gary-g-k Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 hi iam working on a solid ash desk that has booked matched sides and i would like to make a booked matched top. heres my idea, i want to resaw 4/4 ash down to 1/2 to get the booked matched panels and the glue them on top of a 3/4 ash top. heres my questions 1) what kind of glue do i use, will titebond 2 work? 2) i dont have a vacume press so can i clamp the top down and get a flat surface? will it work okay with exspanion and contraction? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 I would think that it will work if, 1st the grain direction AND approximate grain size is similar, 2nd you use several thicknesses of platens along with cauls. My biggest concern would be the first. Say if you're Ash substrate is quarter sawn and your bookmatch is cathedral, they may very well expand and contract at very different rates. I do NOT know this to be fact, but it seems logical to me. As far as the clamping, I think you'll do fine as long as you use tapered cauls to distribute the clamping pressure well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Bennett Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 hi iam working on a solid ash desk that has booked matched sides and i would like to make a booked matched top. heres my idea, i want to resaw 4/4 ash down to 1/2 to get the booked matched panels and the glue them on top of a 3/4 ash top. heres my questions 1) what kind of glue do i use, will titebond 2 work? 2) i dont have a vacume press so can i clamp the top down and get a flat surface? will it work okay with exspanion and contraction? Firstly I definitely would not use a PVA adhesive for this kind of thing. Secondly I guess you have a very good reason for wanting the top of the top so to speak being as thick as 1/2". Thirdly Vic's fears will be confirmed. You will need to match as closely as possible the grain pattern, which will mean selecting pieces from as close to the same section of the tree as possible. It's not so important to have the growth rings running in the same direction because ones turning up will tend to counteract those turning down, I qualify that statement however, because you are using two different thicknesses. I would use as my first choice epoxy and as my second good old hide glue done properly you will be amazed at it's strength. It's only real failing is in it's inability to withstand moisture and heat. The choice of cauls etc. I would follow Vic's advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary-g-k Posted January 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 Secondly I guess you have a very good reason for wanting the top of the top so to speak being as thick as 1/2". yes i want the finish thicknes of the desk to be over 1 inch so when i plane it down the top,top boards wi actualy be about 3/8 but how close does the grain have to be? iam not quite sure what you mean there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Bennett Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 Secondly I guess you have a very good reason for wanting the top of the top so to speak being as thick as 1/2". yes i want the finish thicknes of the desk to be over 1 inch so when i plane it down the top,top boards wi actualy be about 3/8 but how close does the grain have to be? iam not quite sure what you mean there. If you have true quarter sawn for your 3/4" stuff and then glue some planks ripped from further out so that the growth rings are more horizontal across the board rather than vertical as the quarter sawn ones will be. You will get a different movement, in both amount and direction. The quarter sawn boards will shrink slightly across and slightly in thickness. The Crown cut ones will shrink much more across the boards and will turn away from the heart centre. For example if the arc of the rings is curving upwards from left to centre and then down towards the right edge of the boards when looked at from the end, your board will tend to curve upwards at each side (cupping) this will put great stress on your joint between these boards and the ones beneath. If they curve the other way you will get the opposite curve but equally bad stress on the joint. If both the 3/4" and the 3/8" pieces have a fairly close ring pattern you should be OK. It's really impossible to say just how close they should match but, the closer they are the less chance you have of a problem developing. And remember this problem may not show for a long time. Depends on how much EMC they have at the time of joining and how much this varies over time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Rozaieski Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 hi iam working on a solid ash desk that has booked matched sides and i would like to make a booked matched top. heres my idea, i want to resaw 4/4 ash down to 1/2 to get the booked matched panels and the glue them on top of a 3/4 ash top. heres my questions 1) what kind of glue do i use, will titebond 2 work? 2) i dont have a vacume press so can i clamp the top down and get a flat surface? will it work okay with exspanion and contraction? Maybe I missed this, but is there a particular reason you are going to laminate/veneer 3/4 ash with 1/2" ash? If my calculations are correct, that works out to about 1-1/8" finished thickness after planing/sanding/flattening the panel. Why not just get yourself a piece of 12/4 ash, resaw 2 pieces off at about 1-1/4" thick each and bookmatch those? At least that would be the way I would approach it. You will end up with the same result with a lot less fuss and worry over the veneering process. You aren't gaining anything by veneering the thinner ash onto thicker ash. If anything, you run the risk of the veneer layer delaminating over time (which is what it seems like you are trying to avoid). If it were an expensive exotic veneer or a species that is difficult to get in 12/4 thickness I could understand. But ash is cheap and readily available in 12/4, so a single board bookmatched top would be much easier to build and less trouble in the long run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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