LAMINATING WOOD

 

LAMINATING WOOD

By using a method called laminating, two or more strips of wood can be joined together to make one larger piece of wood.  Lamination is essentially the gluing together of several strips of wood.  It is important that the surfaces of the strips be squared off so that we get a straight board.

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FACTS ABOUT LAMINATION

  • You can combine different types of wood to create a cool looking board.

  • The grain in each individual strip tends to want to straighten.  So, when looking at the end grains, they should alternate in direction (see below).

  • A laminated panel has to go through the truing process to square off all the surfaces.  Therefore, it is important to keep the maximum thickness possible for your strips (as you will lose some thickness after lamination).

  • Lamination can be done several times to come up with neat designs.

 

STEPS TO LAMINATION

  1. Create all of the strips.  They should all be jointed, planed, ripped and cut to length.

  2. Choose the nicest side of each strip and have them all face up.

  3. Check the end grain.  You might have to flip or reorder your boards so that the end grains alternate.

  4. Also check to make sure that there is no big gab at any location.  If there is, you might have to reorder the boards or perhaps re-joint the mating surfaces.

  5. Label you pieces so that you know which one goes where.

  6. Get two clamps and place your strips inside them.  The clamps should be near the end of the boards.  You need to include scrap wood spacers between the clamps and your panel to protect your panel.

  7. Add glue to all surfaces that will contact each other.  Spread the glue everywhere on the surface (using your finger).

  8. Tighten the clamps just a little bit on your boards.  Do not tighten too much yet as your board might pop out.

  9. Get a third clamp.  Sit it on top of your panel.  Tighten it.  It should stop the panel from popping out.

  10. Tighten all three clamps as much as you can.

  11. Scrape excess glue off.  If possible, avoid spreading glue over the wood’s surface.  A slightly damp paper towel removes glue.

  12. Let panel dry overnight.

  13. Remove panel from clamp.

  14. Use scraper to remove large nuggets of glue.

  15. Return to the truing process (jointer, planer, table saw, mitre saw) to square off your panel.