Hello all,  I urgently need to make a replacement sheet music rest for
a 1896 Ronisch grand piano.  It is one of those that have all the
frills, curves and cutouts in them.  I managed to trace one from a
similar piano onto paper a few years ago (luckily).

Now, I just cannot find any suitable wooden board to make this thing
from.  It needs to be 8.7 mm thick [11/32-inch].  I tried 9 mm plywood
but the quality of that stuff is very poor and there are knots and gaps
in the internal layers.  Superwood or MDF is not available in sizes
under 10 mm.

I tried to make my own 3-ply laminate by gluing strips of 50 mm wide
next to each other to make a sheet and then on top of each other to
make 3-ply.  This failed dismally because the strips warp immediately
when I apply the glue.  The problem is that the wood sucks in the
moisture of the glue and bends away from the glue side.

I need some advice here as to what to do.  Maybe there is a better
type of glue (non water based) to use for this job?

The next question is about the veneering.  I have to use walnut burr
veneer.  Is it better to veneer before cutting out all the frills and
curves, or should one cut first, then veneer and then cut the veneer
again from behind with a scalpel?

Any help will be appreciated.

Bernt Damm