I would like to restore a set of bent plywood chairs that are sun bleached, water stained and pretty much beyond simple refinishing (by my reckoning). I’d like to try adding a new layer of veneer, but I’ve rarely ever used veneer other than covering a flat surface and certainly never bent any to the degree that these chairs will require.
I guess my questions are what kind of veneer to use for maxmum pliability, how to enhance the veneer’s natural pliability, and how to go about bending the veneer to the desired shape. The chairs are built of 8 plies (with cotton between at least some of the plies) and the radius of the worst (from chair back to seat) bend has a radius ~1.5-1.75in. I have considered going about it slowly in stages, as well as using heat or steam to help achieve the desired bend. I’m pretty confident that if I was succesful in bending the veneer to this main shape I can use enough clamps and glue to get the rest to follow the contours of the chairs, remove the waste and then refinish as necessary.
Any suggestions?
There was a thread about a year or so ago where Opal asked about steam bending wood that’s chock full of good advice, but I don’t recall if there’s any mention of veneer though.
I did find that one when searching, but I though this was a specific enough topic to warrant its own thread. Thanks anyways, Tuckerfan.
You shouldn’t need to steam bend it. It’s best to use urea-based glue as it is strong and has a long open time. It’s going to be harder than you think to clamp. You might look at wrapping it with cutup bicycle tubes or rubber wrapping you can get at medical supply houses. A vacumn bag clamping would probably work best.
“Veneer” is a pretty loose term, and the answer to your question is going to depend on the thickness of the veneer. Products like veneer tape (the 3/4" to 1" stuff you buy to cover the edges of plywood) is pretty thin (1/32" or so?) and therefore flexible, but larger sheets of veneer can vary dramatically in thickness and flexibility. And even veneer tape will snap if you try to do too tight a radius.
I suggest you experiment with some small pieces of the veneer you propose to use, and see how well they conform to some of the smaller curves on your chair. If you encounter cracking, the veneer can be steamed or soaked to enhance its flexibility. But steamed/soaked wood can pose its own problems, in that most woodworking glues will not stick to wet wood. The usual approach in veneering curved shapes is to steam the wood, fasten it to a form or template, and then allow it to dry in that shape. This puts a “set” in the wood which will then allow you to apply the glue to the dried veneer with minimal problems.
Find yourself a lumber yard that caters to furniture makers. You will be able to buy “bender board”, which is basically the sheets of veneer used to make plywood. No soaking or steaming is required. I made a back for a stool my mother bought in the early 50’s, it was chewed up and badly stained. I built a form to match the curve of the old back, glued the first 2 sheets then added a sheet every other day till I basically had a bent sheet of plywood. I then trimmed, sanded, and finished and it looks better than the original. I used maple and each 30x30 inch piece was about $9, it cost me about $75 to make the new back. Each sheet was 1/16 inch thick so I ended up with a back 1/2 inch thick. This won’t work if you don’t want the edge of the back to have the layered plywood look thought.