Veneer Advice

[Alaric]

Hey!

I'm going to be starting a project that requires veneering and edge banding plywood (instead of spending £250 a sheet on pre veneered!). It's not something I've done before, but excited to get going. I have a couple questions though and I have a feeling you learned folks would have the answers I need!

When edge banding, do I need to use edge banding specific veneer such as the iron on stuff? Or is there a way to use the same veneer from the faces of the piece? I'm just thinking the plywood edges may not take glue well enough.
I only ask as it would be easier to get an exact match from the same piece of veneer as the front. I intend to use walnut veneer, it's not a wood I have worked with before, so not sure if the grain or colour varies greatly enough to be noticed, or if a standard walnut edge banding would be an imperceptible difference to the face veneer? It's imperative that it looks like solid wood. I'm only not using actual walnut because the stability of plywood is needed in this case.

Also, from somebody who has veneered their own plywood before, are there any pitfalls to watch out for? I'm gonna be using a vacuum press to do the clamping and I've watched enough videos on it now that I feel I have a grip of how it will go.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Al

 

[Blackswanwood]

If you are using decent quality plywood with no cavities you should be fine.

You can use either iron on or cut your own strips of veneer and glue it. Alternatively you could apply the veneer to both sides of your panel and then edge band with a thin piece of walnut timber.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

There are big colour differences between sapwood and hartwood however if not using sapwood it’s probably ok. But you must veneer both faces.

 

[Hornbeam]

I have never been a fan or iron on edge veneer. It works but can be very susceptible to damage. Much better to use a solid walnut lipping which only needs to be 3 to 4 mm thick

 

[TRITON]

I have never been a fan or iron on edge veneer. It works but can be very susceptible to damage. Much better to use a solid walnut lipping which only needs to be 3 to 4 mm thick

I'd strongly agree with this having tried the technique of using lipping and edgebanding in veneer on the same piece, and years down the line im finding the vulnerability on the edges.

With hindsight now i wish i'd put solid around the edges.

I'd also recommend using a vacuum press, especially for big panels 8 tons a square meter is a lot of pressure to ensure a positive bond

 

[Cabinetman]

Might seem obvious but I’ll say it anyway, solid edging then veneer over the whole thing. And I’m sorry but not aware of your experience level, always use a balancing veneer on the back to prevent it warping.

 

[XTiffy]

Though I agree that solid lipping is best, I am sitting at a computer desk I made (and have used) twenty years ago and there is no damage or liffting of any of the edge banding (even on drawer edges). The material is oak faced mdf. I have never used plywood for veneer work but have always used MDF for its flatness and stability. As we used to do a lot of "fancy" veneer work I used a professional veneer laying company with large presses. Have never had a failure of bond. I would then trim and edge band the pieces after. Incidentally it is possible to lip with solid after the face veneers are laid. I have frequently used thick edgebanding (two to three mm thick) and then used a tiny radius round over router bit to conceal the joint. It is also possible that prior lipping can sometimes "shadow" through the face veneer due to movement of the lipping. This is not uncommon in veneered antique furniture.
The reverse side balancing veneer does not have to be the same as the face veneer, we commonly used sapele as it was cheap (in the past) and available in wide veneers. As you are evidentally new to this I would suggest a trial with veneering, using less expensive veneer!!

 

[Matthew Woodworks]

I edge band mdf as it takes the glue better than ply. Iron on. Go slow with iron and use the 2 set of tools you can buy - one for edges, one for ends work well. Finish edges with a sharp file (almost vertical) and then hand sand edges with 120 grit. You can use ply but go slow with iron - not too slow or you'll scorch it. Iron on 25mm veneer on a roll will match.