Veneer info???

Denon Osterman · **Posted:** Thu Mar 29, 2012 3:29 am

I mostly just need to get pointed in the right direction, but the gist of it is I'd like to veneer my current boat, and other then the fact that this involves very thin strips of wood going overtop of my plywood, I know nothing

. So, anyone know how to veneer/where I'd get them/what kind of things to look out for, etc?

Thanks!

Dennon

P.S. feel free to move this post to somewhere it might be more appropriate - it didn't really seem to fit anywhere, and this seemed to be the most "general" section to place it in.

Roberta Hegy · **Posted:** Thu Mar 29, 2012 10:59 am

I had a local lumber mill resaw some African Mahogany planks for me. They sanded them down to 1/8" thickness for the side planking on my Zip. I used 3" wide planks, but you can get this done in any appropriate width for your boat. These were affixed to the Okoume plywood substrate using epoxy resin and staples. In retrospect, I would recommend colored Raptor plastic staples or screws and plugs. For the deck, I used 3/8" thick Philipine Mahogany planks over the Okoume substrate. these were attached using System Three Gel Magic and screws but any thickened epoxy will be fine. The screw holes were counterbored for plugs.

Roberta

Denon Osterman · **Posted:** Mon Apr 02, 2012 2:19 am

Thanks for the info!

I was under the impression veneers were much thinner, and could even be obtained in "paper" form? 3/8 thick material will double my deck thickness

. Does anyone have any recommendations on stapling, etc?

Thanks!
Dennon

Trackhappy · **Posted:** Mon Apr 02, 2012 4:38 am

Hi Dennon,
In this (boatbuilding) context, 1/8" is a normal veneer thickness. Any thinner and you risk sanding right through as you fair the boat. If your boat is already fair then maybe you could use thinner veneer but be careful when you sand. Thinner veneers are used on furniture and the like as they are usually straight and flat so heavy sanding is rarely required.
Whatever thickness, strips are cut to a desired width and hand trimmed (spiled) to fit together around the curves of the boat. Depending upon your preferences for the look of the "planks" you might start with a 6" wide strip and trim it away to virtually nothing to get a straight looking plank along the boat length. There are plenty of examples if you search on planks and spiling.

All the best,
Glenn.

Mr Hot Rod · **Posted:** Mon Apr 02, 2012 10:00 am

Terry McIntyre (terrymc) epoxied thin 1-mm paper backed veneer on his Jet powered Squirt project :

Here's a link to his his thread :

3800 staples !

Veneer can get very pricey, but if you have access to a helical head thickness planer, you can make your own veneer by thicknessing 1/8" marine grade plywood.
We ran 6" strips of plywood to produce .100" veneer for our carlings and dash.

This unit was on loan to us for two years and has been added to the tool Wish List. Our old rotary head planer just doesn't seem to stack up anymore, especially when making veneer ...

______________________
Paul Kane
Kane Custom Boats Ltd.
Chelsea, Quebec

Building the Glen-L Hot Rod : http://www.kanecustomboats.com

Glen-L Boat Video Directory : http://www.kanecustomboats.com/pages/vi ... ctory.html

Denon Osterman · **Posted:** Fri Apr 20, 2012 3:23 am

Hey, sorry for the delayed response, I'm busy studying with finals. Thanks for the link to Terry's old post Paul, I remember seeing it years ago but couldn't find it. I think I understand how the veneering is actually done, but I do have one more question - how do you keep the veneered strips from curving up at the bow as they follow the natural upwards curve of the side plank?

Denon

Roberta Hegy · **Posted:** Fri Apr 20, 2012 4:39 am

To keep the planks looking straight along the hull requires using wider veneer planks and shaping them into a curved piece to counter the sweep of the hull. There is a lot of waste in doing this, but you do get the nice straight looking planks. I don't know if steaming the thin veneer is practical. Maybe someone with more knowledge can chime in.

Roberta

jeffh · **Posted:** Fri Apr 20, 2012 6:21 am

Paper-backed veneer: As a hobby, I used to build stereo and home theater speakers. The cabinets were constructed of 3/4" MDF and veneered with paper-backed veneer. Before anyone says don't use MDF on a boat, that is not what I'm saying. That was just a reference to my introduction to veneering. There was a technique using Tite Bond Glue and a foam roller that many people used. Roll a semi think layer onto the substrate and another onto the back of the veneer. Wait about 10-15 min for the glue to turn from pale yellow to a darker color (depending on weather) and then lay the veneer onto the substrate. At that point the glue is no longer runny...just a little tacky. Place a sheet of aluminum foil or even a towel over the veneer and iron it with a hot iron. The bond is nearly instant. I did this with some overlay work on my Okoume kayak and it worked. I then fiberglassed over it. I'm not saying to do it on a power boat, but when you fiberglass over it and then varnish or apply clear coat, it is probably not coming off.

Oakwoodveneer.com was a good source and had about any kind of veneer you could imagine. The stuff is expensive and in many cases, a 4x8 sheet is more than 1/8" 4x8 plywood, but it comes in a nice roll that takes up no space. The direction of the grain could be an issue with paper veneer.

Denon Osterman · **Posted:** Sat Apr 28, 2012 12:08 pm

Thanks for the info guys. I'm worried that if I use 1/8th veneer, the weight will affect performance quite a bit (it is, after all, a high performance boat!), though I suppose I could plane it down to something thinner*. And if I sand it down to say .100, or go the paper-backed route, as long as everything else is sanded perfectly smooth beforehand, it should be fine, right? I'm not at all concernced about the bottom/running surface, as everything below the waterline will be painted - my concern would mostly be over having a bubbly or wrinkly looking deck, but Terry's squirt turned out pretty darn good, IMO

*What's a helical head planner? How's it different then a normal one? Is it possible to convert them by switching the cutting head or is the entire machine different?

Thank!!!

jeffh · **Posted:** Sat Apr 28, 2012 12:17 pm

Since weight is an issue; why not use a good quality plywood and then tape off the deck into "boards". Then stain with the color/s of your choice. Then use thin tape to simulate the caulk seams and clear coat over the whole thing. My boat is done that way except the caulk lines are paint.

gdcarpenter · **Posted:** Sat Apr 28, 2012 3:47 pm

For what it's worth I planed my finish deck boards to 3/32" so they were approximately 1/8" thick once 'faired'. They were a PITA to work with and it was a learning experience with a few 'hiccups', but I was trying to minimize the weight I added with the top decking.

slug · **Posted:** Sat Apr 28, 2012 4:20 pm

Denon: Check out Oakwood Veneer. They.re in Toronto and Will probably have what you need. They have african mahogany in 4 x 10 sheets @ 2.99 /sq. foot.
They have prices listed on their website.

Doug

Glen-L.com

Veneer info???

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