# For those of you working with abalone veneers...



## basstardo (Jun 5, 2006)

When you stick it on, make sure it's where you want it. 

That stuff is a royal pain in the arse to get off of a blank once its on there.  Spent an hour slowly chipping it off with a burnishing tool this morning, then took denatured alcohol to remove the remaining adhesive. What a pain the butt.


----------



## Tacpayne (Dec 20, 2008)

Unfortunately, been there, done that. Have you used the new veneers from Kevin Knox? They are thinner and only require a boil in water now, very easy to work with


----------



## Hudak (Sep 10, 2007)

Just ordered my first couple of sheets. Sounds like this mess could turn interesting fast!! LOL


----------



## basstardo (Jun 5, 2006)

It's actually really easy to work with, the problem I had was the type of veneer I was using wasn't appropriate for the diameter blank I was using. I've done many surf rods and boat rods with this and never had a problem until now, and it was purely user error. I was using the angel wing pattern abalone with a blue veneer over it. This is the plain version, just imagine a blue tint over it:










Really slick looking, but the rod I was putting it on was a 7' blank comparable to a Batson MB843 or MB844. Pretty thin blank. I did the soak for a good long while in vinegar, even heated it, but the direction/orientation of the veneer just caused it to crack and it just went to hell in a handbasket in a hurry. I should have soaked it longer and doing the boiling vinegar trick instead. Problem was i tried to force it on and smooth it down, which only made removing it worse. 

I'll have to talk to Kevin about this new thin veneer he has. I have the old school stuff that he originally was reselling from the guys in Hawaii.


----------



## Flatliner1 (Jun 24, 2008)

Hey Guys. Sorry you are having the issues with the veneer. The new Tachy Mop is hands down the best to use. The engineering that we went through to retool the machines to get this veneer thinner was the best thing that could have happened. When I did the presentation at the show last year, it took an hour to go through the process. This year, with the new veneer, it took 8 minutes! No cutting corners, not rushing, just zip, zap, done!


----------



## Hudak (Sep 10, 2007)

A little note about Kevin's abalone. I used it for the first time yest. When applying the veneer, DO NOT do like I did and assume you have PLENTY of time to apply it. Go ahead and get it on there. Once it starts to cool, then you take a chance of cracking it. While it was warm, it went on flawlessly, very easy, A LOT easier then I anticipated. My next application, I will just put it on there. I was going way too slow. It was easy to use. Boil till the backing is saturated, peel and stick. Really, that easy.

Robert


----------



## Flatliner1 (Jun 24, 2008)

A great comment by the kingfeeder. Its hard to describe that to new users. I have always said "Take it out of the water, prebend and apply to the blank. You don't have time to let it cool, but you don't need to rush either." Just take it out, prebend it into a crescent moon shape, peel the backing and wrap it. Its really that easy. The new veneer will wrap right around a size 10 tip top. No cracks..

Kevin Knox


----------



## Flatliner1 (Jun 24, 2008)

basstardo said:


> When you stick it on, make sure it's where you want it.
> 
> That stuff is a royal pain in the arse to get off of a blank once its on there.  Spent an hour slowly chipping it off with a burnishing tool this morning, then took denatured alcohol to remove the remaining adhesive. What a pain the butt.


I have had to remove more than a few over the past few years. A trick to get it off easily is to have the rod in the lathe. Take a single edge razor blade and bend it so that the edge has a curve to it. Hold the blade at a 90º angle to the blank and run the blade up the blank. It iwll come right off in strips and then take alcohol and clean it up. Removing a butt wrap takes about 2 minutes.


----------



## Hudak (Sep 10, 2007)

HA! I really had no idea that was you, Kevin.... Thanks again for such a great product. The cracking issues I did have were remedied by compression by wrapping thread on after I applied it, to let it "set", then any errors that were not corrected on its own, a black sharpie took care of.  Thanks again.

Do you have a youtube vid of you using that method to remove it? That would be interesting to see.

Robert


----------



## Flatliner1 (Jun 24, 2008)

I can do one and get it up. I am kinda in limbo as I am changing servers for my website and going through a whole revamp. I have google mail and come to find out, Google must own youtube. Long story short, I can't change the email that is tied to my youtube account so I have to start all over and do video's and set them up under my new youtube account that will be tied to my website......ugh I am tired just thinking about it...


----------



## Hudak (Sep 10, 2007)

The first time I used it was a learning experience. Thankfully it was my rod. I used what I learned and applied it to a buddy's rod today, WOW, the difference is amazing. You can't see the seam. Once I rubbed all the excess glue out that I squeezed out with the wrap, it looks amazing. I was able to apply it with no cracks at all. I would definitely recommend Kevin's abalone to anyone wanting to use abalone.


----------

