Okay, woodworkers: Some of my cabinet doors have been water damaged, and the ply is coming apart. I'm thinking I'll have a local cabinet guy make new doors, but I'm wondering if it is possible to iron-and-glue the cabinet doors back together for the short term. It seems like the plys would have to be moistened and made plyable again...
I have a similar problem and will be experimenting with a couple of different products and techniques. Some are beyond repair and will have to be replaced.
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Not knowing enough to be afraid...
Would a program of Gorilla Glue and clamps get you by? The ply on the permanent ledge of our foldaway table has the same problem. We are hoping to use that program to create a temp (or maybe better) solution to the separation rather than new ply with new veneer. I will try to update later in the year.
__________________ Mark
72 Sovereign: L couch, mid-twin, rear-bath
"When you come to a fork in the road, take it"
"It was impossible to get a conversation going; everybody was talking too much."
"If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else." - Yogi Berra
I've fixed a couple spots with Elmers wood glue injected between the separated plys, and then clamped. They've held up very well for over a year. I did this on some panels in the kitchen that I didn't want to replace because I knew I could never match the stain on the rest of the cabinet. They weren't really wrinkled and water damaged though. If yours are really out of shape, you might want to try and get them flat first, then glue them. I don't think you could glue them while they were wet, so it would have to be a two step process. Just guessing though, because I haven't done that yet.
I went the same route with working the Elmers yellow glue down between the seperated plys and clamping togerther for a couple of days. Gorilla glue seems too stiff to get very far down the cracks. And then there's the problem of the glue foaming out and sticking everything together. Just as an aside, I went to the local hardwoods store for some lumber and veneer plywood the replace the cabinet for the folding table and bolster at the front gaucho. A 4X8 sheet of 1/4 in. ash veneer plywood runs $70 so a repair is always an option.
Good luck, Tom.
__________________ Airstream Forums Member # 2806 WBCCI # 6411 Not All Who Wander Are Lost.
Actually Gorrilla Glue is a polyurethane glue and works best when the wood has a high moisture content (10%-25%). If the wood is really dry, moisten it before you apply Gorilla Glue' Without the bit of extra moisture a dry polyurethane glue joint could fail. Also use it sparingly, any extra that squeezes out creates a brown foam when it come into contact with air. Yellow glue doesn't hold laminations as well because of creep or the tendancy of the glue to move even when dry.
Gorilla Glue is not intended for veneers, and, it's very messy and difficult to clean up. Yellow wood glue will work quite well but be sure to get the ply clamped down well......i.e. no air bubbles, and get any excess removed from the bare wood as it won't take stain or finish well over the glue.
Many of the cabinet doors were made with a cardboard core for economy and weight.The veneer panels on front and rear can be gently separated from the 2 " perimeter frame enough to work in a good wood glue and then reclamped with enough c-clamps and pressure boards to get them back to original. The key is to work on one or two runs of each side at a time as it takes alot of clamps. Glue only an area you can manage to clamp in 10 mins. I actually found a stamp inside that indicated A/S had them made in Japan!!
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Murray
AIR #189
"If aluminum isn't magnetic- why am I so attracted to to it?"
I used boards and clamped the piece being repaired between them. Just be sure not to have any on the outside of the piece, or obviously you'll glue it to the boards.
Wow, thanks for the great responses! I haven't used Gorilla glue yet, but have seen it used for larger scale construction, ie gluing mdf to studwalls...
The problem areas are the cabinets next to the toilet, where water came in around the glass in the large end window in the bathroom. It puddled on the fiberglass and wicked up into the cabinet. The skylight was shot, water poured in there and the front gaucho doors are pretty shot. Actually, the wood frame of that gaucho was quite a mold farm. Truth be told, when I first saw the rig, I steped in the door and my foot went through the floor, so I was standing on the belly pan. Nearly the whole floor was shot, except for the bath, where it had already been replaced. The cabinetry in contact with the floor suffered... I'll try the glue/clamps/board method, and report back. I can probably have the doors re-made easily, but I'd kind of like to fix the originals.
The posts on Gorilla glue are great information. Having used Gorilla glue in the past, I am still planning to use it. While it can expand and overflow if too much is used, and it can be messy, it can also be sanded after it is dried.
Luckily, we aren't trying to attach veneer, rather reattach the layers of plywood. We also have trim that runs the edge of the ledge so we have an easy cover-up in our use of Gorilla glue.
__________________ Mark
72 Sovereign: L couch, mid-twin, rear-bath
"When you come to a fork in the road, take it"
"It was impossible to get a conversation going; everybody was talking too much."
"If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else." - Yogi Berra
I think I'll try the gorilla glue first, but no matter what, I was thinking that it would be good to slowly moisten the veneer, that it might be easier to smooth it out then? It seems to have expanded and spread out when wet, so it won't just lay down flat in the same place again. I thought that yellow wood glue might have enough moisture to do the trick. I had kind of thought of using clamps and big flat boards, and maybe wax paper between the ply and the boards, to contain the glue. Also, the wax paper could be sanded away with a fine grit...
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