Replies

1. 
   user-148830 | Jul 06, 2007 03:10am | #1

   cm,
   If I understand you correctly, you glued and taped the veneer joints together before vacuum pressing them to your substrate. If that is the case, then I'm left to wonder about the plywood. It seems unlikely but a slim possibility that your plywood moved. If the veneer joint was well done and mated together properly and you got a good glue up of the veneer then what else could have moved? Either you didn't get the kind of glue-up you thought or else the substrate moved.

   Was there any curling at the edges of the veneer joints? And what color is your car? I'm stalling because I'm stumped too.

   Were the joints tight after you removed the panel from the press? Was the wood dry when you resawed, sanded, edged it, and glued it up? Golly I would think so at 1/16" but it's another possibility I suppose that the pine just shrunk up. Maybe you need to resaw the stock and let it sit for a few days before gluing it up.

   Let me know what kind of moisture content the pine has or had and let's look at the steps you take before gluing and maybe we can find the problem. Gary

1. 
   CMFurniture | Jul 12, 2007 01:17am | #2

   Thanks for getting back to me gary. Although your response has made me a little nervous.

   The material I am using is antique heart pine. It is reclaimed lumber that came from a mill that was taken down in Connecticut a year or so ago. I bought it from a flooring company that had milled it and ripped it to 4 1/4 wide. They gave me a good deal and guaranteed that it was metal free. I assumed it was dry enough.

   The wood stayed very flat after it was resawed and I waited until the next day to tape and veener. I kept the pieces flat overnight. I veenered them to 3/8 baltic birch. which has about 9 plys. The veenering process went well. The joints were tight and the boards were flat. no cupping or twisting. I used titebond 3 and heavily rolled the glue on. I didnt veneer the back side but I soaked it with a sponge before I put them in the vacuum bag, to even out the moisture on either side.

   A week later the joints were all open. Not huge but large enough for me to question my process. I ended up using them. I filled the gaps with a shellac stick and assumed that because the wood is full of stripes, no body would notice but me. Let me know what you think and thanks for the help.

                                                                    cm

    

1. 
   JohnWW | Jul 12, 2007 04:24pm | #3

   Reading your second message I think I see a probable source for your problems.  You "heavily rolled on" a water based glue and also wetted the back of the birch ply.  There was a lot of moisture inside of the vacuum bag and the pine veneer, being thicker than ideal, expanded before it was fully adhered onto the plywood.

   I don't do a lot of veneer work but when I do, I use slow set epoxy glues to avoid moisture related problems with thick veneers.

   John White