A Veneering Assumption/Question (1 Viewer)

[David A. Frattaroli]

I've decided to use the yellow/carpenter's glue "dry bonding" method for the veneer on my mini monitors.
I assume that I will apply glue to one side and one piece of veneer at a time, right? In other words, I install one side first and then apply the glue to the next side and wait for it to dry.
It just seems doubtful to cover the entire cabinet with glue first.
Thanks again.
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[MarkDesMarais]

Depends how fast you want to work. Thing is, the longest part of the process is waiting for the glue to dry. When I work with this method, I usually do it BEFORE assmbly, and I glue as much stuff as I can fit on my ping-pong table, 6 foot folding table, and any other open, flat surface I can find. As long as you get to the glue within a day or so, you won't have any problems.
If you do one side at a time, it might take quite a while before you can enjoy your speakers. (Unless you do it in your listening room.

)
Tip-
Sometimes the water content of the glue can make your veneer curl. One way to avoid this is to LIGHTLY mist the unglued side with a little water to balance it.
Markd

 

[Hank Frankenberg]

David, I've used quite a bit of veneer, and recommend only solvent-based contact cement. Yellow wood glue should be clamped; therefore, you would probably need to glue one cabinet side, lay a flat board on it to completely cover the veneer, then clamp it evenly, let it dry, then on to the next side. That would be time-consuming and I'm not convinced the bond would be as good as with contact cement.
Try asking on one of the woodworking forums.

 

[David A. Frattaroli]

I've read of the technique in "Veneering: A Foundation Course". I believe the author is Michael Burton. He never mentioned clamping the project when dry bonding.
Geez, now I'm not sure if I should use contact cement or not.
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[Mike Lenthol]

Good thread
I'm a little unclear on the 'dry bonding' method.
#1 Aren't both surfaces coated with glue first?
#2 And if only one, Mark mentioned spraying the surface to balance out the moisture level. Where would the moisture come from if the yellow carpenter's glue after drying turns into an extremely hard surface? Any moisture should evaporate, no?
Also, how does this bonding method stand up to time? In regular air conditioned home climate...

 

[Aaron Plaza]

I have used both methods. The contact cement works by far the best and is actually not that difficult, especially if your doing mini monitors. If you have a router, get a laminate trimming bit. When you apply the veneer, us a large enough piece to over hang the edges, then just trim. You can use a piece of wax paper between the two sheets when positioning the veneer.
My first cabinet was done with the dry bond method. I think I coated both pieces. And it does take a long time to dry. The reason I will never do that again is that I have bubbles under the veneer and with contact cement I was done in about 2 hours.

 

[David A. Frattaroli]

Mike, I've long since completed my monitors. The glue goes on both surfaces and the veneer does indeed curl somewhat. The curling almost completely goes away after the glue dries. I would then recoat the piece with more glue.
I had no problems whatsoever with bubbles. I just made sure I flattened the veneer from the center out to the edges with the hot iron.
So far, I have no problems with loose edges.
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[Mike Lenthol]

Well, I tried the dry bonding method on a test piece about 14” x 14”, and it worked great! Now that it dried overnight can’t even break off a tiny piece from the corners. Surface came out absolutely flat after 5 min of ironing, so I’ll go with dry bonding for my sub
Also tried putting on some Minwax GEL mahogany stain finish, also turned out super, very uniform color. But what would the recommended finish be?
I also got a bottle of Tung Oil (high gloss) just to see what the stuff is, rubbed a little of it on, seemed to have a little affect on the stain as where I tried rubbing it in hard, the mahogany stain lightened a bit. Hasn’t dried yet, but the first layer seems to be awfully thin to be polished later.
Is this as good as the ‘regular’ finish that’s applied with a brush? Or is there anything in the ‘hand rub’ version? I’m not a fan of brush paints/finishes as it takes a very skilled hand to get the perfect finish on the first try, as where hand rubbed finish is more forgiving.
Any brands, recommends, etc, welcome

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forgot to mention the veneer is OAK.
Dave I just finished reading your website and saw the exact wording for what I was looking,
"Minwax Wipe-On Satin Polyurethane", does it come in gloss? And where did you get it? I wasn't able to find either version in Home Depot, Sears or Ace hardware stores.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Can someone please define the process of "drybonding"? I'm in the process of deciding on veneering my DIY center channel speaker, and I like what I hear about the speed of application using the drybonding process. Thanks in advance. Any web links would be appreciated as well.
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PatCave ; HT Pix ; Gear ; Sunosub I + III ; DVDs ; Link Removed

 

[David A. Frattaroli]

Mike:
I used MinWax Cherry GELStain. Stick with the GELStains. They work great. I did one coat and then two coats of MinWax Wipe On Poly. Check 'em out on my site in the DIY section if you haven't already.
Pat:
Dry bonding is where you mix a tiny bit of water with some yellow carpenter's glue and roll it on to both the veneer back and subtrate surface. Coverage must be complete. Let it dry completely. Then place the veneer down and iron it down with a hot household iron. Keep the iron moving from center to outer edge to avoided burning the veneer.
You actually have up to 3 days to do the ironing. It works great as you can see on my mini monitors.
Link Removed

 

[Patrick Sun]

Dave, ah, I read of the procedure, just didn't realize that was the name for it. Thanks.
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PatCave ; HT Pix ; Gear ; Sunosub I + III ; DVDs ; Link Removed