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laminating thin boards

tjclem

tjclem

Supporting Member
Commercial User
Jun 6, 2004
6,351
543
66
Central Florida
www.clementbass.com
Disclosures
Owner and builder Clementbass
#1
When you all laminate several thin boards together for instance for a headstock plate what glue do you use? I laminated a very thin bookmatched redwood plate to 2 veneers and a 1/4" piece of Wenge using titebond #1 and it bowed on me I am letting it sit to see if it goes flat. What glue have you had success with? Thanks..Tom
 
#2
I am using Titebond I for all of my needs. I have picked up some Titebond Cold Press, but I've yet to use it.

Did you glue them to themselves, or to the headstock?

I use a couple cauls and go for 5 veneers at once on one side. The next day I do the other side.
Build161.jpg


Build173.jpg


Or for the body I press all layers together:

Build105.jpg


And then glue the left and right side together.

...I hope that helps. :)
 
#4
The moisture of the glue can warp a thin board if you do not have a flat plate in with it. Titebond I has enough open time to spread glue to five layers and get clamps on without setting up before you're ready.
 
#5
It's usually best to glue thin woods between stable flats until fully cured then attach the flat sandwich to your permanent flat underlayment being a body or headstock. Remember, with thin sandwiches, you can apply heat by gun, iron, lamp etc. And force press the heated sandwich to a more workable flatness, 1 of the great things about titebond.
 
#6
A couple things to look at:

To prevent warping most veneering and laminating projects use a center core with equal thicknesses of veneer glued to both faces, i.e., balanced construction. Is your construction balanced?

Uneven clamp pressure can cause warping. Were your clamping cauls rigid/thick enough? Were they straight before and after use?

Did the clamped assembly allow moisture to be released evenly from all surfaces as the glues dried? I've seen "closed" forms cause uneven drying, gaps between plies, warping, etc.

Was the glue-up given enough time to cure before the clamps removed? Some laminations can take a long time to reach EMC.
 
#9
Jazzdogg said:
A couple things to look at:

To prevent warping most veneering and laminating projects use a center core with equal thicknesses of veneer glued to both faces, i.e., balanced construction. Is your construction balanced?
Click to expand...

Thank you. I had a similar problem while trying to "stabalize" a wood cover plate by gluing a couple layers of veneer to its back. It warped like crazy and I ended up remaking the plate without any laminations. You've given me hope - now I just have to practice making my own veneer!
 
#11
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#14
tjclem said:
Got one of them but I never thought of using it to make veneer.....t
Click to expand...

Works very well. :D I go directly from resawing at the bandsaw to a sander similar to the Performax when making veneer. Removing 1/200" or less per pass provides a lot of control as long as the machine is set up correctly to begin with. Of course, there's a limit as to how thin you can go, but that's OK with me, as I like my veneer a little thicker than what's commercially available.
 
#16
Jazzdogg said:
Fascinating videos! I prefer working with plain- or quarter-sliced/resawn veneer; I don't like the workability or finishing characteristics of most rotary-sliced veneer, although it can produce unusual visual effects.
Click to expand...

Any of the veneer I order is done in this fashion, unless it needs to be thicker, then I do it myself too.
 

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