I just got a Kadette model 649 chairside whose cabinet is in pretty good shape except for an area of about 6 in. by 4 in. near the bottom. In this area, it looks as though the veneer got wet at one time, raised up/buckled, and then cracked. All the veneer is there, but I want to know is there a way to soften to wood so that when I glue it back down it will not crack even further or perhaps chip off the veneer? I may re-finish (or amalgamate) the whole thing, but the veneer issue has to be resolved first.

Hi,
Since salvaging the finish is not critical, you can inject hide glue deep into the seperation, and heat the area with an old clothes iron set to "cotton" or "high". with a damp rag placed between the veneer and the iron. The steam will soften the wood, and the heat will reactivate the adhesive properties of the hide glue. Hide glue shrinks as it dries, and will pull the veneer down tight. The iron will actually allow you "work" the veener down flat, but if the plies are seperating too, you should address those at the same time. You should clamp chunks of 2x6, or 2x8 on both sides of the clamp while the wood is still warm to get maximum compression over the larger area while it will still compress..

The drawback is that finish will lift with the rag, so your option may be limited to a refinish, as opposed to an amalgating of the old finish. If you happen to have a flat piece of enameled iron of the old vitreous enamel type, you could use that instead of the rag, and salvage the old finish; but you would need to spray the wood with a spray of water before applying heat.

I have used this procedure to repair the veneer on a few pieces of furniture and a number of radios, some of which others would simply have made a new cabinet, or scrapped it.

: I just got a Kadette model 649 chairside whose cabinet is in pretty good shape except for an area of about 6 in. by 4 in. near the bottom. In this area, it looks as though the veneer got wet at one time, raised up/buckled, and then cracked. All the veneer is there, but I want to know is there a way to soften to wood so that when I glue it back down it will not crack even further or perhaps chip off the veneer? I may re-finish (or amalgamate) the whole thing, but the veneer issue has to be resolved first.