# Laminating Plywood



## Wood Butcher (Jul 28, 2010)

I am in the process of constructing a woodcarving bench with a tilting and rotating hardwood top. Underneath the top is a stationary support made of a square plywood piece (21.5"X21.5"X1.0") by laminating two 1/2" S2S plywood pieces together. I plan on using Tightbond glue. Because its working time is so short and I don't have the appropriate clamps or a vacuum system for this dimension of glue-up, I plan on wetting the inner surface of each piece of plywood then applying the glue. This will dilute the glue somewhat and give me a little longer to press the plywood pieces together, align them, put them on a flat surface and finally, stack some bricks on top to keep the whole surface together until it cures. Is diluting the glue in this fashion acceptable? Bob


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

I wouldn't dilute the glue. Cut one sheet the size you want. Cut the second sheet larger (1/2" both ways). That will give a 1/4" overlap so you can trim the larger one to the size of the smaller one. Use a flush trim bit in a router.

This way you don't have to spend a lot of time trying to line up two pieces. Apply glue to both pieces and slide them around on each other to spread out the glue. Use clamps or weights.


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## phinds (Mar 25, 2009)

cabinetman said:


> I wouldn't dilute the glue. Cut one sheet the size you want. Cut the second sheet larger (1/2" both ways). That will give a 1/4" overlap so you can trim the larger one to the size of the smaller one. Use a flush trim bit in a router.
> 
> This way you don't have to spend a lot of time trying to line up two pieces. Apply glue to both pieces and slide them around on each other to spread out the glue. Use clamps or weights.


I agree w/ cabinetman ... you don't need to dilute, just glue it, move it around for a few seconds and then weight it down ... you'll get a good bond. And his suggestion on the trimming is a good idea.


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## rrbrown (Feb 15, 2009)

cabinetman said:


> I wouldn't dilute the glue. Cut one sheet the size you want. Cut the second sheet larger (1/2" both ways). That will give a 1/4" overlap so you can trim the larger one to the size of the smaller one. Use a flush trim bit in a router.
> 
> This way you don't have to spend a lot of time trying to line up two pieces. Apply glue to both pieces and slide them around on each other to spread out the glue. Use clamps or weights.



I agree with C'man also. I did something similar but I made a 90 degree fence to use for aligning the 2 sheets. Although it worked C'mans idea seams easier and faster.


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