Rob Pennington wrote:
> Does anyone have any suggestions for sources of veneer for a TR6
dashboard?
I built a new dash for my TR4 using 1/2" baltic birch plywood covered with
carpathian elm burl that I got from Bob Morgan, a mail-order outfit in
Tenn (?). The two trickiest parts of the job were gluing the veneer to the
substrate, and finishing it. For the *first* dashboard, I used a hot melt
glue sheet that Bob Morgan sells, and had terrible results. There were
bubbles everywhere that I just couldn't get out, and it delaminated
shortly after installation. I took this as a lesson, and for the second
dash, I used yellow woodworkers glue (Elmo's) spread with a roller and
more clamps and cawls than you can imagine to hold the veneer flat while
the glue set up. After trimming away the excess around the gauge holes,
etc., I finished *both* sides with several coats of a exterior polyurethane
varnish, wet-sanded between coats. The results were very satisfying.
Some pointers if you want to pursue this further:
- Pick up a copy of Fine Woodworking magazine for ads from mail-order
companies that sell tools and veneer.
- In spite of anything you might hear to the contrary, DO NOT USE HOT
MELT GLUE SHEETS FOR MOUNTING THE VENEER. This trap cost me a
significant amount of time and money (see below).
- Make sure that you finish both sides and all edges of the dash to
thoroughly seal the wood and ensure even expansion and contraction. I
used a chocolate brown enamel paint for the edges of my dash to match the
factory original.
- Use the flattest, stiffest surface you can find for glueing. I used a
12" wide section of butcher block, 5 ft. long.
- Fancy veneer looks great, but it is more difficult to use and a *lot*
more expensive than the straight grain stuff. A 1.2x4 ft. sheet of burl
set me back about $65. A similar sheet of straight grain walnut might cost
$10-15.
Good luck!
Dean Mericas
1965 TR4 (CT37089L)
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