My first foray into veneering

[katellwood]

A few years ago I picked up 17 consecutive leaves of Burl Elm veneer from a boot fair, in addition on a trip to a garden machinery auction at Ashford cattle market (with the intent on buying a ride-on mower) I ended up buying approx one cubic metre of air dried 2 1/2" cherry. Both have been in store for in excess of five years

Just prior to Christmas I thought it about time I put it to good use and venture into the dark art of veneering

The wife wanted a console table for the hall and this is the result.

I attempted to bookmatch/quarter the top with a 10mm teak border to the veneer and bookmatch the drawer fronts with a teak cock bead.

The drawer fronts are cherry, sides and backs are beech.

The ground for the top is a piece of 19mm birch ply with the cherry surround biscuited to the ply

The finish is danish and teak oil (5 coats so far) each coat cut back with 0000 wool and then burnished.

For the knobs I cut some 15mm sycamore pellets and inset each into a piece of teak on the lathe.

I'm pleased with the results and learned a great deal about veneering (especially attempting to get the burl leaves flat).



I

 

[xy mosian]

Fantastic!

Terrific!

What adhesive you used to lay the veneer?
A little of the technique please, it seems to have worked very well.

xy

 

[wizer]

Beautiful work there. I remember you telling me about this wood. Good to see it put to use.

 

[rileytoolworks]

Stunning. I can't wait to see your next effort!
Well done. Nice dovetails too...

 

[Shadowfax]

Lovely work.
I'm not sure if I like the knobs but give me time and I will probably love them!
Well done. A cracking job.

SF

 

[mtt.tr]

real nice i loves it

 

[gasman]

Yes I agree that's beautiful - it has a lovely rich colour. Love the veneering - I must try it sometime

 

[SBJ]

Lovely piece, really like it.

However, if you have gone to all that effort to create it why didn't you take the same care when finishing the sides of the drawer?????

 

[superunknown]

Very very nice, lovely work.

 

[Beardo16]

Nice table

I really like the idea for the handles, its different.

Good job

 

[woodbloke]

Some good bookmatched figure on the top. It looks like you've also veneered and bookmatched the drawer fronts which I'm uneasy about 8-[ - Rob

 

[katellwood]

Thanks for he kind comments guys

xy mosian I used titebond III, I spoke with John Lloyd at Ally Pally who suggested it would be a suitable adhesive. I was aware of certain PVA's ability to creep, will detail my veneering technique later when I have more time

SBJ yes I am aware of the finish issue on the side of the drawers, I did mask it off however it bled past the masking tape, will try to sand it back but I don't want to take too much off the sides as it may effect the fit

Woodbloke I would value your thoughts on veneering the drawer fronts. the veneer is stuck to solid cherry in line with the grain. my only concern has been the cock beading to the ends where there is a cross grain issue however I am aware that this is a tried and tested technique

thanks again

 

[mailee]

FIRST ATTEMPT! That looks great! What a stunning job you have made of that. I really like it.

 

[woodbloke]

Woodbloke I would value your thoughts on veneering the drawer fronts. the veneer is stuck to solid cherry in line with the grain. my only concern has been the cock beading to the ends where there is a cross grain issue however I am aware that this is a tried and tested technique

thanks again

As this is your first attempt at veneered work it's to be commended...I think that you've done a sound job, especially on the top.
However the drawer fronts give me some concern in such a good piece. There's nothing wrong with bookmatching the fronts of the drawers, but you need (in my view anyway) six consecutive leaves for three drawers and from the pic it looks like you only had four (enough for the two outside drawers)
This meant that you had to use something else for the centre drawer which is why the visual effect is slightly upsetting.
Even from the pic, I can also see the glue line on the drawer fronts...there shouldn't be one, so I suspect to cut the veneer a double beveled knife was used? The only way (or at least the way I was taught) is to used a single beveled knife (never a Stanley knife :evil: ) against a high board...the dead square edge of a piece of 18mm (or thicker) mdf is ideal.
The corresponding square mating edges of the veneer can then be pulled up really tight by using the stretchy effect of good quality masking tape (don't use rubbishy cheap stuff) before going into the press.
Veneering in the way that you've done it is about maximising the effect of the timber that you're working with, so you need to be very careful about making sure that the overall visual effect isn't compromised by an ill considered choice of material available.
Hope you don't mind these comments as I think that that the job looks good but the drawers needed a bit more thought - Rob

 

[katellwood]

Rob

Your comments are appreciated and agreed with, I appreciate the differing veneers, the reasons being that I wanted to maximise my materials, the drawer fronts were cut from the offcuts of the top and as I used four leaves for the top I only had four offcuts to bookmatch for the drawer fronts. I used the different cuts for the middle drawer to still give the piece an element of symmetry

With regards to the joints I agree totally, I cut them with swann morton knife purchased from Axminster and used the veneer tape as supplied by axminster, however this appears to be a paper tape that needs to be dampened to allow it to stick. In your experience are you saying masking tape is better due to elasticity?

Being a leftie I will struggle with a veneer saw but still intend to buy one and try to modify it for left handed use. I also posess left and right handed marking knives which next time I will use.

Your comments are appreciated and taken on board to hopefully allow me to produce a better job next time

 

[woodbloke]

Rob

Your comments are appreciated and agreed with, I appreciate the differing veneers, the reasons being that I wanted to maximise my materials, the drawer fronts were cut from the offcuts of the top and as I used four leaves for the top I only had four offcuts to bookmatch for the drawer fronts. I used the different cuts for the middle drawer to still give the piece an element of symmetry

With regards to the joints I agree totally, I cut them with swann morton knife purchased from Axminster and used the veneer tape as supplied by axminster, however this appears to be a paper tape that needs to be dampened to allow it to stick. In your experience are you saying masking tape is better due to elasticity?

Being a leftie I will struggle with a veneer saw but still intend to buy one and try to modify it for left handed use. I also posess left and right handed marking knives which next time I will use.

Your comments are appreciated and taken on board to hopefully allow me to produce a better job next time

Nothing wrong with veneer tape, it's designed to shrink as it dries and will pull the joint together as well.
Say you were joining a two pieces together that were 300mm. I'd place a piece of masking tape across at each end so that the joint could be pulled up tight...then one in the middle. Use the gummed veneer tape to then bridge along the joint (ie the gummed tape is parallel to the joint, the masking tape is at 90deg)
Thought you'd used a scalpel :wink: ...big 'no no' Even a scalpel blade is double beveled so that when you put two veneers together, the discrepancy is magnified twice...hence the reason you can see the glue line, in effect you have a very small 'V' that fills up with glue :x
Make a left handed, single beveled veneer cutting knife by grinding up and honing (razor sharp btw) a piece of old HSS hacksaw blade, or a bit of an old card scraper or saw blade. Wrap it with masking tape to make the handle a bit more comfy and then try it against a dead square, high sided fence...you'll see the difference when you make the joint. If you get the knife technique perfected, you won't need a veneer saw.
The best way though, to get an invisible joint along the grain is to use a veneer shooting board...easy enough to make (two big lumps of mdf cramped together)
I thought there was a compromise somewhere re the centre drawer...the job is still good but would be better with matching veneer - Rob