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veneer guitar top with bevel

Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 6:43 pm
by Jedi Clampett
I have scored quite a bit of wonderful curly maple veneer, I am looking to glue onto a number of solid body elect guitars in progress.
I have a discussion about flattning the veneer in the wood forum, but here am looking for your recommendations and experience in applying/glueing to electric guitar tops, Am thinking about putting a 1" bevel so veneer would have to bend. This is the thin stuff.
I was able to correspond for awhile with the late Chip Todd, he and Hartley Peavey hold the patent on using german gunstock duplicaters for building electric guitars, then Fender stole him away and he was head of production for Fender, then he had his own home biz before passing on. Chip told me that he didn't use vacuum bags, but just glued on the top with weight. Anyway, I am hoping to benefit from your experience and knowledge in glueing thin figured veneer to guitar tops.

Re: veneer guitar top with bevel

Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2014 4:50 pm
by David King
I have very limited experience with thin veneer gluing but you might look up the "traditional" method of veneer hammering using hide glue. There are lots of good youtube videos.
Another method uses titebond aliphatic glue that you apply to both surfaces, let dry, and iron on with a hot clothes iron.
I'd think that the warm iron in combination with gelled hot hide glue could be a really effective.

Re: veneer guitar top with bevel

Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 11:35 am
by Barry Daniels
I have a bunch of experience with veneer and its usage on guitars. Flat surfaces can be done many ways. But a bevel? Veneer could not be bent over a sharp bevel especially on a round guitar body. You would have to attach a separate strip of veneer. And getting a gapless fit at the joint would be nearly impossible.

Re: veneer guitar top with bevel

Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 7:56 pm
by Bob Francis
There are a few You tube videos of some veneering on electrics but they seemed to require a lot of dry fit / scrape /fit / scrape/
Sorry I don't have them bookmarked.

Re: veneer guitar top with bevel

Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 9:46 pm
by Jedi Clampett
I could round off so the bevel has no sharp corner, I do like reliefs in guitars, but the next bass guitar after the one I am working on currently will be a slab side affair like a 51 precision with no comfort relief