Veneer Checking


Scott M

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I am making a kitchen cabinet and was attempting to veneer the end panels but after having it in the house for about a week it has some serious checking. I've found several sites that discuss the issue but nothing that gives me a clear indication of where I went wrong. The veneer is 1/16" walnut and was attached with contact cement, the old school known to cause cancer and birth defects in California stuff. It's finished with GF EnduroVar. I didn't check moisture content before gluing it up but currently the lumber in the shop is at 9% and some that I have in the house is at 7%. Both the plywood and the veneer were in the shop for several days before glue up. Does anyone have any ideas? Poor quality veneer, wrong adhesive, wrong finish? Can a water borne finish cause problems?

 

Thanks,

Scott

 

 

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P.S. Before anyone suggests that I should have just bought walnut plywood the plan is to veneer all the drawer fronts and have a continuous grain across the drawers and book matched from top to bottom. The sides were just a test run before tackling the drawers.

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Yea , solvent glue and waterbourne 's aren't the best of friends. If the veneer & solvent had dried quite a few days and you started out with a very thin coats of waterborne you might've gotten away with it. That's just my take on it,could be wrong but it sounds like the pain of start over to me. So sorry your facing a mess no matter how you approach it.

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Contact cement allows wood movement which is the kiss of death for veneer. I would only use hard glue. Hide glue with a veneer hammer would work well and eliminate the need for a press.

Will a water borne finish affect the hide glue? This veneer is fairly thick to probably not but what if I'm using something that's 1/42". Should I use a seal coat of shellac first?

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Regardless of the glue used if you let it dry for several days and thin use several very thin almost incomplete coats of finish(sprayed) to build a base without seriously wetting the wood you avoid adding a lot of moisture to the veneer.

A ridgid glue line is preferred especially on doors and drawer fronts. Yellow glue is better than contact cement but the plastic resin stuff you mix is even better.

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