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Maureen
dilutes standard yellow PVA glue with a little bit of water (not coffee) so that the glue
will spread a little easier and have a slightly greater "open" time.
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She uses a small disposable
roller to quickly spread the glue over the back side of the veneer.
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With the piece glued, she places the
veneer on the molding, being careful to center the hinge in the "V" of the
molding.
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The lengthened open time allows her to
make changes in the positioning of the veneer. She gently presses the "hinge"
portion into the "V" along the length of the molding.
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A trick we learned from Darryl is to
tack a small "V" shaped piece of scrap to hold the hinge in the V. She uses a
brad nailer every foot or so. The steep angle is to allow the 1/2" brad to hold the
strip in place, but to not penetrate the molding. The strip and brads will be removed
after the drying.
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Maureen uses a moistened paper towel to
dampen the rest of the veneer. This little bit of moistening will allow the veneer to be
more pliable and form to the contours of the molding when in the vacuum press.
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She slides the molding/veneer sandwich
into the vacuum bag. This bag from Vacuum Pressing Systems is a long narrow bag that
Darryl sells for custom window arch work, but it is ideal for this use. I have cut an
8" by 6' base board for inside the bag.
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She seals the bag.
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With the pump turned on, she uses a
padded stick to press the veneer into the curve. Darryl shows in his videotape what
happens if you do not do this—basically the veneer affixes to the high spots.
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Here you can see better both the tacked
strip holding the hinge in the "V" and the curved hold down Maureen is using to
press the veneer as the vacuum draws down the bag.
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With the vacuum totally drawn, she just checks along the entire
length to see that the veneer has been formed properly. If there were spots that needed
work, she would simply release the vacuum and re-work those spots.
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The pump maintains the vacuum over the
entire drying period.
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