Thread: Gaps when ironing veneer

Originally Posted by zanlation

This is my first veneering job and I have having endless problems with gaps between English Oak veneer sheets when I iron them on. This is what I a doing:

1. Roll on Titebond Original Wood Glue onto veneer and the plywood (speaker box with 2 coats, wait til dry (about 2 hours)
2. Match the two pieces of veneer and then iron them on using a cotton tea towel.

As soon as I finish I notice a gap of about 1-2mm. Even when I overlap the veneer sheets by 1mm I still get a gap. Has anyone got any ideas, or alternative methods I can use?

Hi and welcome. The reason it is opening up is the loss of residual moisture from the veneer when you iron it and the creep from PVA glue. Even a double cut joint is likely to open up but you could try it. make a bigger overlap, iron down both pieces except for around the overlap and then double cut the overlap, remove both waste pieces and then iron down. A better way would be a compressed joint. Iron down one piece then place a rod of some kind eg brass rod or dowel 1/8" diameter about an inch away from the joint. Lay over the second veneer and butt it to the other veneer, tape it down. Iron down the rest of the second veneer, leaving the bulge area alone. Slide out the rod and iron down the bulge. The compression in the joint should prevent it opening up.

Cheers
Michael

What do you mean by a double cut?

A double cut, you cut through the overlapped veneer (just one cut, but you cut through the double layer), then remove the underlying offcut and the two veneers mate up. It still my not work though, which is why I suggested the compression joint.

Cheers
Michael

Although it is a different method of veneering, you can still see the double cut in this video. It's about 9 minutes in:
Video: Apply Decorative Wood Veneers On Furniture & Cabinets

Cheers
Michael

Thanks Michael. The video looked pretty intense.

Could I overlap the veneers by 4mm, wait for the contraction of 2mm and then sand the joint?

It's not something I have ever done so have no idea. Maybe someone else can comment. You want to be cautious of sanding through the single layers of veneer.

Cheers

I used a very simple method of gluing both sides of the veneer, then positioning it before applying pressure using clamps and flat plywood. Worked a treat! Much slower, but a good result.