Ash veneer on Oak-veneered ply

[fourrings]

I'm working on a table that's approx 24"x60"x4" (think torsion box) and was planning on using 3/4" Oak plywood. Because I will be using butt joints all around, I plan to use Ash veneer over all surfaces to hide any edges and make it look as one piece. I understand that it's wasteful (and expensive) to veneer over veneer, but the oak/birch ply is the only one that seems to have a flat surface. I thought about doing miter cuts, but that's a bit optimistic for a garage project :)

The question is whether I'm asking for trouble wrapping Oak-veneered surfaces in Ash veneer? And also whether I should apply across the grain or parallel to it? If there is a better overall approach to this project, please let me know! I'm still learning.

[dadiOH]

Do the back side too and you will have no problems. Probably wouldn't doing just the show side.

[Artemus]

I've veneered over 3/4 birch ply with no problems. The substrate is stable and it doesn't seem to make any difference whether the veneer is parallel or cross grain to the top layer of the ply. The edge is a different story as the internal layers can telegraph thru the typical thin veneer. Wrapping the edges with solid wood first solves that. I don't bother veneering both sides of 3/4 ply and have had no issues with warping.

Alternatively you could use MDF for the substrate. It's very flat and usually less expensive than bitch ply. If you already have the ply that's a different matter. Art

[fourrings]

Perfect. I'll have to keep an eye on the edges -- definitely not something I would've thought about until too late. I plan to do an ebony stain on it, will that help or make it worse? MDF would definitely be perfect, but I hate working with it. Last time I made a subwoofer cab with it, every crevice in my garage was covered in fine dust. Plus something about using real wood makes me feel better about quality, even if layered.

[Robatoy]

Ash veneer is usually thick enough not to have to worry about telegraphing sanded end-grain. The stuff can be very crumbly though. Making the torsion box out of 3/4" is overkill. imnsho. Maybe the outer perimeter, but the cells and top itself would just as well be made out of 1/2" (6x6 cells?). If you're using wood glue on ash veneer anywhere, be careful. The stuff bleeds through. Go for the paper-backed veneer, much safer and usually better quality. YMWV

[fourrings]

Good point. My original sketch had 1/2" all around but I figured it needed more rigidity in the frame. My reasoning is that the top has three cutouts sized approx. 15"x15" for recessed mounting of a pair of turntables and a mixer. Which means I only have three cells over the whole table span. Would you still use 1/2" for the top and bottom skins? Here's a rough drawing (top view):

+------------+---------------+------------+ | +--------+ | +---------+ | +--------+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--------+ | +---------+ | +--------+ | +------------+---------------+------------+

[Robatoy]

I would opt for the 3/4 in that application.