PSA Backed Veneer is Awesome

[absolootbs]

is there a downside to this stuff that i just haven't run into yet? i've got a decent amount of woodworking experience, but this is my first time working with veneer. the more gorgeous veneered projects i see on here, the more i've been wanting to give it a shot. ran down to rockler yesterday and picked up a PSA backed 2' x 2' sheet of some nice looking hickory for $25. cut, peel, stick, flush trim, sand, admire professional looking project. doesn't get much better than that . other than saving a little money, what are the arguments for contact cement or hot iron?

here's a few pics. sorry they're crappy cell phone pics... it's all i had available. still need to pick out a stain. have a ton of them in my stockpile, so i'll probably test a bunch of different ones on some of the scrap veneer and go from there.

[Pete00t]

Re: PSA Backed Veneer is Awesome

Very good veneer job. Especially on your 1st try. Curious, what's going in that nice looking cab?

[absolootbs]

Re: PSA Backed Veneer is Awesome

they're actually interchangeable between wolf's dragon foals and zaph's b3s (but using the b3n). they're basically one giant testbed. boxes are a test of veneering. baffles are being painted flat black - using them to test some sealing/priming/painting methods i've never used before. speakers themselves are a test to try and figure out what i want to use in an active integrated ipod dock i'm planning to build for my girlfriend in the near future. as nice as they seem to be turning out, they will probably deserve to be used somewhere, so i'm thinking i'll wind up giving them to my parents to replace the crappy plastic cube sony htib speakers they currently have in their living room.

[Wolf]

Re: PSA Backed Veneer is Awesome

Keep us posted on your progress and opinions!
I look forward to hearing them upon completion.

So- did you use the width of the DF or zaph's B3S/N design?
They are ever so slightly different.
Later,
Wolf

[djg]

Re: PSA Backed Veneer is Awesome

Yes, PSA veneer is awesome. So much easier than glue. Nice job.

[kurt6325]

[martyh]

Re: PSA Backed Veneer is Awesome

So- did you use the width of the DF or zaph's B3S/N design?
They are ever so slightly different.
Later,
Wolf

I knew you wouldn't miss that!!!!! Happy Vacation Day Bro!

[nikbrewer]

Re: PSA Backed Veneer is Awesome

i use paper back and having used more veneer then most on the site ( probally 30 4 x 8 sheets in the last 3 years on speakers) i can say paperbacksed with water based glue ( the DAP green caned adheasive from home depot works great) is the best bet. I have never had a piece of veneer fail from glue, although i have had wood on wood seperates between the 2 layers of wood veneer.

WOW veneer also leaves a very dark line when stained on the edge.

[absolootbs]

Re: PSA Backed Veneer is Awesome

thanks to everyone for the compliments

did you use the width of the DF or zaph's B3S/N design?

the cabinet dimensions are zaph's, because thats how these started. these are the ones i mentioned in another thread (the t-amp thread i think) that i initially built as zaph's but the sound wasn't exactly what i was looking for, so i "converted" them to dragon foals. so the baffles are 1" too narrow and the box is 0.3L too big. i figured since we're not talking about a super critical high end design here, the 1" of baffle width probably didn't make that big of a difference (a 3" single driver speaker has far greater things to worry about), and adding the port ate up some of the difference in box volume. the baffles were originally going to be permanent, but i figured since the drivers were interchangeable (size-wise), a port can be stuffed, and i had intentionally built the contour networks to fit in the same place in the box (see below), i might as well make the baffles removable so i could change things out, and get a "2 for 1" deal.

Be very careful with the PSA veneers. I stopped using it because the adhesive has a tendency to fail in time.

i knew there had to be some reason besides saving a little money that PSA wasn't universally "the way to go". i'll have to keep an eye on these. hopefully they stay looking as good as the first one does right now, knock on wood (or veneer :rolleyes


zaph's contour network (top) vs. wolf's (bottom)

[absolootbs]

Re: PSA Backed Veneer is Awesome

( the DAP green caned adheasive from home depot works great)

this stuff, i assume?

http://www.homedepot.com/DAP/h_d1/N-...atalogId=10053

[DoubleTap]

Re: PSA Backed Veneer is Awesome

A downside? The glue that they use sucks and will likely bubble as soon as you put any finish on it.

[kurt6325]

Re: PSA Backed Veneer is Awesome

This stuff works just fine

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...atalogId=10053

Buy a 3" wide paint roller and the cheapest 9" short nap paint roller cover you can find, cut the 9" cover into three 3" pieces and roll on the glue. Don't drown it in glue, too much is just as bad as not enough and the squeeze out is a nightmare. Throw the cover away when you're done. It's cheap and works great. Also, you don't need to coat both surfaces.

[absolootbs]

Re: PSA Backed Veneer is Awesome

This stuff works just fine

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...atalogId=10053

Buy a 3" wide paint roller and the cheapest 9" short nap paint roller cover you can find, cut the 9" cover into three 3" pieces and roll on the glue. Don't drown it in glue, too much is just as bad as not enough and the squeeze out is a nightmare. Throw the cover away when you're done. It's cheap and works great. Also, you don't need to coat both surfaces.

i would assume that even with using the glue sparingly, there's still some squeeze out. how do you deal with that?

[Paul K.]

Re: PSA Backed Veneer is Awesome

Are you speaking from experience or just guessing? I recently completed a pair of speakers using the PSA veneer from Rockler and there was no bubbling at all from applying the finish. I can't speak to long-term effects yet, but others I've known about haven't had any problems.
Paul

A downside? The glue that they use sucks and will likely bubble as soon as you put any finish on it.

[jclin4]

Re: PSA Backed Veneer is Awesome

I've used both Titebond type I wood glue as well as Elmers school white glue for paper-backed veneers. Both have held up fine. But the school glue does not have a time limit on reactivation with the iron, but apparently the Titebond does (3-5 days I think, depending on type I or II).

And the white glue has a lower reactivation temperature, so less risk of burns from the iron.