When is a veneer too thick?

[Glen Blanchard]

If a veneer is to be glued to each side of a substrate like plywood (or MDF) and is being done to avoid the wood movement that would be likely if solid wood was used, at what point is the veneer of sufficient thickness to raise the concern of wood movement? IOW, can a veneer be thick enough to create movement problems when glued to a plywood or MDF substrate, and if so, at what thickness does this become problematic?

[David DeCristoforo]

As long as both sides of a panel are treated the same, the panel should stay "in balance". I have used "veneers" as thick as 1/8 - 3/16" ("sawn veneers") without problems. Any thicker than that, IMMHO, is getting into the "danger zone" in terms of wood movement. It is always a good idea to "crossband" with a veneer of the same species (although not necessarily of the same quality) as the face. So, if you started out with a 1/2" inch thick substrate, and used two 1/8" thick layers of crossband plus two 1/8" layers of face material, you would end up with a very stable 1" thick panel.

YM

[Thomas Bennett]

I've been makeing my own "veneer" tabletops for a couple of years now. I came to the conclusion 1/8-3/16 is the best thickness. I was (and still am) very disappointed in the commmercial plywood veneer thickness. I wanted thicker veneer! I also wanted to start bookmatching resawn figured panels .Here is my process:
I glue up a wide resawn panel, maybe 3/8 thick, or thicker, sand it on a wide belt sander (I have a 43" Saftey Cut) ...then glue the sanded panel on a mdf center with a Baltic ply bottom. I use a vacuum bag with great results. Then I true up the blank and band it with a 3" or less edge of the same wood, fitting the miters carefully. Then back to the wide belt sander ato sand the whole blank so the veneer is 3/16-1/8 thick. I have not had any trouble with the veneer moving.