Don Stephan
Posts: 825
Joined: 2003-07-18
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
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For spreading adhesive on the core, I use a foam paint roller. An attempt is made to leave a consistent thickness of adhesive across the entire surface, but cannot be guaranteed with a paint roller. Typical veneer is very flexible, and will conform to the glue surface below it. And the veneer itself seldom is perfectly flat. A flexible breather nesh like Evacunet can initially conform to an uneven glue layer to which the veneer has conformed, or even to mild wrinkles and other unevenness in the veneer itself. Under vacuum, it seems to me the also flexible bag will conform to the surface below it and then apply uniform pressure on that surface without necessarily making the underlying surface flat. So there would seem to be a possibility that simply placing a breathable mesh between the veneer and bag may leave the eventual veneer surface less than perfectly flat, creating a situation where one might sand through the veneer at high spots. Even a 1/4" thick top caul would seem inflexible enough to force flat the veneer surface below it, in the process forcing the underlying glue layer to a more even thickness.
Preparing and using a 1/4" top caul adds little time and cost to the project and for me is a very worthwhile undertaking.
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