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John Miliunas
09-24-2004, 1:37 PM
Yeah, we've all glued a piece of Walnut to a piece of Maple. It works. BUT, here's my dilema: LOML wants me to make a new door for our bathroom. Stile & rail w/glass & wood panels. It is to match the inside of the room. No biggie. But then last evening, she pulls this one on me: "Are you going to get all of the material ready for the *OTHER* doors, too?" Huh? :eek: WHAT other doors? Well, she wants the same look on the two bedroom doors, coming off the same short hallway to the bathroom. They are to be Maple.

So, in order to match the hallway (Maple), yet still match the inside of the bathroom (Ambrosia Maple), I'm thinking of making the bathroom door with BOTH woods, glued back to back for the stiles and rails. It looks like the main runs will be about 8" wide for both, stiles and rails. Anyone foresee any problems with simply gluing these two back to back (laminate-style)? Appreciate any hands-on experience or other known issues I might encounter! :cool:

Chris Padilla
09-24-2004, 1:47 PM
Seem logical that because both are maple, you should be cool. However, how related is maple (sugar maple, I assume, Acer saccharum?) is to ambrosia maple? They are both in the Acer genus so I think you should be cool. Ambrosia is just what the beetle does to maple, right? Could be any of the maples listed below. I think you should be fine, fine, fine.

http://www.forestryimages.org/browse/genus.cfm?id=Acer

John Miliunas
09-24-2004, 1:56 PM
Seem logical that because both are maple, you should be cool. However, how related is maple (sugar maple, I assume, Acer saccharum?) is to ambrosia maple? They are both in the Acer genus so I think you should be cool. Ambrosia is just what the beetle does to maple, right? Could be any of the maples listed below. I think you should be fine, fine, fine.

http://www.forestryimages.org/browse/genus.cfm?id=Acer

Hey, neat site, Chris! Yeah, "logic" tells me that it "should" work, but I just would like to be a bit more sure. I had a heckuva' time this last go-around getting my mitts on more Ambrosia and would hate to screw it up! :( As it is, I think it will be a rather drawn out process, as there's an awful lot of clamping, which will need to be done per section. Sure do hope I don't run out of clamps! :D :cool:

Chris Padilla
09-24-2004, 4:04 PM
John,

I got to thinkin' a bit more (yeah, I know, dangerous on a Friday) and also you should make sure that the pieces you are laminating together have both acclimated well to the shop...in fact, sticker them right over each other. This should ensure like MCs I think.

Use cauls to spread out the pressure from clamps...this can also reduce the number of clamps you will need.

Michael Stafford
09-24-2004, 4:30 PM
I can't see a reason why you can't do this since they are same species. I would make sure grain is opposing in the lamination and not dissimilar. No flat to quartersawn, flat to flat, quartersawn to quartersawn. Using dissimilar species/grains you can get some noticeable creep. This I have noticed in some stack laminated bowls that I have done. Could be the glue also. One thing I would recommend is using a sponge and dampening the surfaces prior to laminating, seems to give you a little more time to get everything positioned for clamping.

Jim Becker
09-24-2004, 6:05 PM
I agree with Chris, since they are "distinctly related" as members of the Maple family, you shouldn't have any problem laminating. In fact, since soft maple is less expensive than figured or bug-designed (ambrosia) maple, it would not be out of line to make the door of soft maple and laminate resawn veneer of the ambrosia variety to conserve the more expensive material.

John Miliunas
09-24-2004, 9:59 PM
Thanks for the info, suggestions and tips! :D I just knew I could count on you guys! As it happens, I stopped at the Woodcraft Tent Sale on the way home and who should happen to have a booth setup, but one of my own hardwood suppliers! His shop is but 15 min. away from me and it's where I got my last stash of Maple. Anyhow, I asked him the same thing and his response pretty much matched yours! :) So, I'm thinkin' it's unanimous! It'll be down the road apiece, yet, but I do need to start milling some of it up, so I figured I should plan ahead. I'll be sure to post pics once I get it that far! :) Thanks again! :cool:

Jamie Buxton
09-25-2004, 9:31 PM
John ---

It seems common for woodworkers to wonder whether it is okay to glue laminate woods of different species, for fear of different expansion rates. In my experience it isn't a problem, and there's science to back that up.

There are published tables of expansion rates of various species of wood. Bruce Hoadley's Understanding Wood has one example. (BTW, that's a fine book, and I recommend it highly to anybody who wants to understand this material we use.) In the table, you'll see expansion rates for the radial direction in the tree trunk, and the tangential direction in the trunk. For most woods, the difference between radial expansion and tangential expansion is greater than the difference in average expansion between any two species. For instance, in red oak, the tangential expansion is 8.9, and the radial expansion is 4.2. In cherry, the tangential expansion is 7.1, and the radial expansion is 3.7.

If you're really concerned about stress on the glue line, you'd do better to match up the grain patterns of the boards than to worry about the species.

Jamie

Tom LaRussa
09-26-2004, 6:04 PM
I'm thinking of making the bathroom door with BOTH woods, glued back to back for the stiles and rails. It looks like the main runs will be about 8" wide for both, stiles and rails. Anyone foresee any problems with simply gluing these two back to back (laminate-style)? Appreciate any hands-on experience or other known issues I might encounter! :cool:
John,

Look at it this way:

If it works, you'll be a hero at home for finishing the project. ;)

If it doesn't work, you'll be a hero here for saving us from trying something equally ... um ... er ... unsuccessful -- that's it! -- in the future. :eek:

So, since you can't lose, go ahead and give it a shot.

:D

Tom