Advice from Veneer Experts, Please

[Carl Eyman]

I am about to veneer some solid walnut drawer fronts with walnut veneer. It will be my first use of veneer presses. The fronts are about 6" x 36". What kind of glue should I use? White carpenters glue has been suggested as opposed to yellow. Is this good advice?

These drawers have a rabbet around three sides. Then there is a 1/4 round beaded molding cut around all four sided. The drawer fronts have the rabbet cut into them already as well as the dado for the bottom and half blind dovetails for the sides. Can I safely route the 1/4 round on the edge after veneering? Or will I experience chipping of the veneer? I am hoping the bead will be about the same depth as the veneer thickness thus hiding the fact the front is veneered since the seam will be disguised by the bead.

[Brad Olson]

I prefer Urac 185 plastic resin glue for veneering because doesn't creep (which can lead to bubbling) and because it is slow setting. In my experience, I have a difficult time getting both sides veneered and in a clamping press within the 8-15 minute open time of the glue.

If you go the plastic resin glue route, do not use the DAP Weldwood type that you mix with water. I have found that on occasion, the veneer will split with this type because the veneer expands due to the water and then the bond is so ridgid that when the veneer shrinks it cracks.

Urac 185 doen't suffer from this problem since it doesn't have water in the resin (some solvent I believe).

Also since Bob Smalser did hid write up on glue repairability, I would definately use PR glue since it is much more repairable than yellow (and PVA glues).

Ooops...

I meant Unibond 800, basically the same thing. I've used both Urac 185 and Unibond 800 and I forgot that I switched to Unibond because you can get it more readily and in smaller quantities.

[Carl Eyman]

Thanks, Brad, for quick answer. Where is Urac 185 available? I don't think I've seen it in the usual catalogs.

[Roger Barga]

I second Brad's advice, use a resin glue and avoid a water based product. I use Unibond 800 and haven't tried other brands. I have experienced tearout when routing and ripping veneered mdf and its the veneer itself tears out. I simply try to take several small passes over the material in hope of minimizing the tearout.

roger

[Brad Olson]

I get Unibond 800 now from these guys.

https://secure.burgessinc.com/vacupress/veneerglue.htm

You can get differnt colors of powder depending on wood color

Just and aside, the best glue IMHO for this is hammer veneering with hide glue, but if you have ever done hammer veneering, you'll know that it isn't a lot of fun and so I didn't mention this, but thought I'd throw it out there.

[joseph j shields]

I'm no expert, but I have had good luck with:


http://www.joewoodworker.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=40&products_id=1681

This is water based.... Nice to work with.

-jj

[Chris Barton]

Hi Carl,

First, good luck with your veneering. Second, follow Brad's suggestion to go with hammer veneering. Use hot hide glue and a veneer hammer to do drawer fronts. Much faster than a press and in the long run, more forgiving.

Chris

[Earl Kelly]

Carl, whatever glue you use you may possibly have a problem with the Drawer front warping since you can only do the front. Although you may be able to glue and clamp some veneer on the back side after assembling the drawer. The dovetails will not allow you to veneer it in the flat like the front side.

I think that's what i would do, veneer both sides after assembling the drawer box. Take your time cut a piece to fit inside and glue both using some 3/4 melamine for cauls and lots of "c" clamps.

[Kurt Loup]

Thanks, Brad, for quick answer. Where is Urac 185 available? I don't think I've seen it in the usual catalogs.

Carl, I ordered URAC 185 from Nelson Paint Co. POB 907 Iron Mountain, Mi 49801. I used it to glue a bamboo fly rod I made. I didn't really like the glue. It worked fine, but I found it a pain to mix as you have to measure out the appropriate amount of powder (hardner) with the volume of resin. In the summer heat in Louisiana, it didn't have that long of a working time before it got hard to work with. The shelf life is short from what I remember. It's been years since I used it, but I think I refridgerated it to extend the shelf life.

Kurt

[Kurt Loup]

These drawers have a rabbet around three sides. Then there is a 1/4 round beaded molding cut around all four sided. The drawer fronts have the rabbet cut into them already as well as the dado for the bottom and half blind dovetails for the sides. Can I safely route the 1/4 round on the edge after veneering? Or will I experience chipping of the veneer? I am hoping the bead will be about the same depth as the veneer thickness thus hiding the fact the front is veneered since the seam will be disguised by the bead.

Carl on the walnut drawer front below, I added an approximately 3/32"-1/8" thick veneer of figured walnut to the poplar drawer front. I cut the dovetails first, glued up the drawer, then epoxied the veneer to the drawer front (I don't know enough about veneering to say whether or not this is appropriate). After the epoxy dried, I used a 1/2" down cut spiral router bit mounted in my router table to cut the rabbet for the 1/8" beading. I didn't experience any chipping of the veneer. I used a Stanley beading tool to cut the bead on the edge of a board and then I ripped the strip from the board. Hope this helps.

Kurt

http://www.loup-garou.net/sitebuilder/images/drawer2-390x305.jpg

[Keith Christopher]

what type of veneer are you using ? Shopmade ? Professional non-backed ? Paper or mahog backed ?

I would recommend using the unibond myself. PVA creeps too much and bleed thru can be a problem with non-backed veneer. good even pressure is what you'll need of course. As for chipout it can happen but if you take your time you should be ok. I am more concerned about wanting to "cover' a gap with veneer. even the smallest gaps, with a little pressure the veneer will split.