veneering help

I’m not a big fan of contact cement on veneer, but you should use it just as you would to glue any other things with contact cement. Apply the cement, let it dry, and then put some dowels or small strips across one surface, to keep the part separated. Lay the other piece on top. Remove the center dowel and press the two surfaces together. Work your way towards the ends by removing the dowels and rolling out the surface.

-- Tim -- http://tmuli.com

I’d look at this link before jumping in the full way.
Lee Jesberger has provided extensive tips on his prowoodworkingtips.com site.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Im not a fan of contact cement…but upon occasion i have had some good success, and the one contact that I have never had an issue with is the 3m highstrength 90, its a spray and its pricy,but it holds…many years ago i was ask to veneer a bunch of doors and panels that were to be used on a new riverboat..and they specified the High Strength 90,it was my first intro to it…worked well and to my knowledge never posed a problem…but i was using cloth backed veneers…This stuff is unforgiving,when touched together its done…use good coverage on both surfaces and as stated above,use something to prevent unwanted contact,and work from one end to the other and roll well as you go to prevent any air bubbles,if you get them a small needle piercing or a small razor blade cut will cure it…if you encounter an area that isnt adhering..(it can become too dry,so plan to work fast).running over it with a warm iron usually does it

Hi Lilb;

Thanks Douglas.

Unless the veneer has a backer of some sort, I wouldn’t even consider it.

What happens is if the contact cement expands the veneer, much like moisture in a board.

It generally takes a couple days for the veneer to shrink back to it’s original size. When it does, it kind of self destructs, leaving splitrs in the veneer. Big splits.

I have used contact successfully as Charles pointed out with a backed veneer.

If it were me, And I was under the gun, I would use Titebond II. Coat the surfaces and allow them to dry.

The veneer will curl up completely, so take precautions to prevent it from rolling into a tube and drying that way.

After the glue dries it will straighten back out.

Then iron the veneer on with a household iron.

I hope this helps you out.

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

I haven’t tried the titebond trick yet. Mostly I use titebond III and a homemade press. I use MDF cauls, clamps and poplar pressing bars with a slight radius for the areas that clamps can’t reach.
When I was learning how to veneer I used glue sheets under the veneer. You can get them at rockler. THey are basically the same thing as letting Titebond dry and then using an iron to adhere it.
I would stay away from contact cement, that stuff is better for laminate countertops.

-- Joey, Magee, Ms http://woodnwaresms.com

I have used it on large project( refinished a console tv) and had no problems with shrinkage. Just did a secatary desk useing pva and it was a major pain. Maybe it would not be so bad if you are doing it before the peices are assembled. I think for me I wil stick with contact cement on smaller peices and pva for larger panels. This seems to be one of those topics like asking about a RAS.

I use the Titebond, ironing method and it works great. And it doesn’t require clamps, presses, vacuum bags, vacuum pumps, etc. Just an old iron that gets hot. If you use your wife’s iron, she’ll get hotter than you’ll be willing to deal with. I know if you’re trying to save time, it may save you the time needed to repair messed up veneer.

-- Tim -- http://tmuli.com