Gluing oak veneer to ash

I have an ash board, pocketed with epoxy resin fill. I will McFly the surface flat. I want to glue .060 thick oak veneer then v-carve to get 3 colors . I plan to v-carve thru the epoxy to expose ash.


What glue and method to glue oak veneer. I think wood glues will not adhere to the epoxy. I think Wellwood contact cement is rubber based, I don’t know how that will mill.

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If you already have epoxy down, the solution is more epoxy.

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As a specific recommendation, I’d suggest finding your local West System retailer and snag the West System User Manual & Product Guide. I only recommend West System because I know their products and have a local retailer. Substitute “West System” for your locally available epoxy.

I would use West System 650. The 650 is a toughened epoxy that works incredibly well with red and white oak. It’s basically designed to secure anything to anything else and it can, technically, be used underwater. Somehow.

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Separate response so @WillAdams can save it :stuck_out_tongue:

I’ve used that in the past, and even recommended it, but since I have found some of their recommendations to not work well — that was why I posted:

other manufacturers have similar pages, and seem a better reference (save for the need to consult multiple sites and decide between vendors).

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Ugh, that’s terrible to hear about the website, but I agree about just using a manufacturer’s website. That West System book is great and taught me how I can repair my kayak if I need to.

I’ve focused on a small number of glues that I can acquire locally. For me, that’s been West System and Titebond. With an exception made for hide glue, but I have 15 pounds of hide glue and that’s close to a lifetime supply.

Some friends bought a bunch of EpoTek (it’s high-end, fancy, space epoxy that is also the same color as cherry when it dries). It’s amazing stuff, but you have to order $600 of it at a time and it goes bad so many months after manufacture.

Veneer - anything works, honestly. Even the right hide glue will hold up for about 150 years or more, unless you’re on the Indian subcontinent or in southeast Asia.

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