Old veneer harvesting?

[phansen39]

So have some really beat up epi 100 cabinets. Gonna reveneer them. So I want to harvest some of the good veneer for others that need patching. So whats the best way to peel off the veneer?

 

[Tim D]

I hear that carefully applied heat can loosen the glue. Don't want to burn the wood. A steam iron maybe?

 

[62vauxhall]

Commercially applied veneer is usuall bonded with contact adhesive and vacuum pressed. It ain't coming off.

 

[drbiggles]

Hey,

62vauzhall speaks the truth. I've made attempts on many deteriorating cabinets. From the obvious, to setting fire to it with a propane torch out of frustration. TAKE THAT YOU VENEER! Nothing budged it, not even remotely.

Some day I will try a slab of dry ice, some day.

For today, I'm with vauxhall.

Biggles

 

[alteclipsch]

How about letting the cabinet stand in water overnight, the particle board should disintegrate, no? Then you'd just be removing the particle board. Not sure what that would do to the veneer however. I have a real beat cabinet I could try that on...

 

[Thocom]

That's

How about letting the cabinet stand in water overnight, the particle board should disintegrate, no? Then you'd just be removing the particle board. Not sure what that would do to the veneer however. I have a real beat cabinet I could try that on...

That's what I was thinking..

 

[gkimeng]

Most manufactured cabinets are not veneer applied to boxes, but are made of cabinet grade veneered panels - plywood or MDF. The veneer is paper-thin and bonded to the substrate with RF and MW activated adhesive, heated rollers and hydraulic presses. It isn't just not coming off, it's pretty much a fully-integrated part of the panel's structure.

You may be able to harvest veneer from really old cabinets and furniture dating back to the days when veneer was applied by hand, but you'll probably need to go back to things made pre-WWII.

 

[colohiker]

You might be able to harvest the veneer on the front edge since it was probably applied later. That's were it's missing on a couple pair of my EPI's

 

[dogwan]

Not worth the effort. Just buy some good paper or foil backed veneer remnants from a local cabinet shop and leave out exposed to UV light for a year or two, or until you need it. UV light exposure will age the veneer pieces to get a better vintage match.

 

[phansen39]

Ok I'll just hit the old veneer with 80 grit and the random orbital and just apply the new veneer over the old.

 

[doctorolds]

+1

All comments above are accurate. If you need some extra veneer for patching current or future projects try to remove some from the bottom first if it usable. You may get lucky and salvage enough easily, good luck.

 

[tyella]

I was able to harvest some veneer recently from a beat up cabinet. After about 40 minutes with a heat gun on low and using a piece of aluminum flashing I got about 20 square inches. It was a lot of work for low return, but I didn't need much for my patch job on another speaker. The aluminum flashing was thin enough to get under the veneer. I tried a putty knife, but it was too thick and wanted to crack the veneer.

I heated a small area and slid the flashing under the veneer to separate it from the particle board. It worked, but it wasn't easy.

 

[Porkloin]

Things to do rather than go to work and spend less man hours earning some money to buy new.
1. Overhaul the toaster.
2. Sew patches on underwear.
3. Diagnose the Betamax.
4. Scavenge veneer.

 

[phansen39]

lol

 

[janikphoto]

I've saved small patches of veneer before, but the cabinets had a lot of water damage and the chunks would come off without too much effort. I'd also suggest water. If you are tossing the donor cabs, disassemble them and let the non-veneer side soak in a shallow pan of water. It will wick up to the veneer and help losses it with minimal damage to the veneer. Or, use a table saw and cut the cabs into small strips. Then you could simply cut the veneer off! This only works if you need 3" strips of veneer, not a whole sheet.

 

[Porkloin]

Maybe a bit of glycerin in the water as a softener for the veneer? Glycerine is what the wood guys use on old brittle dryed out veneer.

 

[GD70]

So many variables with speaker manufacturing, age, condition of the donor cabs.
I've had success harvesting decent size pieces perfect for other patching repairs, and pieces that just break up into tiny splinters. I've used a hammer and putty knife, I've used an iron, which helps soften the glue while lifting with a 1 inch wide metal putty knife, moving slowly while lifting, small areas at a time. Other times, iron heat does nothing. I've lifted big pieces that barely seemed to have any glue. My goal was and is to always have VINTAGE veneer on hand for repairs. No new veneer will have the aged patina you'll want to match repairs on vintage cabs.
Personally, I'm not to comfortable going the water route to soften the particle board or MDF. Water and wood isn't a good combination usually. Heat & steam from an iron is a brief duration with moisture, and the iron heat dries it quickly.
What ever approach you decide on, keep in mind, you will not get nice big reusable big pieces off, but good pieces for repairs.
Glenn

 

[Ds2000]

Agree on the veneers applied with chemical glue and presses. The glue isn't water soluble, and the amount of heat needed to begin to make it let go would ruin the sample. It's possible to use an industrial glue softener after stripping the finish, but that stuff is very toxic, and often not sold to the public, so might be a moot point.
Best luck is with natural (animal) based glues, usually pre WWII, and steam. Poor condition old dressers, lesser dining tables (veneered tops), sideboards, china cabinets are great candidates for harvesting, the rest can be firewood. They'd likely end up thrown out, so at least this re-uses those furniture finds completely.

 

[GD70]

Agree on the veneers applies with chemical glue and presses. The glue isn't water soluble, and the amount of heat needed to begin to make it let go would ruin the sample. It's possible to use an industrial glue softener after stripping the finish, bout that stuff is very toxic, and often not sold to the public, so might be a moot point.
Best luck is with natural (animal) based glues, usually pre WWII, and steam. Poor condition old dressers, lesser dining tables (veneered tops), sideboards are great candidates for harvesting, the rest can be firewood. They'd likely end up thrown out, so at least this re-uses such furniture finds completely.

Yup, I've found a bunch of veneer from old furniture tossed on the curb for trash day.