Glueing a piece of veneer

[MAGUS®]

I was thinking of " jazzing up " a bass body by adding a piece of veneer , possibly 0.6mm, thick to the back and front. Is there a proper glue for this sort of work ?
No US names guys, coz it wont mean anything to me, as i'm across the pond.

And then, a clear hard gloss finish over the top - i prefer this to the oil/wax finish

what would be good stuff to use ? Epoxy / Cellulose / etc ?

[Hambone]

Originally Posted by MAGUS®

I was thinking of " jazzing up " a bass body by adding a piece of veneer , possibly 0.6mm, thick to the back and front. Is there a proper glue for this sort of work ?
No US names guys, coz it wont mean anything to me, as i'm across the pond.

And then, a clear hard gloss finish over the top - i prefer this to the oil/wax finish

what would be good stuff to use ? Epoxy / Cellulose / etc ?

Sure, that would be a great thing to do. The simplest glue to use would be an Aliphatic resin. That's a scientific name so you should be able to get your own brand where you are. It's essentially carpenters glue.There are some that are specially formulated for veneers. It will require some tight pressing to keep from wrinking but with care that shouldn't be too difficult.

As far as a hard clear finish, many patient rounds with a can of warmed up polyurethane would be my choice for off-the-shelf stuff. If I were to go with compressed air I would choose clear acrylic polyurethane. There's nothing more durable and glossy.

[MAGUS®]

Thanks a bundle Hambone - thats clear and precise advice, my favourite !

[MAGUS®]

Hambone - you were spot on with your advice !!

Clicky

http://www.deluxematerials.co.uk/system/index.html

[FBB Custom]

Aliphatic can bleed through veneer. That's one thing to watch out for, especially if you use something especially porous or holy (like burl). If the stuff bleeds through you will have some work to do cleaning it up, and then watch out that you don't sand through.

You can find some really spectacular woods in veneer form, but they do come with their own special challenges.

[MAGUS®]

Perhaps i should use something less proffessional like that good ol white PVA wood glue ? Is this prone to bleeding ?

Perhaps 0.6 mm is to thin ? Hence the bleeding. Maybe a thick veneer is in order. Perhaps 1mm

[FBB Custom]

It's the thinness and the porosity of the veneer that seems to promote the bleeding. I've found that epoxy and aliphatic both will bleed through in the few times I've messed around with veneer facings... But the furniture guys use veneer all the time and get great results, so there's got to be some sort of slick way to do it. Maybe they just use a thinner film of glue. Poke around the web and see how the furniture guys do veneer.

You can always go thicker and give yourself some leeway, but the advantage of using standard veneer thickness is that they are more readily available and you can always find brilliantly figured woods in veneer form.

[MAGUS®]

Yup, the reason i picked 0.6mm was the a veneer shop on UK Ebay sells a fair bit and most of it is 0.6. Burls too - very tasty.

Will have to do the master furniture maker search. Probably should be looking for one who does a lot of marketry

[erik II]

Originally Posted by MAGUS®

I was thinking of " jazzing up " a bass body by adding a piece of veneer , possibly 0.6mm, thick to the back and front.

Interresting. Can this be done on any body shape, or just on bodies with a "flat" front and back? What kind of bass is it?

[MAGUS®]

Well i wouldnt attempt anything like this on a less than flat body.

Heres the bass in question, a CSL jazz copy from years and years ago and i'm asking questions elsewhere ( the basses forum ) re. any info. Cost $150

[Hambone]

Originally Posted by FBB Custom

It's the thinness and the porosity of the veneer that seems to promote the bleeding. I've found that epoxy and aliphatic both will bleed through in the few times I've messed around with veneer facings... But the furniture guys use veneer all the time and get great results, so there's got to be some sort of slick way to do it. Maybe they just use a thinner film of glue. Poke around the web and see how the furniture guys do veneer.

You can always go thicker and give yourself some leeway, but the advantage of using standard veneer thickness is that they are more readily available and you can always find brilliantly figured woods in veneer form.

My glue of choice for all my work right now is a cold press veneer glue "Better Bond" from Joe Woodworker - www.joewoodworker.com . It has a bit more body than regular yellow carpenters and contains ground pecan shells. This gives it a light chocolate milk color when fully mixed. The shells help with preventing bleed and the coloration is supposed to be best for most combinations of colors. This glue won't creep during clamping like regular PVA's and it dries to a hard film. It's not very expensive in quarts compared to the usual Titebond/Probond costs and so far, it's proven to be very good. The only problem is that it's not suited for white on white glue joints. It's just too dark and can be seen. But other than that, I like it a lot.

BTW, Get into the veneer section on that website - lots of good stuff there.

[MAGUS®]

Thats a great site. Some heavenly veneers on there

[FBB Custom]

FWIW, veneer would be choice for radiused surfaces (within reason) as it is flexible and can more easily conform to curves. Getting the veneer under pressure is the trick, though. A vacuum press is the right tool for that job.

[MAGUS®]

Heard ya FBB, but i would only do this on a flat body, not contoured/carved. In fact, i'm not even sure i should be doing it on a flat body, either