Veneer Both Sides of a Panel? – Viewer Question
This question was asked by Mike:
I plan on building a small box for my daughter’s birthday, and I want to use a veneered panel for the lid. I plan also to use PVA, and a press as the lid will be small (5×8) and I don’t think it needs any more. When watching you make Nicole’s frame, I noticed that you veneered both sides of the frame even though only one would show. Is this to ensure that the moisture balance in the piece stays equal, or was it just pride in craftsmanship? Also, if you’re veneering plywood or MDF, is this necessary considering that these materials are dimensionally stable?
As always, keep up the good work – you’re definitely my reason for trying my hand at fine wood working. Thanks!
And this was my response:
Hey Mike. In most woodworking circles, it is believed that you should always veneer both sides of a panel. By adding a layer of glue and a thin sheet of wood, one side of the panel will absorb and lose moisture at a different rate than the other. This lack of “balance” could lead to warping. If you ever have a sheet of commercial veneer laying around, you can see exactly how this works by applying a little water to one side of the veneer. It will curl up like Pringles chip (pic 1)! The side that receives the moisture expands, and the other side does not, resulting in a severe curl. Wet the other side (pic 2) and the sheet relaxes once again (pic3).
When we’re talking about veneer on a substrate under normal conditions, this effect is not nearly as great. Furthermore, I have seen the rule of thumb broken a number of times with no detrimental effect. But with my projects, most times, I don’t take the chance. I like to play it safe and usually veneer both sides. And again, this is really a “better safe than sorry” type of thing. Perhaps one day I’ll do a bunch of test panels and see what really happens. Good luck Mike!
So what about you folks? Any bad experiences from veneering only one side of a panel? If so, tell us about it by commenting.
80- Nicole’s Picture Frame
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About 4 days before Christmas, I started making a nice little picture frame for a custom piece of art I had made up for Nicole. A gift for a special girl requires some special wood. So I pulled out my best sheets of curly maple veneer and a couple of sheets of home-sawn afzelia wood (thanks for link Logan!) that I received from David Marks. You may find it odd that I decided to use solid maple as the substrate for the frame. I thought this would be a fun experiment, and when the rabbets are cut in the back, there won’t be any unsightly ply to look at (not that it matters that much). Small projects like this are just a great place to experiment with techniques and materials you might not normally use. All the extra effort pays off in the end when the finish hits the wood. KABLAM!!!! The wood just comes to life!
And here are a few still shots of the frame. Its on a yellow wall which isn’t exactly the best background. Some day I will take it down and get some really nice shots.
I didn’t really cover the finishing method in depth, but its the same wiping varnish system I always use. Specifically, its the one outlined in my DVD, A Simple Varnish Finish.
Veneering Over Solid Wood – Question of the Week
This week’s question comes from Martin. Let’s see what he has to say:
“I have a few boards of tiger maple and would like it to use it as veneer. I plan on building a chest of drawers in maple. I want to use solid wood for my veneer substrate for the top and drawer fronts. I am planning on cutting my veneer 1/8 thick to make it easier to work with.
Here are a few of my questions:
~ If I use maple veneer over maple core, do I need to veneer both sides to prevent cupping?
~ If I use maple veneer over pine core or other wood, do I veneer both sides to prevent cupping?
~ If I use a different wood for the core, do I need to consider the difference in wood movement?
~ I need to orient the veneer grain with the core grain, right? My veneers will be from 4-8 inch wide. In the building of the top and drawer fronts, I plan on veneering each veneer board to a equal width core. Afterward I will do the lamination. Does this sounds like a good plan? Many thanks!”
And this was my response: “Hey Martin. I have never really veneered over solid wood, so my knowledge of this process is purely academic. I emailed Glen Huey to get his take on it. I also asked him a few questions of my own, including: should you orient the grain perpendicular to the core in an effort to “lock down” the grain and stabilize the board. I know this was done quite a bit in the past, but with the high quality ply material we have these days, the technique has fallen out of favor. Anyway, here’s Glen’s response:
I wouldn’t try to lock down movement on these boards. If that was my aim, I would use plywood as my core and apply veneer to both sides. Using a thicker core of wood with an 1/8″ veneer placed with the grain direction is the way I would approach this, then anticipate and account for wood movement. I agree that movement should be close to regular hardwood. If you choose to lock down the movement using solid woods, I would think the addition of the cross grain orientation would shown at the edges of the piece. If that’s not an issue, why not return to plywood as a substrate?
There is much talk about veneering the back face to reduce cupping. My thoughts are you should evaluate where the stock is to be used. If these pieces are drawer fronts, I see no need for inside face veneer due to the dovetails holding the pieces in orientation. If I were using this setup as case sides I would turn to inside face veneer.
As for his last statement, I don’t see the advantage to veneering to individual boards prior to assembling a panel, unless veneering is done in a small bag of some kind. It seems like more work and a bit wasteful of what must be very good veneer.”
Jewelry Armoire – Project of the Week
This week’s project comes from Tim in CA who writes:
This jewelry armoire was a graduation gift for my niece. It is made out of Bubinga, Birds Eye Maple veneer (door panels), figured maple veneer (top), and Birds Eye maple (drawer fronts). Each drawer is dovetailed and the bottom drawer has a hidden compartment accessible from the back. The base is from a David Marks project Open Bookcase. The finish is Seal-A-Cell with several coats of Gel Stain on top. I was in way over my head on this project which means I got to learn many new things.
Check it Out!
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