veneering with contact cement?

[jerry kuceyeski]

can anyone advise me if 3M contact cement can be used to veneer wood to wood? i have some 1/8th inch quartersawn sycamore that i would like to use as veneer on drawer fronts. the advantage of using contact cement would be the elimination of clamping. i would use a j roller to bond the two together. any advice?

[David DeCristoforo]

No way! Contact can only be used on a "backed" veneer and even then it's "iffy". Sorry...

YM

[Mark Stutz]

The only way to avoid clamping is to use hot hide glue and hammer veneer. It sounds really intimidating, but for small areas it is really much easier than it sounds. A small yard sale "crock pot" can serve as a double boiler, so the investment can be minimal.

MARK

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

1/8" thick? Maybe not. I'd say prolly not the best idea. It depends on the wood really. Contact cement is full of volatiles that will penetrate deeeeeeeep and carry the glue with it. The discoloration can ruin the nice face side of a piece of thin wood - - but everything depends on how thick and permeable the wood is.


I'd go with a different glue for 1/8" Hide won't penetrate cause it gells fast. And Hide is the traditional veneering glue.

[David DeCristoforo]

Maybe I'm just too nervous Mark, but I'm not sure I would want to use hot glue on 1/8" thick veneer. Maybe if the pieces were small enough to get the veneer stuck down before the glue cooled it would work OK. But if you have to reheat the glue through 1/8" of wood thickness, it seems like you could have problems. I think clamps and cauls or a vacuum press is called for.....

YM

[Joe Jensen]

I haven't tried 1/8" thick, but I have tried the old thickness regular veneer (25 years ago), and it worked great, until I applied the finish, and then the veneer lifted all over the place. The solvent in the finish softened the glue. The other issue, contact cement leaves a flexible bond, which lets the veneer move around over time.

I strongly recommend another approach...joe

[jerry kuceyeski]

thanks guys....i dont think i will use the contact cement. i have some titebond hide glue in a squeeze bottle. can this be used straight out of the bottle or does it need to be heated first. i guess i will round up all of my clamps and go to work! by the way...what is hammer veneering? how does it work?

[David DeCristoforo]

Read about "hammer" veneering here:
http://books.google.com/books?id=WI3UOuM_nicC&pg=PA52&lpg=PA52&dq=hammer+veneering&source=web&ots=2ivU-F2C3y&sig=2VeMYB7QboQjZcgPd9_gWrR5_qs#PPA49,M1

Titebond is OK for veneering but I prefer white glue for caul or press work because it has a longer "working" time.

YM

[Bill Wyko]

I recently tried to do a walnut veneer with weldwood contact cement. We coated it with a pour on epoxy. looked great for about a month. Then it got waves all over it. Had to do it all over again.:mad: I would recommend doing wood glue then some calls and clamps.IMHO

[Jason Scott]

I hear the tightbond water based contact cement can be used on non backed veneer, can anyone comment b/c I am planning on using it, guys as woodcraft say they have done it and it is fine :confused:

[James Hart]

I hear the tightbond water based contact cement can be used on non backed veneer, can anyone comment b/c I am planning on using it, guys as woodcraft say they have done it and it is fine :confused:

Spent some time with a custom furniture guy down in Tucson last week and he said he uses water based contact cement on veneer all the time. He showed me several examples and said he's never had a commission come back to him with a problem.

Jim

[Lee DeRaud]

I hear the tightbond water based contact cement can be used on non backed veneer, can anyone comment b/c I am planning on using it, guys as woodcraft say they have done it and it is fine :confused:I've used it on small projects: works fine, and a lot more pleasant to work with than the old-style solvent-based stuff.

[Jason Scott]

Good deal, thanks guys!