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Re: Excited =) [message #68495 is a reply to message #68489] |
Wed, 06 July 2011 19:44 |
Dave_S
Messages: 28 Registered: April 2011
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Chancellor |
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I thought the front baffle was double also. With "IMG_2288.jpg", there are two distinct shades on the edge of the front baffle that makes it look like two sheets are sandwiched. However, when I compare the thickness of the sides, the total thickness looks similar.
The link that Bill provided looks like decent veneer and is probably cheaper. I bought mine locally at Rockler Woodworking. The 2-ply has one side with grain running one way and the other side has grain running perpedicul. It helps to stiffen the sheet. That link for what I used is here:
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=2217&filter=veneer
The main thing that I liked about the veneer was that it seemed to lay flat. If the veneer is not stiff enough, the chances of the veneer not lying flat increases. I had seen other veneers that looked so thin that they would not lay flat. Because of the original veneer that I chose, I made a veneer press and used regular glue. In the end I liked it, but it was a lot of work and expense. I will do future projects with the press, but I don't think that I would steer others in that direction. You may want to get a recommendation from somebody else about a brand of contact cement. What I chose was nothing like what I had used in the past despite my best attempt to buy a quality product. That was one part of my problem and why I went to using regular glue and making the press. I will post the press pictures when I do my post on my build.
As far as veneering, I have never used dowels like Bill. I generally have used several layers of parchment or wax paper and pulled one sheet out at a time. One has to be careful to not trap the wax paper in there,so dowels may help. My laminate counters have a piece of wax paper trapped inside. With the veneer that I had, a few seconds of light sanding seemed to improve adhesion. So for me, my original problems (not including the 2 ply veneer) were using thin veneer that did not lay flat, using a less effective contact cement, and not sanding for better adhesion. You would have a hard time not improving on my initial results.
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Re: Excited =) [message #68496 is a reply to message #68495] |
Wed, 06 July 2011 22:02 |
Bill Epstein
Messages: 1088 Registered: May 2009 Location: Smoky Mts. USA
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Illuminati (2nd Degree) |
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Dave, I'll really look forward to seeing your press. A few years ago, when veneering with PPR (urea resin), I bought half a dozen cider pres type screw clamps on sale from Woodcraft thinking I would build a press. Turned out I would have needed 2 dozen and a brooklyn bridge construct of angle iron so they're stored away somewhere.
I've also thought of vacuum bagging, the $300 for the pump and bags doesn't bother me so much as having to veneer both sides of the panels, then gluing up, then edge-banding and so forth.
PPR is the King of veneer glues and with Bill Martinellis help, how I taught myself to do this:
Takes lotsa clamps, 24 hour clamp time and you still have bubbles that need to be heated and re-clamped.
Weldwood Contact Adhesive, the solvent kind, NOT the water base or gel, is the answer to "lets listen to these things this week"!
A ridiculous amount of custom, high-end furniture is made with it, not just countertops. BUT, you can't use unbacked, or what we call leaves of veneer. The pros mostly use paper backed cause it's cheaper than 2 ply. I like NBL 'cause there is no black line in lighter veneers like Maple and Cherry and it's really flexible, draping a 3/4" round-over with ease. I pay about $75 for those species and Walnut plus about $20 shipping for a 4x8 sheet.
One drawback to laid-up 4x8s as opposed to leaves is you can't bookmatch and have no choice of grain. The new Walnut speakers look exciting at first, but frankly, they're kinda "busy" up close day-after-day.
I prefer the more straight-grained look of the same veneer, different batch that made the 4Pis. I suspect that I should be able to specify either rotary (busy) or flat cut (straight-grained) in the future. I'm already planning the next build, a pair opf 2Pi Towers with the S-B 29 Tweeter, which will be 1/4 sawn Cherry.
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