an odd question

[Phil Pascoe]

I was just watching a YT video and something just made me think - if you wished to take a one or two mil veneer off a piece of 2" x 2" would you take off the side on the fence or off the outside assuming the stock to be perfectly square, parallel and clean ? Or is their no difference? Is it just personal preference?

 

[sunnybob]

my preference would be the far side, purely because if it was near, any slip would send the blade into the fence. But that would mean careful control of pressure on the wood to keep it against the fence without damaging the veneer.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Good point.

 

[woodbrains]

I was just watching a YT video and something just made me think - if you wished to take a one or two mil veneer off a piece of 2" x 2" would you take off the side on the fence or off the outside assuming the stock to be perfectly square, parallel and clean ? Or is their no difference? Is it just personal preference?

Hello,

How did they do it on the YouTube video?

Best practice would be to have the stock running against the fence and the veneer free to fall away on the other side. This will give the most consistent straight cuts, but does have a problem when cutting sequential veneers. An accurate way to reset the fence, by the thickness of the saw kerf and the veneer thickness each time a new veneer is sawn. It does mean a square and true reference edge is always bearing against the fence, though, not the bandsawn face, if you did it the other way.

Mike.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I am assuming the workpiece is planed and finished between sawings. I can see Bob's point about the blade being close to the fence - I'm just wondering if there are any really good reasons for doing it one way or the other. The vid I saw was Peter Millard with the Aldi bandsaw - it was a quick try of the saw rather than in depth cabinet making.

 

[sunnybob]

I've managed to cut very thin slices, but never with a good enough cut to make another without making the new surface smooth.
I would always cut with the most stock against the fence.

 

[woodbrains]

Hello,

If you want sequential veneers without too much loss of pattern between the leaves, then it wouldn't be planed between slices.

Mike.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Take your point. I was thinking more of a series the same size than a match, though. It's something I've never done, so I'm just searching for ideas what to or not do.

 

[woodbrains]

Take your point. I was thinking more of a series the same size than a match, though. It's something I've never done, so I'm just searching for ideas what to or not do.

Hello,

I would still cut the veneers on the off side and try to get a cut straight off the saw. The waste generated just cutting is quite considerable as it is and planing between each slice just adds to the problem. Also, planing between cuts when slicing on the off side makes it even harder to advance the fence accurately for the next cut. But with the right blade and a glacially slow feed rate, the sawn surface should be fine for most purposes. I have made bent gluelams straight from the saw and veneered panels. Sometimes you might need to knock off any high spots with a scraper, but the veneers should be good to go.

Mike.

 

[MusicMan]

I appreciate the above arguments, but a good saw can work either way. For accuracy, I normally take the sliver off on the side of the fence (Wadkin AGS10), since the pieces are then very consistent, and as Mike says, they are flat enough to glue for e.g. glulams. If they really need to be flat and uniform for show, then it is easy enough to run them through a thicknesser.

 

[rafezetter]

Assuming you will have to clean up each veneer slice and have allowed a little leeway, would it be possible to put the newly cut slice back to the main block, so it then becomes the reference face and so on?

Might work for a few slices before having to move the fence and re-reference off the block?

I also saw this which might be useful:

 

[Phil Pascoe]

A good idea for a table saw - except I'm using a bandsaw.

 

[worn thumbs]

Its something I have done hundreds of times.A sawbench and a false table work perfectly well-a false fence is a refinement to ensure the sliver that would be on the blade side otherwise can't split away-a fine blade is a good idea to help the surface finish..The veneer is cut in the gap between the fence and the blade.If I had to do the job with a bandsaw,the same guiding principles would apply.