Thread: BH Sassy - veneer

4mm is way thicker than really needed, if your saw is cutting well aim to cut them at 2 to 2.5mm thick and then thickness sand to 1 to 1.5mm thick

If the sides are to be fixed onto some framework (web frames) and being 9mm thick you could get away with not doing both sides, when in doubt do a test piece and see what it does.

Epoxy will be fine, especially good if your structural ply is a little ao the rough side.




Pete

Thanks Pete

Hi I am not a real fan of veneering onto plywood personally.
The strength of bond is only as good as the strength of the top layer of the plywood and sometimes that is not very good, I have seen some plywood that is very poorly glued up in manufacture.
They also tend to have hidden voids which may cause issues.

I think particle board or mdf make much better substrates for veneering and cheaper as well.

Your panels are probably going to need a lot more clamping pressure than what you think.
Ideally any bearers you use should have a slight curve to press from the centre out to reduce then trapping of excess adhesive and air pockets.
A vacuum bag press is a much easier way if you have acess to one (there maybe a forum member who can lend you one perhaps)

Epoxy resin such as West systems may be a better choice than pva as it doesn't swell the timber and gives you more working time.Any bleed-through seems to be less problematic than pva too.

Definitely agree the veneer is better cut thinner as it will be easier to handle,tape any seams with good quality veneer tape if you can get it.

just out of interest I recently veneered a 6mm mdf panel one-side only with no warping or distortion but wouldnt recommend trying that with pva.

Originally Posted by Kelvin M

Hi Folks, I'm about to attempt my first veneering. The plan is to cut some 4mm BHSassy slices off some 220mm wide boards I have & then sand them down to approx 2.5mm veneers which I intend to then glue onto some plywood. (Probably just 9mm structural ply). I will then use these as the sides to a couple of chest of drawers. I have 3 questions in this regard:
1) Is 2.5 mm ok as veneer. I don't want to go too thin but I do want to avoid the wood movement.
2) Do I really have to veneer both sides of the ply? I would have thought that because it is already ply I may not need to do this.
3) Would epoxy glue be the best to use for this?

Other info: veneered sides will be approx 700x400mm, I'll clamp them between 2 chunks of 50mm thick recycled kitchen cabinet with all the weights & clamps that will fit, the sassy was kiln dried & has acclimatised in my w/shop for 6 months.

Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
Kelvin

I wouldn't go near structural ply as a veneer substrate.

either use particle board, MDF or furniture grade/marine ply.

whilst wisdom is to sand the veneer to less than 2mm -- if you're using epoxy for it's "forgiveness" in respect to uneven clamping my suggestion is to thickness sand after veneering so you end up with a flat panel.

personally I'd veneer both sides and apply solid wood edging just so the finished panel looks like solid wood

+1 for MDF/particleboard and definitely veneer both sides. Doesn't have to be the same stuff, but should be similar thickness and density.

Good Morning Kelvin and welcome to the forum.

To add to the sound advice that you have received........

Is it really worth the effort to cut your own veneer? I bought a " craftsmanship pack" from Briton bros veneer plant in Smithton, Tasmania for $110 just before Christmas and this included a lot of BHSassy plus about twelve other species. Pile about 2.5 metres long and 40mm thick - will keep me going for a few years. Briton Timbers have a branch at Narangba, no idea about Qld stocks or prices.

Clamping is the big issue with veneering. Only way to go is vacuum. Make you own vacuum press - tyre pump from 4WD/caravan shop, reverse hose so it sucks rather than pumps, hose and plastic bag and you are away. Google for more elaborate but still simple solutions.

I started with epoxy - works well - but now I only use PVA glue - works just as well, vacuum ensures even pressure, and it is far, far easier to use.

Next, some marquetry ???

Fair Winds

Graeme