Alternative to a veneer press?

[Jason Scott]

Hey everyone,

I had a question about veneer. I came across some really cool waterfall bubinga veneer and would love to make a hall table out of it. I figured I would make it out of MDF as the substrate and then venner the top/bottom with the veneer. The edge would be covered with a walnut frame.

Question is, I do not have a veneer press so how would I get it glued to the MDF? I was thinking making it a sandwich between 2 mdf boards and clamping them together? Would that be enough to get the veneer to stick ok? I have never done veneer before but would like to learn/start without having to buy a huge vacuum press right off the bat before I know how much I will do it. Thanks for any help.

Jason

[Matt Meiser]

I've seen it done that way by David Marks on Woodworks. He usually uses a vacuum bag, but when he clamps, he uses bunch of cauls with a slight bow in them to evenly apply pressure. He spaces the cauls only a few inches apart so you'd need plenty of clamps. I'd expiriment with some inexpensive veneer first!

[Mike Armstrong]

Obviously, the joewoodworker.com site is primarily about veneer pressing, but here's his article about doing it without a press: http://www.joewoodworker.com/veneering/no-vacuumpress-veneering.htm

I think for a project like yours, I'd at least invest in some good adhesive.

Mike

[Michael Schwartz]

I would suggest tracking down somebody in your area with a vacuum bag as it will save you alot of trouble.

MDF is a good substrate, and I would reccomend an adhesive such as unibond 800.

Personaly I have successfully pressed veneer onto baltic birch panels with yellow glue.

Just remember that whatever you veneer you need to veneer both sides of. Otherwise the veneer will pull the substrate all out of whack and it will go caddywhompus on you. You can use a lesser grade venner on the back side such as poplar if you want.

If you use plywood as a substrate remember to run the grain of the veneer perpendicular to the grain of the face of the plywood.

I try to do all my veneering and bent laminations in a vacuum bag.

[Guy Germaine]

Before I had my vac press, I used to iron my veneer on. I just used Titebond II. Put an even coat on the substrate and let it dry until it's just tacky. Then apply a second coar the same way. When this coat is tacky, lay the veneer on the substrate and use an iron set on about medium. Work from the center, outward, like you would with laminate. That'll get all the air bubbles out. It's certainly not the best way to do it, but it works in a pinch. As with anything else, practice on some scrap first. If you lived closer, I'd be glad to let you use my vac press.

[john bateman]

Hey everyone,

I had a question about veneer. I came across some really cool waterfall bubinga veneer and would love to make a hall table out of it. I figured I would make it out of MDF as the substrate and then venner the top/bottom with the veneer. The edge would be covered with a walnut frame.

Question is, I do not have a veneer press so how would I get it glued to the MDF? I was thinking making it a sandwich between 2 mdf boards and clamping them together? Would that be enough to get the veneer to stick ok? I have never done veneer before but would like to learn/start without having to buy a huge vacuum press right off the bat before I know how much I will do it. Thanks for any help.

Jason

It'll work, but you might need something beefier than the typical F-clamp style of bar clamp...you can't get much pressure turning those small wooden handles.

And be sure to get the glue on evenly. Home Depot carries an adhesive roller cover, which fits on a paint roller, and it works well. Cut it into thirds and use them on a 3" trim roller frame.
http://members.verizon.net/%7Epecker/press2s.jpg

[Carl Eyman]

You can use animal glue and a veneer hammer. That's the way our forefathers did it in the 18th century. Do a search for the exchange I had with Roger Myers in New Hampshire back in 2006. I had a severe problem of having to re-veneer a drawer front that was already assembled so I couldn't use the veneer presses I had originally. Roger walked me through the veneer hammer approach and it worked like a charm.

[Jim Becker]

You can use platens and cauls to clamp your panel up very nicely. Even with a vacuum setup, I've done that a couple times just for time considerations. This could be an excellent reason to consider some BowClamps (http://bowclamp.com/) for your shop as they significantly cut down on the number of actual clamps you need to work with for this kind of thing. Craig is also a supporter of SMC and has a manufacturer's forum here.