-sawn edging is going to expand enough to cause a shadow line. Check out this article to experiment with different methods for applying the solid wood edging. The v-groove approach might work better if you're applying veneer up to the edge.
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesPDF.aspx?id=2788
If you get bubbles or wrinkles, those can be repaired after the fact. Here are a few ideas:
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesPDF.aspx?id=30019
If the wrinkles are severe, perhaps you need to flatten the veneer before you apply.
Let me know if I'm on the right track with any of this. I promise I'll reply more promptly next time!
Matt Berger
Fine Woodworking
Hi Matt, thanks for the response.
I believe your suggestions will be helpful. Because the problem stems from poor adhesion I think I will try heating the area first then quickly clamping it flat.I've had good luck " ironing on" veneer using PVA adhesives where atmospheric pressure isn't convenient. If that doesn't work I'll try the slice, glue and squash method.
Thanks.
Glendo.
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