I need to make a 2' wide, 1.25" thick, 14' long maple counter top for a built in office wall cabinetry unit.
Due to tooling limitations, no climate controlled shop, etc., I do not want to attempt to glue up boards and have to surface and sand something this long.
In the past, for paint grade, I have joined two lengths of mdf together, bondoed the joint and it has painted well.
I am thinking of doing the same for this, and resawing some 14' long, 5-6" wide boards and then planing to a final thickness of 1/8" and adhering to the mdf substrate. As I don't have a good way to clamp the boards(though I could rig up something if I had to) I was thinking of using contact adhesive and a j roller. Finally, I was going to glue on a 1.25" maple edging to the top.
Has anyone ever done this or have any thoughts on how this wood hold up over time with expansion/contraction of the veneers? Is 1/8" too thick veneer for this? If I were to use contact adhesive would a J roller do any good for 1/8" veneer? Would there be any reason not to use yellow glue on the edges of the veneer strips? Is there a better way?
The main issue I can think of would be to take care that the edges of the veneer strips mate well since there would be no clamping pressure. Also, this would not be balanced, but it would be attached to the cabinets below it with screws from underneath.