Well folks, I'm going to be making my own veneered MDF and would love any advice you have about me creating my own veneer.
The wood will be quarter sawn white oak-- in 5-6 inch widths and it is 5/4 in thickness
My widest final piece widths are going to be 15 inches wide and 47 inches long
The plan calls for 7/8 thick material for the sides and top and bottom. To accomplish this I can
1. glue up a 3/4 inch sheet of MDF and a 1/8 sheet of MDF and use 2- 1/16 pieces of veneer...or
2 Use a 3/4 inch sheet of MDF and 2-1/8 thick sheets of Veneer.
My main concer/question is this. Is this veneer too thick and which thickness do you recommend? I would like to have the surface thick enough that I can sand it without worrying about burning through the veneer?
Yesterday the store sold me a gallon of contact cement, but after some research I think I will take it back to the store and instead buy PPR (urea) glue to form hard seams. I am slightly concerned from my research that with thick veneer movement may be of concern (though less-so being that this is quarter sawn white oak) Does this sound like sound thinking?
I have a vacum bag that will accept sheets up to 14 inches wide--I have 2 options that I can think of
1. Make the veneer as wide as I need it to be (15 inches for some pieces) by using pressure/clamping to maintain pressure.
2. Make the veneer by gluing 2 sheets of veneer (10 inches wide) on MDF and putting it in the vacuum bag and one piece (5 inches wide) on another piece of MDF. After they have been vacuumed, I can edge glue the pieces--
3. If these things are not recommended I can buy a larger bag (roarockit sells a 36x52 bag) but I would rather not spend the $80... you guys know how much I hate to buy tools
I do have a pin nailer and have considered using 1/2 pins to help with attachment.... the pin holes are literally almost invisible
Any thoughts/suggestions/etc are definately appreciated....
Lawrence