Veneering

I am thinking of veneering over marine ply with oak to improve the appearance and hide my mistakes on an SOF rowing boat project I am considering.
In theory the veneer will be above water level and only used for short periods of time with plenty of drying time in between.
They are for the breasthook, transom hooks and a small transom which should be above water level in normal conditions.
Any advice on glues and techniques please.

 

Are the surfaces flat?

 

Yes, they will be flat plywood

 

Epoxy would seem to be a good choice for your adhesive ... seal the substrate first and maybe use a vacuum press to ensure good even clamping

 

Any PVA will do if the boat is kept clean and dry. TiteBond III would be an easy to use choice. You don't have to bag or press it, just some hefty weights if the adhesive is something other than epoxy. If it is epoxy, just enough weight to insure good bond surfaces contact.

 

I'd be wary of spot clamping veneer, it rarely wants to stay perfectly flat and what a pain to find a little bubble. You can build a vac press pretty easy - Do-It-Yourself Vacuum Veneer Press http://www.joewoodworker.com/veneering/welcome.htm

good luck

 

A concrete block will apply a fair bit of uniform pressure (they weigh about 35 pounds each). If the surface isn't completely flat, place a piece of plastic sheeting over it and then a heavy towel, before dropping the block down. Yes, you want uniform pressure all over the piece. Just use a weight or weights that will easily cover the area.

 

Thank you for the info.
Titebond III on order and I have plenty of blocks.
@ jorge I will be looking into vacuum bagging as I shall have a go at making some carbon fibre parts soon.

 

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"Any advice on glues and techniques please."

Those pva yellow type glues can usually be applied to both surfaces and allowed to dry and then reactivated by applying heat. So you can apply glue evenly to both surfaces, with no dry spots, and let them dry. When you want to glue it down, you can move them around to position and then use a household iron to iron them down.

As long as you are veneering those "showcase" surfaces, you might want to use some marquetry inlays.

 

Marquetry can really make a boat stand out beautifully but for what I have in mind it would be lipstick on a pig.