5
The best way to lay a large sheet of
veneer is to first trace the outline of
the substrate on the back of the veneer.6
An even layer of contact glue was
then spread on both surfaces using
a serrated glue spreader.7
Veneer is best pressed to plywood
using a wide plasterer’s taping
blade which gives even pressure over the
whole blade (see panel, above left). With
the veneer glued to the plywood, it was
now a question of how to make the inlaid
holly strips.9
A sturdy guide for the router was
used to ensure a straight groove.8
Strips^3 ⁄ 8 in wide and^1 ⁄ 8 in
deep (right) were cut on
the table saw. A handheld
router was ideal for cutting
accurate grooves in the teak faced ply.10
The finished new sole (right half of
picture) is a perfect match with the
existing sole.1
The original chart table occupied an
incredible 42% of the port side
saloon. Roger had a more ergonomic idea.3
A card template was made and a
new piece of ¾in plywood cut to
shape in the garage at home.2
The original sole under the chart
table was rough plywood. This was
cut away to get to the wiring underneath.4
It is best to let a newly delivered
sheet of veneer acclimatize and
flatten properly over 24 hours.was a little heart pounding for the first cut.
The result was a perfectly straight^3 ⁄ 8 in
wide groove down the length of the teak
board. I repeated this process with a
21 ⁄ 8 in space between until I had all the
grooves machined.
I used Titebond premium wood glue to
bond the strips into the grooves, which
only needed a tap with a mallet to seat
them level with the veneer. I let the glue
harden for 24 hours, then lightly sanded
the whole sheet with my belt sander with
120 grit.
I rolled on a first coat of Cetol clear
marine wood varnish, thinned with mineral
spirits, then two unthinned coats, without
sanding between coats. Not only does
this produce a glossy finish with thicker
coverage for floor protection, but also
produces a non-slip surface because the
unsanded wood leaves a slightly coarse
finish, but which can hardly be felt even
with bare feet.
I then decided to glue a layer of thermal
insulation to the underside of the board to
minimize heat coming through from the
engine area.
For this I used 2in (50mm) thick Rmax
Thermasheath foam insulation board with
aluminium foil on one face. This has an
insulation rating of R6, which is the
highest available for this thickness of
foam. I glued it to the underneath of the
floor using Liquid Nails construction
adhesive, which does not melt the foam.
The new floor was then carefully slid in
place and to my delight it matched the
existing sole perfectly. I screwed it down
and filled the countersunk holes with teak
plugs. Job done!
The whole project was a back-aching
sort of job with a lot of kneeling down and
sawing, but well worth the effort to match
the existing sole.
Using veneer was also much cheaper
than buying teak faced plywood. I even
had a big piece of veneer left over, which I
have since used to repair other parts of
Britannia’s teak joinery.
RECREATING INLAID SOLEBOARDS
Trowels are better than rollers in
some circumstances, because most
rollers are attached only at one end
and pressure is therefore bound
to be a little uneven. A wide blade
trowel has the handle in the middle,
which allows even pressure over the
whole blade as it is drawn along the
veneer from the centre outwards.The trowel truth