Preventing Glue Bleed-Through Veneer

This is the first time I've used sepele on a project. The problem I'm having is glue bleed through.The dark areas shown here are glue filling the wood's pores. This bleed-though is caused by the pores pulling the glue under the veneer through to the top surface. With oak, cherry and maple, I haven't had much of a problem. And usually if I see this issue, I can just sand it out. But I'm especially seeing this with sepele and sanding won't help.

Because I frequently use a water-based dye, I always use Titebond II for bonding veneer because it is water resistant and reduces delamination. Applying less glue may reduce bleed-through, but how much less before risking delamination?

I've even had issues after removing the veneer tape. After it look like it is completely removed, I'll dye the workpiece and then evidence of the tape adhesive reappears. I think it is the same issue as discussed before. The glue from the tape gets caught in the pores and you need to sand again and again. The problem, of course, is that you may sand all the way through the veneer.

I've been pleased with the results of sealing the back of the veneer to reduce glue bleed through by spraying one coat of Deft lacquer on the glue facing side of the veneer. On the top, I sprayed along the veneer seam before applying the veneer tape.

This stopped the veneer tape issues and considerably reduced the glue bleed-through, but some areas continued to appear. My second step is to soak up glue if it occurs. I lay sheets of brown masking paper between the veneer and the caul. This soaks up the glue to the veneer surface. When bleed-through is evident, light sanding is more successful because minimal glue remains in the pores.

With my glue bleed-through issues, I was originally thinking that this would be my last project with sepele. I'm please that this glue-up approach seems to be working so I can use sepele without worries next time.

Mission Style End Table with Marble, Finished

I just completed the end table and change the embedded stone from slate to marble. The slate was too bumpy and heavy for a table top and it even showed minor scratches. Marble isn't my favorite but I can get attractive 12" x 18" tiles for $8. The top is constructed from quarter-sawn white oak veneered on red oak. Red oak is readily available from my local Lowes store. After staining, you can't tell the difference in the species of oak.

Here is a view from the top showing the final construction of the curved sides. I was worried that they might flex easily but that has not been the case. It's easy to miss that they are curved. I think this is a design issue because there isn't anything straight to highlight the curve. Perhaps it would have helped if the sides were flush to the curved top.

Finishing only took two days. The first day to apply gel stain to emphasize the grain. The following day I lightly sanded the oak leaving the stain in the grain, and then sprayed it with a brown water-based dye. After it dried, I used a spray can of Deft satin lacquer to finish the project.

Mission Style End Table with Slate, Part 2

Here is the table top with the slate installed. I sprayed it with Deft Clear Wood Finish, a lacquer finish with a satin sheen. Both the wood and the slate were sprayed. The lacquer added more amber color to the top making it a bit darker than I wanted. I'm starting to have reservations about using slate. The finish highlights any scratches and the surface is too bumpy. I plan to attach the top with screws so I can change it later if I get motivated.

I want to have an enclosed shelf underneath the top to store books and other stuff. To make it challenging, I'm trying to have curved sides to match the curve in the top. I've never tried bending wood before because it looked pretty involved. I wanted to see whether I could just veneer quarter-sawn oak to ⅛" MDF and bend it to the curve I needed.
To experiment, I've cut 15° angle slots into what would be the table legs. I've screwed a board to the legs and wedged a narrow board under the MDF at the peak of the curve. I was worried that the curved veneer would flex when pushed, but it's very stiff. This may work!