# Gluing veneer to plywood



## Slacker (Apr 7, 2008)

I have never actually done this, and it shows. I am building a crib for my first grandson, and I decided to replace the slats at the head and foot of the crib with nice panels. Maybe get ambitious and do some inlay.

So I got me some sequence matched maple burl veneer and 3/8 panels. Rolled glue on to the plywood in small sections to match the width of the veneer. Rolled glue onto the veneer and it rolled onto itself (like the tube from paper towel). The thought occurred to me that this was moisture creating an inbalance in the venner, so I sprayed the other side with water.

That worked, but I am not sure if this is going to end like I hoped. Any ideas, comments, suggestions?


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

what glue did you use? veneer needs either contact cement or other suitable glues. I'd go a search on veneer gluing, and veneer pressing (also check veneer vacuuming) you'll find lots of good info on it.


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## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

Titebond makes a cold press veneer glue. I've used it successfully on several occasions to glue veneer to plywood. The procedure is to spread the glue on thto the plywood, apply the veneer, then clamp with cauls for 1-2 hours. From what I've read, this is the next best thing to using a vacuum press.


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## Slacker (Apr 7, 2008)

I used regular Titebond. The veneering did not work out so well, and I dont want my grandson's crib falling apart before he can give the crib to his baby.

I am hunting now for 3/8 plywood with maple veneering.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

Thanx *Charlie*, I'm about to veneer some pieces on a couple of upcoming projects and was wondering how the Titebond Cold-press glue performs! how is the end result? any cons that you noticed while using it?


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## oldworld124 (Mar 2, 2008)

I have done quite a lot of veneering. I would recommend you never use contact cement or only sometimes, in very particular circumstances use yellow glue. There are three main types of glue for veneering. They are urea resin glues, hide glue, and types of epoxy. I generally use Unibond 800. It is a resin glue. It is easy to work with. Then I use epoxy on occaisonally. It is more expensive, but enable glueing at low temps.
Only apply glue to the ply or other substrate. NEVER to the veneer. It will, as you found out, curl up. I suppose there is the odd situation where one might need to apply glue to the actual veneer. However, normal this is not done or recommended.
The use of a vacuum press makes veneering a snap. One can really control the glue-up. 
Make sure you always test the glue on a sample veneer and substrate. There can be some suprises arise such as glue bleed through and color blotching. Paper backed veneer is the easiest to work with. The maximum thickness veneer should not exceed 1/8". Any thicker will cause cracking of the veneer in the future. 
Make sure you use the same thickness and hardness of veneer on the other side of the substrate. The board will warp and twist if this is not done. There are NO short cuts with veneering. 
It is easy once figured out and makes for some very interesting projects.


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## Slacker (Apr 7, 2008)

maybe veneering is not for me…


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## fge (Sep 8, 2008)

I am not any pro at this at all but I have a project I did and had to vaneer some pillar forms I built into an entertainment center for a customer. It was my first attempt. It did not turn out good, mostly because the form I built turned out terrible because when I bent the wood it buckled in some places which showed through the maple vaneer.

So now I am soon to redo this portion of the project. I did however find a supplier http://www.aitwood.com/default.asp and they sold me 2' by 8' vaneers with a peel and stick backing for less than $30 a peice. I thought that was an excellent deal. So this time around I will not have to fool around with any contact cement. I am also better prepared to build the form since I have purchased some econokore which is used for curve applications.


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## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

PurpLev, I've had no problems at all with the Titebond cold press glue, and the end result was great. My only caution would be that if you are using an unbacked veneer that is fairly porous, you might want to apply some wax paper on top before clamping, because the glue will bleed through a little bit, and you don't want to end up with your clamping board glued to your project. :-(


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## hasbeen99 (Sep 16, 2008)

I'm in the middle of a refacing and refinishing project on a large bathroom vanity. I went with cold press walnut veneer on the new drawer fronts and cabinet doors, and had a tough time getting the veneer to stick to the substrate (1/2" birch plywood) without bubbling. I've since realized that was due to my inexperience using contact cement (Titebond) and veneer, much more than any fault there might have been in the products. I switched to adhesive backed veneer for the cabinet carcass and had MUCH better results due to minimized room for user error, I'm sure ).

One of the mistakes I did make was applying contact cement to both the substrate and the veneer-what a mess! I also had a difficult time finding the right set up time before joining the two. I wish I would've known you guys before I started! Might've saved me a few gray hairs! )


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## Slacker (Apr 7, 2008)

Well, I decided I would give it another try. Someone posted a link to a tip that suggested you apply glue to the substrate and the veneer with a modified scraper, let the glue dry, then match up the glued sides of the substrate and veneer and reactivate the glue with an iron.

I'm going to wait perhaps another hour and good wood ironing. Wish me luck.


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## Slacker (Apr 7, 2008)

I attached the back veneer with the iron, and it looks good, so far. So much so, that I decided to do the front side of the panel.


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