Of course, wood is not magnetic. But with a few simple steps you can make a wooden magnetic board.
For a project I had to make a wooden game board on which playing pieces with magnets are used.
My plan was to cover a steel plate with thin wood veneer. But what glue to use? And how to glue it? The online platform Woodworking.nl offered advice. I posted my question and soon received all kinds of advice. Here are the steps and the result. A bit of magic – or should I say: chemistry?
Ingredients:
- max. 1mm thick galvanised steel plate. No stainless steel because that is not magnetic. No aluminum because that is not magnetic either,
- enough wood veneer to cover the steel plate. I recommend to have at least 10mm excess veneer on all sides. Tis gives you some wiggle room for the actual glueing.
- a spray can with contact glue. I used Frencken High Tack Spray.
Prepare the veneer, so that you have one sheet without open seams that covers the entire steel plate. If you have multiple sheets, you can use masking tape to join them.
Sand any sharp edges and burrs from the steel plate. Degrease the steel plate with for example white spirit.
Spray a thin layer of contact spray on one side of both steel plate and veneer. Let it evaporate for 5-10 minutes, until the glue layers feel dry to touch.
The last step, the actual joining, is quite tricky. Once on top of each other, the two layers cannot be repositioned. My veneer was stored rolled up and was therefore conveniently convex. That allowed me to roll it on from one side of the plate to the other, using a round timber to press the veneer to the steel. Cut away the excess veneer with a sharp hobby knife and Bob’s your uncle.
