Strengthening standalone veneer

[woodiedonald]

Hi,

I need some help with strengthening veneer i want to put on a lampshade. The shade is a wood frame and the veneer is fixed to the frame in the middle which is a circle. Its a circle in the middle and goes closer to an oval nearer to the ends as the veneer flattens out.

What i need to find a way to do is strengthen the veneer, i.e. glue something to it to make it stronger. I've tried paper and PVA glue but the PVA wont bend to the cylinder profile i want evenly and its just a series of flat facets where the glue dried rigid and cracked at a weak point as i was bending it.

I need a glue that dries pliable or soft i suppose you could call it. And also something to strengthen veneer that will still let light through, preferably not paper as it curls up from absorbing moisture from the glue.

Thanks
Donald

 

[RogerS]

I don't think your problem is with the glue. More that you are expecting an inherently brittle material like veneer to bend when it is dry without cracking. Why can't you make a former, soften the veneer and then bend it round the former?

 

[yetloh]

I think Roger may well be right. However, if you do want to experiment some more, my own experiments indicate that polyurethan glues such as Gorilla glue have the most flexible glue film. You will need to dampen the veneer ffor it to work because it is the moisturein wood which triggers the curing process. PU glues also foam so you will need to apply it very thinly and allow the glue bond between the veneer and strengthening material to cure under pressure, clamping between thick boards will do this but do place some sheet plastic over the boards to prevent them being bonded to the work.

Jim

 

[woodiedonald]

I should have said the veneer isn't cracking, its that the glue seems to be drying very rigid and the glue seems to crack giving an uneven curve.

 

[RogerS]

I still think bending the veneer around a former and then applying the glue is the best course of action.

 

[PAC1]

I am not convinced your plan will work. If you manage to fix your veneer to a lamp shade when you put the lamp on it will get very hot very quick. If the veneer is in tension from being formed it will crack.

 

[yetloh]

I am not convinced your plan will work. If you manage to fix your veneer to a lamp shade when you put the lamp on it will get very hot very quick. If the veneer is in tension from being formed it will crack.

That depends on the light source, modern energy saving types produce very little heat and, depending on the design, the chimney effect should carry most of that away vertically.

Jim