Couple of veenering questions

[Jeff Monson]

I'm just getting started on the top for a writing desk I'm making for my wife, I purchased some crotch mahogany veneer awhile ago and it has dried out and become very wavy and brittle, can I dampen the veneer to get it flexible? Also can I glue it to my plywood base while it is damp? This is my 1st experience with a highly figured veneer so any help, suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated.

[Jim McFarland]

Joe has some tips for flattening veneer:
http://joewoodworker.com/veneering/flattening.htm

I flattened some quilted maple using his procedure and worked great. However, I was in a hurry to finish and didn't wait several days for the veneer to completely dry -- result was some small gaps in the joints after the glue-up and final drying. Nothing major, but I'll wait until completely dry next time.

[John Harden]

Yup, Joe's methods and veneer softener work fantastic. I buy his veneer softener by the gallon. Key is to not forget to change out the paper once or more per day. I buy 36" wide rolls of heavy brown craft/painters paper from Lowe's and use it for this and as a quick surface protector for my bench top.

Regards,

John

[Steve Rozmiarek]

That veneer softener that you guys are talking about also works great to get really gnarly figured lumber to hand plane beautifully.

[John Harden]

That veneer softener that you guys are talking about also works great to get really gnarly figured lumber to hand plane beautifully.

Well, I'll be darned. Never thought of that, but I bet it'd work great. How long do you let it dry before planing? I assume you spritz it on with a spray bottle?

Regards,

John

[Jeff Monson]

Thanks guys, thats a really good site for veneering, good reading, I just ordered a gallon of his softener.

One more question, I bought a vacuum bag kit from woodcraft awhile ago with the hand pump, is this worth using on my panels or am I asking for problems by using it? I have 3 panels that are 14"x20" that I'm going to veneer.

[John Harden]

Thanks guys, thats a really good site for veneering, good reading, I just ordered a gallon of his softener.

One more question, I bought a vacuum bag kit from woodcraft awhile ago with the hand pump, is this worth using on my panels or am I asking for problems by using it? I have 3 panels that are 14"x20" that I'm going to veneer.

It depends on your needs and what you paid. When I started veneering I bought a simple, manual kit that draws vacuum using pressure from my air compressor. It was all manual and had no mechanism to pump up the vacuum if the bag leaked a bit. You basically had to stay there with it, watch the gauge and turn the dial to draw more vacuum if necessary. For small projects, this worked.

I'm about to veneer up the top for dining table that seats twelve, so I upgraded to an automatic system from Joe Woodworker. Still a kit and it still uses my air compressor as a source of vacuum, but it only cost about $140 and two hours of my time to assemble. Now, it will monitor the vacuum constantly and automatically kick on and take it back down to the correct vacuum if there are slow leaks, and there are very often leaks.

I bought the V2 Plus if it is any help. These systems are pretty inexpensive and work flawlessly. You save a lot of money if you use your home shop air compressor as you then don't need an electric vacuum pump.

Regards,

John

[Steve Rozmiarek]

John, I just spritzed it with the spray bottle, then waited until it looked mostly dry. I'm not the most patient person. I think waiting a bit longer will let it absorb more, but worked well for me!

Jeff, John"s advice is what I'd give too. I have Joe's electric pump kit rather then the venturi, but both really work well. You'll want to let the veneer "cook" in the press for several hours, so an automatic system is a great help.

[Don Kondra]

I use a slightly different approach.

Very lightly spritz the sheet of veneer with water and place it between two pieces of plastic for about a half hour.

The trick is to introduce just enough moisture to soften the veneer but not enough that it will dry and crack after it is laminated :)

In most cases, applying the glue to the veneer and to the core eliminates any necessity of flattening the veneer.

But do a test first, some veneer will just curl up once the glue is applied and you will have fun trying to get a caul on it and into the bag...

Cheers, Don