Newbie Veneer help...

[Brad Rodgers]

I am a complete newbie at veneering and need a little advice from someone who has done this before. I have some very nice burl walnut veneer (no backing) that I want to apply to an MDF box (DIY Speaker). I have done 2 tests so far and neither have worked out well.

Test 1: Apply yellow glue to both the veneer and MDF, let dry and then use hot iron to melt glue and form bond. Well, I guess the glue never got hot enough to form a bond...

Test 2: Rubber cement. I got a bond, but the moisture in the rubber cement curled the veneer pretty badly. It stuck, but it's not pretty.

What should test 3 be? I have a fairly well equiped shop, but I do not have a veneer press. (Photos, web links, "veneering for dummies", all appreciated)

Thank you in advance.

[Per Swenson]

Welcome to the creek,
For walnut Burl , you need to condition it first.
With no vacume press you will need to apply it
with the hammer/glue method.
Your best bet, because its early Sunday morning,
and I have no brain function yet, is to go here....
http://www.joewoodworker.com/
He has complete unpretenious instuction and product.
Hope this helps
Per

[Ken Salisbury]

I am a complete newbie at veneering and need a little advice from someone who has done this before.

Thank you in advance.

I am sure you will get the information you are searching for.

However: In order to be a bona fide member of Saw Mill Creek theTerms of Service (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/terms.php) require you to use a real first and last name. Please send Jackie Outten a private message (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/private.php?do=newpm&u=6) with that information and she will update your registration to reflect your real name.

Thanks in advance.


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[Herb Blair]

use contact cement. coat both the mdf and the veneer. Then lay te veneer on and roll it with a j roller.

[Barry Londrigan]

Per

What a cool site! I have a vacuum pump (vane) that I did not know what I was going to do with....maybe now I do! My pump says that it's max vacuum is 60 (inches I assume) of H2O. I am going to read the article about how to make the vacuum press to see if it is suitable. Thanks for the link!

[Dan Forman]

Barry---I have been reading over on the Joe Woodworker site too. When they talk about inches, it is Hg, which is mercury, not water. 60 inches is a lot of Hg, most of the pumps I have heard discussed are more in the 20 - 28 inchrange, so you must have quite a pump there. That is about the sum total of my knowledge of the subject however :D

Dan

[Barry Londrigan]

Dan

The pump I have is a Gast 5125-5 I believe and on the label it says CFM - 160 Max air pressure in in H2O = 65, Max vacuum in In H2O = 60. I believe vacuum can be measured in inch of water or Hg...I THINK. ...I went to a conversion site...www.brandtech.com and calculated on their conversion calculator that 4.4" Hg = about 60 in H2O. I am wondering if that is suitable?

[Cecil Arnold]

4.4" Hg is not suitable for a vacuum press. You need about 18-24". I think the article on the JWW site gives you this information. However, I think your conversion may be faulty. 60" of water is = 5' and the head on 5' of water is 2.27lbs. (that's using .454 lb per ft.) All this can be cleared up by going to the Gaust web site and looking up the specs for that pump.

[Barry Londrigan]

I am not sure about my conversions either but this is what I believe I have....It looks like what they call a regenerative blower. I am thinking that it will not work.

[Garnet Foster]

I have heard contact cement is not the best for veneer and that the veneer bubbles after a while. Anyone use Titebond III on burl? Will it bleed through the grain?
You may want to check out this. It depends how large your project is though. http://woodcraftmagazine.com/articles/article.aspx?id=2
I put a sheet of wax paper and 1/8 masonite on top of the veneer on my last vacuum pressing. This seemed to really press it down. Would this work for burls that are dried out and warped?
:)
Garnet