here are the end results, cut the veneer to size, glued up the substrate, placed the veneer on both sides, and placed between 2 flat surfaces, and piled on everything heavy i could find, up to and including the sewing machine. got up this morning, took everything off, and was greatly disappointed. air pockets all over the place, and 3 big ripples on the bottom (of all places). what the heck happened here? there was at least 100 lbs of weight on it. could it have been that my veneer was so old (almost 7 years) that it was useless? if so, i'll have to get more veneer and try again....