I realize that the veneer press is a highly respected and time honored method of getting the job done, but for this wood miser, it has long been on my list of Get real!! rarely (if ever) used methods.
In my younger and more foolish days I tried my hand at custom countertop fabrication. It took me a couple of years to figure out that the landscape was littered with top shops that could crank out the stuff light years faster than I. But in the mean time I acquired a respectable arsenal of useful tools and techniques that would come in real handy later.
I am fully aware that I'm about to tread on sacred traditional
ground here, and I am admittedly ignorant of the uses and virtues of some
the more orthodox methods. But after 15 plus years of professional
experience, (and a long list of satisfied customers) I can say with confidence
that I know what works.
The use of contact cement is a "whole 'nother animal" from any other glue up method you'll normally encounter in A Wood Miser's Workshop. I liken it to the current popularity of "extreme" sports and activities. Don't give me that look!...Even wood misers like to live on the edge every now and then!
"What do you mean live on the edge?"...you say?
The contact method of applying veneers and laminates is wonderful in that it's fast, efficient, cheap, requires virtually no clamping and relatively few tools...But, it has got to be one of the least forgiving methods in the entire cosmos. If you don't have your act together I guarantee that you'll end up with some very expensive fireplace kindling.
I don't want to scare you off here, I just want to get your undivided attention. With some knowledge and practice the whole process is going to become second nature to you.
I have used two different brand names of contact cement. First is Weldwood which is the more widely available in retail stores. Then there is the Con Bond brand which I have only been able to find wholesale. If I had my druthers, I would rather use Con Bond mainly because it's what I'm used to but also its consistency makes it easier to work with, and I have more confidence in its holding power over the long haul. You're also going to need to pick up a can of lacquer thinner for clean up.
Warnings on the cans of contact cement and lacquer
thinner strongly urge using the products in a well ventilated area and
it's the mother of all good ideas to pay heed. First of all this stuff
tends to be flammable and if you're not careful, you, your creation, and
your shop could be toast! Second, if you want to maintain a high level
of concentration (and you want to avoid finding yourself assisted by Timothy
Leary) keep a couple of windows open for some cross ventilation.
Tools
One of the most valuable tools you can have in your
arsenal for applying veneer is a hard rubber roller.
I have a couple of nifty ones left over from my counter top days. One is
called a "J" roller. It has a 4" wide roller and a "J" shaped handle and
is best for rolling out edges. I've seen J-rollers in several specialized
and fairly accessible retail venues.
The other is the famous "Beno J. Gunlach" (pronounced
"Beenojaygunlack" and named for the patent holder, one of
the many unsung heroes of the laminate cosmos).
The Beno has three
parallel hard rubber rollers with a hammer action built into the bearings.
Best of all it has a telescoping handle to give you the ultimate in leverage.
The Beno is great for rolling out the broader areas of your project. Unfortunately
I have yet to see a Beno in anything other than a wholesale venue but
I haven't looked too hard lately.
You have probably already surmised that the Beno, with all of its cool features, pushes the outer limits of the average wood miser budget. Well...I'll let you be the judge of that. A Beno will set you back about $35.00. You can pick up a j-roller on the other hand for under $10.00.
If all of this tends to still be a budget buster for
you at the moment, art supply stores and some discount department stores
carry your basic inexpensive hard rubber rollers. The only problem
is that the short stubby little handles don't give you the kind of leverage you're
going to need in a veneering application. But, a short piece of old
broom handle, a couple of heater hose clamps, and a little creativity just might get you by until you can
sufficiently indoctrinate your "significant gift-giving other".
Although merely saying, "I want a Beno for my birthday!"
may prove to be dangerous whereas it may leave too much to the imagination
and you might end up with something you didn't bargain for! Better
explain in detail.
Other than the above mentioned rollers, all you're going
to need is a sharp utility knife for trimming, sand
paper for easing and blending the edges, and if you have a rubber mallet
somewhere, go dig it out.
With all the wonderful factory veneered plywoods and composite
materials available this day and age, (unless you are just one of those weird people who are gluttons for punishment) it really shouldn't be necessary to hand veneer every last square inch of your projects.
To make sure you get the best possible bond for your sawbuck always make sure your surfaces are dust and debris free. Wood veneer can easily be cut and trimmed with a standard utility knife and a metal straight edge. When cutting your veneer you should always leave yourself a respectable margin of error. On your first try you might want to add an 1 1/2" to both the width and the length which would translate into a 3/4" margin overhanging your core material on all sides. The excess will be flush trimmed later. As you get better at it you can reduce the margin to conserve material.
Before you apply the contact to the veneer back, draw pencil lines at the perimeter where the core material should end up (in this case, 3/4" from the edge) that you will use as an alignment guide.
Most wood veneers have a paper like backing which provides a stable surface for the glue to bond with and at the same time prevents the solvents or other chemicals of the adhesive from leaching through to the finish side of the veneer. If you run across a veneer without the backing, I would definitely steer clear and keep looking until you find the good stuff.
The paper backing also helps to hold the glue at the surface whereas your core material, depending on the composition, will have a tendency to absorb the adhesive and leave weak areas which will result in air pockets under the veneer. I highly suggest two coats of contact on the veneer back and at least two and possibly three on the core material allowing each to dry until tacky before recoating.
To apply contact you can brush , trowel , or roll it or on. (Some high tech well funded shops have glue pot spray equipment, but that kind of set up is just a tad out of reach for most of us wood misers.)
I usually try to keep an ample supply of "throw away" brushes around the shop. These are the 99¢ variety of wooden handle natural bristle paint brushes available in most all retail outlets. Believe me it's not worth the trouble trying to clean a brush once it has been used to apply contact. When your done with these, you just chuck 'em and forget 'em.
Using a 6" or 8" drywall knife can make the job go even faster. Just pour a small puddle of contact in the center of the work surface and pull the knife across it skimming a thin layer as far as you can until you need to pour more. It might be smart to hold back from the edges and finish them out with a brush especially on the back side of the veneer. We don't want to risk letting the contact creep around the edge and become absorbed into the face but it is imperative to make sure that the perimeters of both surfaces are well coated to the extreme edges.
There are specially made roller covers constructed of
a carpet like material that do an "OK" job of spreading the contact but
they tend to be a bit pricey as well as a bit messy.
Slip Sheets
There's no hard and fast rule as to the size of your
slip sheet other than making it large enough to keep the surfaces from
making contact where and when you don't want them to, and small enough
to be easily handled. In this particular example, about the same
size as your over-cut veneer will suffice. Just make sure that the
slip sheet material is also free of dust and debris. Contaminates from
the slip sheets can transfer to the glue coated surfaces and effect the
integrity of the glue bond.
Lay your slip sheet over the glue coated core material surface leaving only about a 1 1/2" along one edge exposed. Now, lay the veneer (glue coated surface face down) over the slip sheet and carefully pull it over the narrow strip of core material you left exposed, but avoid making contact at this point. Align the edge of the exposed core material with the your pencil line on the paper underside of the veneer.
Now...VERY IMPORTANT...check all corners and edges to make sure that the position of the veneer will cover the core material completely, leaving no exposed edges or corners. If necessary, slightly shift the slip sheet so you can see what's going on underneath (but remember to put it back in place). If you need to make an adjustment take hold of any corner of the veneer other than your pivot point and carefully shift the veneer allowing it to pivot until you are happy with the position.
With the slip sheet in its original position exposing
an 1 1/2" of core material and the veneer in its best alignment, lightly
run your (clean) fingers over the face of the veneer, from the left hand
pivot corner across to the right hand corner causing the veneer and
the core to make contact while driving out any potential air pockets. Repeat
this unidirectional hand stroking three or four times applying slightly
more pressure each pass until the veneer is flat and securely fastened
to the first 1 1/2" of the core material.
Now move the slip sheet back another 1 1/2" to 2"
and and smooth with your fingers again except this time make your hand
strokes from center to left, and then from center to right overlapping
the strokes in the middle. (If the slip sheet feels like it's stuck,
lift the back end of it off of the core material slightly and gently rock
it loose).
Repeat this process until you have enough area in contact to be able to comfortably use your roller. At this point we are only going to make a few passes with the roller to drive out any remaining air pockets. Repeat the whole process until you work the slip sheet out from underneath the veneer sheet completely.
Now...If you have gotten this far without incident fellow misers and miserettes, you're just about home free! The critical issue at this stage of the game is applying as much pressure as you can muster to get the best possible contact bond. (This is where that Arnie Schwartzenager type shop assistant would come in handy).
You want to visualize your work surface in terms of a wagon wheel and make your roller strokes along the spokes making sure that no part of the wheel remains unrolled. Make sure that the strokes start a bit beyond the center so that they all overlap to prevent creating an air pocket in the center. Be careful not to run your roller off of the edge of the core material and break the veneer in a less than convenient place.
The areas of your finished veneer that will be most vulnerable to de-lamination down the road are the edges and especially the corners so now's the time to apply a little extra TLC! Give all four edges of your work surface a high pressure roll out, taking your time and approaching the corners carefully, again so as not to break the overhanging veneer. On each extreme edge tilt the roller slightly so it rides on the corner of the core edge bending the veneer overhang a little, then slowly and firmly roll them out staying back from the corners a bit.
Putting the corners under sufficient pressure without
breaking the the veneer overhang gets a little tricky. If the design
of the project permits, my favorite method is to place a small protective
block over the veneered corner and torque it down with a "C" clamp.
If you can't do that, there is another method but you have to really
be careful with this one. Make a 4" x 4" square block from some scrap plywood
and place it over the corner in alignment with the core material.
Now give it a few firm whacks with a rubber mallet, but don't get
carried away! You take the risk here of sending a lot of
hard work right down the drain!
First of all make sure that your utility knife has a brand spankin' new blade in it, we want it to be good and sharp! Now...ideally we want to be able to put a comfortable eyeball on the underside of the veneer overhang. If it's possible to set your work on its side, do so. If not, try to position yourself so you can work and see at the same time.
Cut another plywood block about three
inches wide (or whatever will fit
comfortably in your hand) by about 12" long. If
you're right handed put the block in your left hand, if not...(you
know what to do!) Hold your block lengthwise along the
edge of the work, half overhanging the core material. Then, just as
you did with your roller, tilt the block, slightly bending (but not breaking)
the veneer overhang creating a "V" shape valley between the veneer underside
and the core material. The inside point of that "V" is where you're
going to make your knife cut.
At this juncture it's time once again for another one of the famous "Wood Miser Credos"...
The object here is not to cut through the veneer on the first pass but to gently and repeatedly score the veneer until we can make a controlled break. If you put enough pressure on your knife to cut through on the first pass you risk loosing control and cutting or gouging something you'll wish you hadn't. A deep knife cut has a tendency of being influenced by the grain direction of the veneer and very rarely does it align with the edge of your core material.
Start at one of the corners and position your block as mentioned above and score the veneer three or four times or until the point of the knife appears through the face of the veneer. A controlled break will be easier on the edges where the cut runs perpendicular to the grain. On the parallel grain cuts, you might have to finish out the cuts from the top side of the veneer using a "sawing motion" with your utility knife. Then reposition the block further down the edge and repeat the process. Do this on all four sides of your work until the overhang is history!
Last but not least take a piece of sand paper and gently
ease the edges over and clean them up a bit and essentially you're done!
The thickness of most wood veneers will allow for some limited power finish
sanding to work out some of those slight dents and scratches that may have
occurred while you were working with it, but once again...don't get
carried away!! Especially if you have gotten this far!
OK misers and miserettes, it's time now to step back and take a few moments to admire your fabulous creation and pat yourself on the back for the mere pittence it cost you to manifest it.........................................................alright already! ..that's enough! ..don't get a big head! Come on back to earth and let's head back over to the Index.
