I had never used Better Bond Cold Press Veneer Glue until about 4 months ago. Since then I've used it twice. In both cases I glued 1/16" shop sawn veneer; in one case 8 - 9" wide birdseye maple over a solid oak field in a repair job, in the other case is was 4 - 5" wide rift sawn white oak over BB plywood. I veneered both sides of the substrates. The birdseye maple top was made in the Summer, the WO table top only about a month ago.
Fast forward to about a week ago. The exceptional picky lady I made the WO table for called to say that she could some lines in the top, maybe where the veneer was seamed. Uh oh. I asked if there was a definite gap and she said something like "No, but I think I can see where the seams are." OK, I said, I'll stop by when I get a chance.
Today I was at my friends for whom I repaired the birdseye maple top. I inspected it and, sure enough, you can see where the veneer seams are, tiny little gaps over most but not all of their length, too small to get your fingernail into, but you can see them, maybe as wide as the thickness of a sheet of paper.
My shop was at 50% RH when I veneered the birdseye maple top, and the wood had been in my shop for months and measured around 8-9% MC as it should have; the house where it is now is around 35 - 40%. In the case of the WO table the difference can't be any more than 10%. Anything is possible, but it's hard to imagine that little change in RH is responsible, though I'm at a loss to come up with another explanation. These two tops are the only two times I have used Better Bond glue. Two tops, same problem with both. I've always used Weldwood Plastic Resin Glue in the past and never had a problem like this.
Has anyone else had a similar problem with Better Bond? I don't want to falsely accuse Better Bond for being the root of the problem, but it's hard to explain what else might be causing it. If it's not the glue, what is it?
John