I'm making a magazine rack where a large design element is going to be cantilevered shelves slightly larger than a magazine. They will be oriented horizontally and only supported on one side. Rather than deal with the possible warping of solid wood, I've decided that plywood is the way to go. The supporting structures will be solid WO and I want to fume the whole piece. Has anyone ever tried this? How did it turn out? Any problems? TIA.
-Dusty
Dusty - the following is my opinion only, many here may have wonderful experiences with fuming.
I have not. It is a pain in the ass and does not give consistent color unless you are completely scrupulous in all phases of prep. An odd swipe of a damp rag to catch a tiny glue drop, something on your hands, or something on the wood you purchased (that you didn't know was there) will screw the fuming process up in a real hurry.
Fuming solid wood and fuming plywood are two different things. They are also most likely two different woods. Sure, they are oak... but new growth, old growth, kiln dried, air dried, different type grown in different parts of the world... what do you really have? And I wonder about fuming some of that Pacific rim stuff as I don't have any clue of what kind of glue is still outgassing as evidenced when cut. Surely those gasses would also penetrate that 1/1000" veneer on the face of the Chinaply. How would they react to your ammonia fumes? Would heavy blotches of glue used to fill voids make your surface splotchy? I have no idea.
Nope, it's not for me. I like the look, but you can replicate it easy enough with different dyes, toners and stains, and make all of your project look as it is from the same builder and finisher rather than a hodgepodge of materials.
Besides the strength of ammonia needed to fume (you know that Mr. Sudso under the sink won't work, right?) is absolutely toxic. Too dangerous to have around as far as I am concerned.
Check out something in the colorants and I'll bet you'll be a lot happier.
Robert
Loads of times, usually making back panels for cabinets. Round here I don't see oak-faced plywood thick enough to use for shelving, the veneered stuff is just 1/4", maybe 1/2".
Fuming works fine on veneered boards, whether they're factory or home made. Sand well beforehand, as it's hard to finish afterwards without changing the shade. You do also see variation from board to board, so I suggest fuming samples first. I use 24 hours (never less, otherwise you see variations and blotching) and make sure that it's vapour doing it, not spilled liquid. For big panels like shelves, I'd probably open my fuming box halfway through, throw away the ammonia, re-stack the timber in reverse order and then refill the ammonia trays with fresh.
Thanks for the replies, NS and Andy. I don't mind fuming at all. Once you get set up to do it and have a routine I find it WAY easier than staining, which I abhor due to mess, grain raising, extra time and sand throughs. I realize there might be color variations between the ply and the solid but I will test beforehand to determine the acceptability. I really wanted to know the effect on the ply such as delams, etc. so it seems straightforward with all the usual caveats regarding fuming. I let you know how it turns out.
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