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Veneer issue

1K views 11 replies 6 participants last post by  Larry Schweitzer 
#1 ·
Hi there... new here.

So I have been replacing the veneer on an old beater clock case I bought on e-cray and that's gone pretty well for the limited pieces I've done; namely, the door has some veneer on the front that was missing. I bought some mahogany veneer to work with and my initial foray into hide glue + veneer has turned out pretty well.

But I have another clock my dad built that somehow has no back. I bought a piece of thin plywood to make a back from and I applied two pieces of veneer to this substrate -- again using hide glue. Hey, if I mess it up, it's going to face the wall for years, right? :)

This was the result:
https://www.woodworkingtalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=378749&thumb=1

So how do you keep that substrate from warping like that? I did have it weighted to a flat surface while it cured overnight.... maybe more weight?

Also, as you might be able to tell here:
https://www.woodworkingtalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=378745&thumb=1

There's a tiny little gap between the veneer sheets. I tried to make sure they were perfectly straight and aligned on assembly, but I guess I missed a bit -- or a bit fell off when I wasn't looking. Something.

Can I remedy that using some sawdust + hide glue or should I just get some wood putty and fill those little gaps? There's actually two little blemishes where the veneer has holes in it in the upper left corner of the piece... I guess I'll use the same treatment there.

Anyway, I think the warpage will not be an issue in this application (facing the wall). Some brass screws will be employed to hold it all down in the rabbet around the back of the clock.

I'm going to shellac this to practice up on that for the first time, as well. Whee; fun.
 

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#5 ·
I could be wrong, but that seems like a lot of cup for just veneering one side. So, fess up - did you leave the panel on a table overnight? :yes: We tend to think of plywood as very stable, but it can happen even with plywood.



The panel may be "set" because of the rigid glue line that hide glue produces, but you can try veneering the other side and keep clamped flat while drying. .


Another option would be split the panel down the middle with a utility knife, re-glue and apply veneer to the other side. You won't lose the width as opposed to sawing it. Careful with you cut be sure to clamp your straight edge.

I'm a rookie regarding veneer, too, but I think it might be a good idea to keep a thin panel clamped flat, even when veneering both sides. One thing I have learned thin panels (even plywood) you just never know what's going to happen.
 
#8 ·
No, I used my benchtop and a 3/4 piece of Birch ply protected with wax paper as my clamping device. Weight on top. I'll take your advice and rustle up a couple of cauls on the next try, though. I thought this was such a thin piece of work I could get by without the cauls. Maybe that was it.
 
#9 ·
When hide dries it does shrink a tad. Not normally an issue on 1/2" and 3/4" inch stock, but on the 1/4" stuff, it will make a difference.
Also consider that you bought the ply from Hobby Lobby.
Why use hide glue in the first place?
 
#11 ·
Ok.. veneered the other side and it came out straight. A little cutting and planing on the edges and sanding and finishing and it came out right nice.

To answer the questions: why bother? why hide glue? and why all the fuss over a piece of Hobby Lobby ply? ... it was my first veneer project larger than 1 sq ft. So I chose to do the back of a clock that for some reason Dad left off the otherwise nicely done project -- it replaces a cardboard back -- exactly where I alone would know where the foible was, should it turn out that way.

Fortunately, it didn't turn out that way, so I now have the clock facing the wall to display my handiwork. Makes it damn hard to tell the time, though....

Forgot to take a picture of the finished back. *sigh*
 

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#12 ·
Rule: do to both sides what you do to one. That even includes the finish. It doesn't matter if it is 1/8" thick or 1" thick stock, follow the rules! If the "hyde" glue was the real thing you can easily remove the parts by heating. To hold veneer parts in place to each other while gluing buy some veneer tape. It had holes punched in it so you can see the match lines. Don't use masking tape, the sticky will be pressed into the pours and be very difficult to remove and likely show up after finishing. If you decide to do much veneering, a vacuum bag setup is very nice.
 
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