Darryl Keil Last Activity 2024-10-10 3:42 PM
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MikeBecker

Posts: 3

Joined: 2011-06-20
Location: Tempe, AZ

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Subject : Laying up plywood
Posted : 2011-06-20 11:51 AM
Post #36400
Hello Forum,

I have done relatively small veneer work up until but my current project is going to test my limits. I have a project that involves making 4 panels for a pedestal table that is 1-1/4" thick. Each panel is roughly 40 inches wide by 30 inches long. Since I couldn’t find these panels pre-made I figured I could make them. I have bought 3/4" Baltic Birch plywood, and some sheets of 1/4" MDF. I plan to lay up the MDF on both sides of the Baltic Birch, before I veneer both sides with some shop cut Mahogany. Should I let the panels sit and stabilize for a while after I pressed them and before I veneer them? Or could I just simply press the panels one day and then veneer them on the next day. If I need to let the panels sit out a while and stabilize, what is the protocol for doing so? Any help from the forum would be greatly appreciated. By the way I’ll be using Unibond 800 if that makes a difference.

Thanks
Mike Becker


 
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Darryl Keil

Posts: 1453

Joined: 2003-05-22
Location: Maine

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Subject : RE: Laying up plywood
Posted : 2011-06-20 7:27 PM
Post #36403 - In reply to #36400
Mike,

Its not really nessesary to let the panel sit more than a day, I never have. The only thing you will gain from letting it sit a couple of days is to see if the panel warps or not, something you really cant control much after its pressed. With your lay up I doubt there will be any warpage anyway. 1/4"MDF faces and a plywood core is a good combo.

What I have observed is when you leave a panel in the press overnight it stays flatter in the long run than a panel left in just until the glue sets.

Darryl Keil


 
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MikeBecker

Posts: 3

Joined: 2011-06-20
Location: Tempe, AZ

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Subject : RE: Laying up plywood
Posted : 2011-06-21 11:03 AM
Post #36407 - In reply to #36403
Darryl,

Thank you for your input. My layup this morning went smoothly and we will see what happens when I take it out of the press tomorrow.

Yesterday I meet with a potential client and he wanted to replace his 1” thick MDF top for his fold down desk with something lighter and stronger. Would you say that an 1/8” MDF on either side of 3/4” baltic birch would work well. I am suggesting this mainly because the thinner material would be lighter and the extra plywood thickness would help me screw the hardware into the top. I also have some left over 3/4” baltic birch and sheet or so of 1/8” laying around, so it seems like a good option to me. I was thinking the 1/8” MDF would be a good and stable choice that would provide an excellent veneering substrate. But on the other hand the 1/8”MDF is thin and it might make it easier for the panel to warp or twist. Should I just stick with 1/4” MDF on either side and just use a 1/2” baltic birch panel, or should I experiment and try using 1/8”. Any thoughts? Am I worrying to much about this?

Thank you
Mike


 
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Don Stephan

Posts: 825

Joined: 2003-07-18
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio

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Subject : RE: Laying up plywood
Posted : 2011-06-21 8:01 PM
Post #36409 - In reply to #36407
1/8" sheet has great flexibility, but 3/4" BB is very stiff. Gluing a sheet of thin to each side of the 3/4" especially using a rigid glue like urea resin, will make a panel even stiffer than 3/4" by itself in my expectation. But I don't recall seeing MDF thinner than 1/4". Hardboard and masonite I've seen in 1/8" but recall reading somewhere that one or both has some type of oil in the material, and I'm wondering if that might interfere with a good glue bond.


 
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Enrico Konig

Posts: 74

Joined: 2006-01-06
Location: Vancouver, BC

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Subject : RE: Laying up plywood
Posted : 2011-06-22 12:11 AM
Post #36410 - In reply to #36409
1/8" MDF is widely available here in the pacific northwest, and I have used it extensively for veneering with urea resin. Usually around $8 a sheet.


 
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MikeBecker

Posts: 3

Joined: 2011-06-20
Location: Tempe, AZ

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Subject : RE: Laying up plywood
Posted : 2011-06-22 12:19 PM
Post #36411 - In reply to #36410
The panel came out of the press nice and straight. I double checked my 1/8 inch and it is MDF, so no worries here. Hopefully all my layups go as well or better than my first.
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