Veneer (thin), Binding (ABS), Finishing (Nitro).

[Dadagoboi]

Economical press:

two body blanks, four slightly crowned 2x2 cauls to distribute pressure and 10 clamps.

Tabs on the outboard cauls align the three stacked 14x20 Keim Lumber body blanks.

 

[Dadagoboi]

I bought this kit from Veneer Supplies.

Veneering Essentials Combo - 8 Piece Kit for Woodworkers

They're also a great source for veneer and tutorials. IMO skip the Youtube, 'Hey, just use titebond' amateurs. This guy explains thoroughly what works and why. He also sells vacuum press components but that's really not necessary for body blanks. I also bought these veneers, two pieces of birdseye maple 108" long and 9 sheets of fumed oak, 14.5" x 43". Total was around $150 for everything.

Thickness of the veneer is 1/42".

 

[Dadagoboi]

First up is this damaged poplar body done in too many coats of acrylic automotive lacquer.

Nitro lacquer melts under Klean Strip and wipes off with a rough cloth. Acrylic lacquer turns into goo that requires serious scraping.

All's well, etc. Block sanded to 180.

.

Fresh from the press. One piece seemed the way to go for a first effort instead of bookmatching. Less than $4 worth of veneer, I'm not much of a gambler.

Rough trimmed with utility knife and razor saw.

 

[Dadagoboi]

Bookmatching and taping flamed oak veneer. Again, check out Veneer Supplies tutorial.

Binding channel cutter setup. Chinese rabbet cutter with different size bearings to give proper depth cut. Makes more sense to do it on a router table than using a trim router. I mde the channel so about 1.5 mm of the binding was above the veneer. It gets scraped down to height so the less you leave the less work you'll have

Note plastic bottle with needle applicator. It's filled with acetone which is the perfect glue forr ABS. All the tutorials I've seen use a brush to apply the acetone but I've used this type applicator to glue clear acrylic and it's a lot neater. Capillary action spreads the acetone.

All these bends were very easy to do. With the acetone the ABS is welded to the wood in sixty seconds or less. So you can apply hand pressure until it dries if it's being stubborn, like the lower cutaway radius. That's 'Super Masking Tape' from Allparts but the regular stuff works fine.

 

[Dadagoboi]

Binding scraped level with the top using a utility knife blade. I didn't have to backfill any gaps. Acetone really does the glue job and dries almost instantaneously.

 

[herndonbassist]

This is awesome! I love watching your builds!