Gluing felt to wood can be difficult because felt tends to soak up glue and can be messy to work with.
Beyond that, often you are working in a tight space like trying to line the inside of a jewelry box.
If you've ever tried to get a strong adhesion of felt to wood and thought about pulling your hair out, this is for you.
First, watch this video by Doug Stowe which shows him using a felt-like material to line a jewelry box. I'll highlight a couple of important points and outline what you'll need after the video.
What You Need:
- Quality Felt - I recommend billiard cloth like this which is much higher quality
- Weldwood Contact Cement (can get by with Elmer's Glue)
- Foam Brushes to apply glue
- Roller to flatten felt (optional)
Tips For Gluing Felt:
First, in the video above there are a few key things that Doug does that you need to do as well if you plan on gluing felt to wood and actually making it stick.
First, make sure to put a very thin layer of glue on the surface. You don't need any special glue, though we prefer the contact cement listed above.
In fact, Dan McGarigle also mentions this adhesive by name in his post on the Saw Mill Creek forum.
According to Dan's advice, he's had success by putting a very thin layer of glue on BOTH the felt and the wood. Then, press down firmly for just a few seconds and let it dry for at least 10 minutes.
If you have a quality roller as mentioned above, feel free to roll it out to make sure it is completely flat and free of lumps.
A roller can be particularly helpful if you have a large piece of wood you are planning to cover. As shown in the video below of lining a small box - a roller isn't needed.
So it depends on your project.
