laminating white oak onto mdf


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Hello,

I am looking to laminate 3/8”thick x 3”wide, solid white oak planks to ½” mdf substrate to create wall paneling for a kitchen – I’ll be using a vacuum press with a urea type plastic resin veneer glue.  I also need to laminate the same stock to different thickness mdf substrates to make some full length doors and side panels for same kitchen.  I have been looking around in the web and some say this will not work do to the expansion of the solid wood and will only warp and crack in the long run, others say it is okay to do this.  I am new to laminating and vacuum pressing.  What say you in regards to this issue?

Also, if it is okay to do this laminating is some sort of backer sheet needed to the ½” mdf for balance?  I cannot go beyond the 7/8” dimension for the final product so I thought I could use one of those backer sheets used for regular plastic laminate – again, what say you?

Thank you in advance for your thoughts and guidance in this effort. 

Patricia

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Best practice would be to balance the panels with the same material on both sides of the mdf, or to use thinner stuff for the show faces for the panels that go on the wall. If it were me I would use 1/8"-3/16" pieces. Whether or not the back is needed, (or would help) depends on how the panels are attached to the wall. You question makes it sound like the finished product will appear to be 3" wide planks, not panels in a frame.

If that's the goal however, why make the panels with the mdf substrate? 3" wide, 7/8" thick pieces with a tongue on one long edge and a groove on the other sounds easier to me.

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Thank you for your responses!

These are 3/8” tongue and groove planks with a 1/8” v-groove in the middle.  I had these made for me because the thought process was that it would be easier to glue them up as 24”wx 96”h panels for purposes of finishing and transport, and the thinnest I could get them was 3/8”.  I thought if I seal the panels completely (specially the end grain) the moisture issue would not be a problem. The doors have the same material on both sides so I hope that means those won't be a problem.  The wall panels would take a 1/2" mdf substrate behind so the mdf can be screwed to the wall so there would be no sign of pin holes on wood planks except maybe for the first beginning plank and the last plank in a wall run.

At this point I’m stuck with this material and need to reach 7/8” thickness because that is what the contractor is expecting.  Somehow I need to find the best and ethical way to make it work.  Is there a glue that I can use perhaps that will allow for movement in the wood? 

Also, currious, why do the planks need to be thinner than 3/8" for the glue up?  Thank you much for your time and expertise.

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23 minutes ago, Patricia said:

Is there a glue that I can use perhaps that will allow for movement in the wood? 

No.  You have to let wood move, always.  And finish does not prevent movement either, it only slows it down.

You could use 1/2" MDF (or decent ply, ideally)...that way you'd have a total thickness of appx 7/8"...and attach the planks with screws from behind like Steve suggested.  At only 3" wide you'd only need one screw per plank (across their width).  Make sure you leave appx 1/16" gap between each plank to allow for movement...the T&G will hide the gaps during winter, just like a hardwood floor.

Because you're screwing the boards to the substrate and letting them float (as opposed to gluing them), there's no need to put anything on the back of the substrate because there will be no equilibrium issues.

If you're absolutely dead-set on "veneering" the substrate, you'll have to mill your planks down to 1/8" thick or thinner to prevent problems with movement/delamination.  That would be a TON more work than the first option.

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