Veneering test... Its so easy! :)

Great job, those look really nice. I was suprised at how easy veneer was as well. I don't plan on going back to painting anytime soon. It looks like you might already applied some type of finish already, but if your open to a suggestion...

I'm not a pro so I went to a local woodcraft store to get some finishing tips from the workers there. I have to say that just about each one was an expert in some part of the store and was very impressed with their knowledge. One I talked with had a lot of wood working experience.

Now I have tried a lot of different finishing products, but wasn't ever really satisfied because they always looked fake/plastic to me. I was just looking for a very natural smooth finish. here are the products he recommended.

4-5 coats of this (yes it really is only one coat a day)
http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/200...ish-Quart.aspx
Very, very lightly sand by hand with 400 grit or higher (sand to just get as smooth of surface as possible, be careful not to sand through the waterlox) now apply this
http://www.choice-woods.com/index.ph...product_id=789
then buff out

This, at least for me, has given an end result that is just fantastic. Looks and even feels great. Can't recommend enough to reserve judgment until you wax. the waxing takes the finish to the next level IMO.

Have been tempted to veneer my boxes. Would I need to strip the stain/poly off them first if I ever went this route?

Do you have any step by step pics...? What I mean do you have a Passing Interest pictorial of the veneering?

I keep wanting to try and do a veneered finish but it has always seemed like I wouldn't be able to get it correct and I would end being out some more money. Hence why I have always stained or painted my boxes.

SO I think this next time I will definitely be trying to use a veneered finish.

I do tech work in the coatings industry so I don't veneer for a living, but I see no reason why I can't apply similar logic to veneering that I would urge my customers to do with their coatings. Clean, dry, dull is pretty universal suggestion for adhesion regardless of the coating and I see no reason why adhesion of glue would be different than adhesion of coatings. Often times they contain very similar polymers in different ratios, different solvents, etc.
I would feel comfortable if they were my boxes with dulling the top coat with 120-180 grit or even removing the coating by abrasion. I realize I am making the assumption that you have good adhesion of your coatings system now so if this is not the case then remove the coatings all together before contemplating veneering. After you have abraded the surface do a test spot with the glue you will be using to ensure it will not cause wrinkling/lifting to the existing coatings you did not remove. Assuming the test spot goes well you should be able to proceed with veneering in my mind.

I just wondered how to you get the top veneer piece to match up seemlessly with the sides?

+ 1 to Waterlox. Great stuff. Very easy to work with, hard to screw up. Slow but worth it.

Yes the corners themselves?

I am not worried about the grain. Although someone else did a veneer with a roundover gap them veneered the top that looked pretty awesome as well.

I was looking at that PSA stuff on the website, I own't lie! I'd probably do what was suggested above and sand the box a bit first.

BTW, how easy was it to get the "edges" on the box as perfect as you did?

In my case, my box has a 3/4" roundover, so I don't know if I could round the sheet over the round over (unless it was too tight and would split the sheet) or somehow match it up at an end.

Also, just reading the finishing posts above, does that mean you didn't end up staining the veneer at all? You just applied some finishing wax or whatever to it? It looks amazing. What veneer was it?

Wow, looks great!

I've found getting into veneering to be a pretty big deal - time and money-wise.

Can you share some details. Did you use the peel-and-stick? Cold press glue? Contact adhesive(seems to be a no-no). Hide glue?

Did you use clamps or a vacuum pump setup? Clamping can be a pain - especially when you don't have enough clamps to set it up right, but from your job title I assume you have a great set of woodworking tools


Just curious what route you went to get such a great result right off the bat

Joe

There is a gallon of Minwax Fast Dry Poly Satin in the picture. Was that what finish used on these boxes?

From a coatings standpoint wax is not something I would recommend for a number of reasons. Waxes are not approved coatings by many manufacturers, and do not commonly meet ASTM standards. Depending on how you plan to use whatever you're building will dictate the type of coating I would recommend.
If I were to equate coatings to speakers....the commoner finds Polk towers to be sufficient (waxes/water based clears IMO) whereas the audiophile requires SEOS horns, AE drivers, upgraded crossovers etc (conversion varnishes, catalyzed lacquers IMO). Decide the type of performance you want and application method before choosing the coating you want to use.

There is a gallon of Minwax Fast Dry Poly Satin in the picture. Was that what finish used on these boxes?

From a coatings standpoint wax is not something I would recommend for a number of reasons. Waxes are not approved coatings by many manufacturers, and do not commonly meet ASTM standards. Depending on how you plan to use whatever you're building will dictate the type of coating I would recommend.
If I were to equate coatings to speakers....the commoner finds Polk towers to be sufficient (waxes/water based clears IMO) whereas the audiophile requires SEOS horns, AE drivers, upgraded crossovers etc (conversion varnishes, catalyzed lacquers IMO). Decide the type of performance you want and application method before choosing the coating you want to use.

I am sure it helps a lot. Average Joe just trying for the first time should practice on something he can throw away first.

The knife wasn't sharp enough or technique was wrong. You can have similar problems with a trim bit as well. There are all kinds of tools that can be used. It is just a matter of getting used to whatever you choose.

maybe i should give the iron-on approach a try. i've tried cold press glue with clamps and hide glue with veneer hammer. had mixed results with both methods. still trying to decide which technique to use on my next build.

the iron-on method almost sounds too easy to be true do you have to clamp after you activate the glue with the iron and get it to stick? or do you just let it sit until it's dried?

are there any drawbacks to the iron-on method? colm, you seem to comment on most veneer threads - any comments on what method is best...excluding vacuum pump setups, which i'm not prepared to get into.

oh - and i second that motion that being a carpenter by trade biases your opinion of what woodworking techniques are 'easy' i can make anything look difficult

thanks,
joe