1. Furniture finishing Veneering
Selecting Veneer
Types Of Commercially Available Veneer
Today, there are many different types of veneer available to both hobbyists and
professional. In general, veneers can be broken down into two categories,
Flexible and Standard. Both are used extensively by pro and amateur, however
there are significant differences in cost and ease of application. I will briefly
describe these two types of natural wood veneer.
Just as every tree has its own character, so does every individual sheet of
veneer. When veneer is cut from a log, the manufactures are very careful to
stack each sheet in the same order as it comes off the log. If this care was not
taken, and the sheets were stacked randomly, you would be unable to select and
purchase two or more sheets almost identical. This is especially important if you
need to joint two or more sheets together to create a wide matched panel.
However, even matching sheets have some variation in grain and color.
Whatever your source of supply, make sure the supplier offers consecutively
sliced sheets of veneer.
Standard Veneer
Standard veneer is what are fathers and grandfathers were used to working with.
The sheets are cut from a log, stacked in consecutive order, then sent to a drier
and once again stacked consecutively. Years ago, most standard veneers were
cut to approx. 1/16" to 1/20" thick. With advances in cutting machinery and
technology along with the need to get more material out of one log, today most
standard veneers are cut to a thickness of about 1/28" to 1/40". However, certain
species of veneers like oak, walnut, maple, cherry, mahogany and some others
can still be found in thicker sheets.
Standard veneer is usually available in random widths ranging from about 3" to
12". Some species like oak and mahogany which grow in larger diameters are
available in wider sheets. Veneer distributors usually sell the sheets in 3 to 10
foot lengths. However, many species are only available in short 3 foot lengths. If
you are purchasing standard veneer by the square foot and plan to apply it to a
door or kitchen table, make sure you specify if you need long sheets or you will
probably end up with 3 foot lengths. Standard veneer should not only be
purchased in consecutively sliced sheets, but it also should be of good quality:
relatively flat, with little or no knots or sapwood, generally uniform in color, with
very few or no checks or splits. There are some exceptions to this. Certain highly
figured veneers like burls and crotches are almost impossible to find in perfectly
flat sheets, free of splits or some knotholes. This is because highly figured woods
are not as stable as flat or quartered cut veneer and tend to warp and buckle
much more. Therefore, do not be surprised if you purchase some burl veneer
and it is wavy and includes some checks and knotholes. This is a normal
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2. Furniture finishing Veneering
condition for these types of veneer. Much more preparation has to go into
flattening, filling knotholes, and taping these types of standard veneers before
gluing them down. I will cover this in detail in a future document. Also,see the
document on flattening veneers.
Standard veneer is usually sold by the square foot. The price varies depending
upon species. Some species like poplur can be purchased for about 40 cents per
sq. ft. while others like ebony can run $3.50 to $4.00 per sq. ft. No matter what
species you are planning to work with, when working with standard veneer, make
sure you purchase at least 20 to 30 percent more than what you actually need.
This figure factors in waste and excess for trimming and jointing.
Flexible Veneer
Over the past 20 years, this new type of manufactured natural wood veneer
product has been gaining popularity with both professional and amateur alike.
Flexible veneer is manufactured by slicing very thin sheets of veneer (approx.
1/64" thick) and then treating the veneer to make it more pliable. Once the cutting
and treating is done, the sheets of veneer are then jointed together to produce a
wide sheet. Finally, a paper type of backing is permanently mounted to the back
to bond it and give more flexibility.
The two main advantages are: Ease Of Application Because of its flexibility, it
can be cut easily using a craft knife or razor type blade. It can also be cut to
rough size with a pair of shears. Unlike some standard veneer, flex veneer can
also be easily bent around forms and contours without the need to wet or steam
the veneer. Available In Large Sheets The manufacture joints narrow slices
together to produce a wide sheet. Most flex veneers are available in 18". 24". 36"
or 48" widths and in lengths of 8, 10 or 12 feet. This saves the buyer a lot of time,
especially if they would have to joint a number of narrow of pieces prior to gluing
down the sheet.
There are other advantages to using flex veneer. Some species of burls are also
available in flex. Not only are the smaller pieces pre-jointed to give you a large
sheet, but the burl is perfectly flat, and any defects such as knotholes and or
cracks have been filled and repaired. Flex veneer is sanded smooth at the
factory and needs little or no sanding prior to finishing. Because the actual
veneer face is so thin, you can not do much sanding or you will cut through the
face. Once the flex is glued to its surface and the glue has cured, it can be
finished like any other veneer: (stained, filled, sealed, varnished, lacquered, oiled
waxed, etc.). By this time you may be asking "Then why should I use standard
veneer?". The only consideration is price. Flex veneer is much more expensive
than standard. You are not only paying for the product, but also all the work the
manufacture is saving you. For the pro, I feel it is still worth the extra cost, but for
the amateur, it's a toss-up. If you have not worked with veneer, flex will be much
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3. Furniture finishing Veneering
easier to handle and apply, but on the other hand, if you have the time to prep
and joint standard veneer, the price may be too high.
Trimming Veneer to Size
The two most commonly used tools to cut and trim veneer are a veneer saw and
a craft knife. I will cover the use of both these tools in this document.
Veneer Saw
The veneer saw is a neat little tool to cut veneer. Its teeth have no set and
therefore it cuts straight and resists the pull of stubborn grain which is very
important especially when you are ripping (cutting with the grain) veneer. When
used properly, the saw will also produce a relatively clean cut. Because it has no
set, it will leave a very narrow kerf.
Crosscutting With The Veneer Saw
To cut veneer to length you must cut against the grain of the wood. The grain
usually runs parallel with the length of the veneer, therefore you must make a cut
that is roughly 90 degrees to the grain direction. Place a backing board on your
workbench so you when you cut through the veneer, you will not damage your
workbench surface. Now lay your veneer on top of the backing board. If your cut
has to be exactly square, use a trysquare or other accurate square. Use a pencil
to mark your cut line on the face of the veneer. IMPORTANT NOTE: Always cut
veneer slightly oversize, then after it is glued down, trim it flush to edges of
workpiece. lay a metal or aluminum straightedge along the pencil line and place
the back of the veneer saw against the straightedge. make sure the saw will be
cutting on the waste side of the veneer, this way if you make a mistake, it will not
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4. Furniture finishing Veneering
ruin your good stock. Refer to photo above for proper position of saw against
straightedge. When cutting against the grain, always cut from both edges toward
the center of the piece. If you attempt to cut across the grain from one edge to
the other, the veneer will most likely split of on the trailing edge. Do not try to cut
through the veneer in one pass, take light passes until the saw cuts completely
through the veneer. Some thicker and harder veneers may take longer to cut.
Ripping With The Veneer Saw
Basicially, ripping (cutting with or parallel with the grain) is preformed the same
way as crosscutting with the exception of a few things. Fist, unlike crosscutting,
you don't have to cut from one end into the center to avoid splitting. The trailing
edge will not split out when ripping. Second, extra care should be taken to keep
the saw from pulling away from the straightedge. When ripping, the tool has a
tendency to pull away from the straightedge because alternating hard and soft
streaks in the grain pattern The tool can catch in a soft area and pull away from
the straightedge or hit a hard area and skip over the straightedge. Other than
these two points, the method is the same as crosscutting.
Craft Knife
One of the best ways to acheive a clean, sharp cut is to use a craft knife.
Commonly used by artists and hobbists, this tool has a metal handle with a slit
jaw at the top which accepts razor sharp blades of many shapes. The shape best
suited for cutting veneers is a #11 type blade. This blade has a very sharp point
that will score as well as cut through veneer leaving a clean edge with no
chipping.
Using The Craft Knife
The craft knife is used in a similar manner to the veneer saw. make sure you take
very light scoring passes with the tip of the knife. Once again, when crosscutting,
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5. Furniture finishing Veneering
cut into the center from both edges. The craft knife has more of a tendency to
pull away from the straightedge than the veneer saw so be careful.
Edge Jointing Veneer
Edge Jointing Veneer If you are new to veneering, I suggest you read the
documents on selecting and cutting veneer back on my homepage before you
read this document. It will give you a better idea why many standard veneers
have to be edge jointed. There are a number of ways to obtain a good, tight joint
that will be virtually invisible and will not lift or pull apart. While the following
method may not be the quickest or most practical, I have always had great
success with it.
If you are going to work with narrow sheets of veneer that have to be jointed
together, make sure that you purchase the sheets in consecutive order as they
were cut from the log this way the grain pattern and figure will match when you
join the pieces together.
Book Matching is one of the most attractive methods of jointing pieces of veneer
together. This method is also called a two piece match and the two consecutive
pieces to be jointed, will appear to be mirror images of each other. start by laying
two consecutive pieces of veneer side by side. Open them in book fashion and
inspect the pieces for quality, defects and if the two combined pieces will be large
enough to cover the surface you will be working on. The next step is to joint the
two pieces together, but first, you must cut straight inside edges for a perfectly
tight joint.
Homemade Jointing Jig
This jig can be made of two pieces of hardwood each piece approx. 6 inches
wide,1 inch thick and about 4 inches longer than the length of the two pieces of
veneer you will be jointing. Clamp the two pieces of hardwood together and
about 1 inch in from each end drill a 1/4" hole through both pieces centered on
the width of the boards (3"). Next, Place 1/4" x 2 1/2" carriage bolts through the
holes and add washers and wing nuts to the other side to hold the two boards
together. Now remove the clamps. Tighten up the wing nuts so the boards are
held tightly together. Next, choose on side and either run this side over a jointer,
or use a hand plane to joint the two edges together. Place an x mark on the side
of the two jointed edges.
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6. Furniture finishing Veneering
Jointing The Veneer
Take the two pieces of veneer to be jointed and insert them into the jig. Make
sure the two edges that are to be jointed are just slightly projecting out of the side
of the jig that you jointed with your hand plane or jointer. Tighten up the carriage
bolts to hold the veneer tightly in the jig. You can now use a hand plane set at a
VERY SLIGHT CUT and run it across the edges of the veneer. When the veneer
is flush and cannot be felt projecting out of the top edges of the jig, the jointing is
complete. You can also take the jig and run it over a stationery jointer. Just make
sure the jointer table is set to remove very little stock. after a few successive
passes, the jointer should be removing some of the stock on the jig, once this
happens, you will know that the veneer edges have been jointed flush.
Taping The Joint
Lay the two pieces of jointed veneer on a workboard with jointed edges together.
MAKE SURE THE FACE SIDE OF EACH PIECE IS UP. To insure a tight joint,
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7. Furniture finishing Veneering
use veneer pins (these are similar to push pins used in corkboard to hold up
paper messages). Drive the pins into both pieces about one inch away from the
joint line. Make sure the pins are slanted toward the joint to bring the two edges
tightly together. Don't worry about pinholes, once the veneer is glued down, they
are virtually invisible, and if needed can easily be filled later. Now cut a piece of
veneer tape slightly longer than the length of the joint. The tape will be applied to
the face side and will be removed after the veneer has been glued down. Moisten
the side of the tape that has the gum adhesive on it by lightly running it over a
damp sponge. Next, place the tape over the center of the joint and press it down
the entire length of the joint. Remove the veneer pins and use a rubber or
hardwood roller to insure the tape is firmly applied to the surface. After the
veneer has been glued down, the veneer tape may be removed by lightly
dampening with a sponge dampened with water and peeling off the tape. Once
the tape has been removed, let any gum adhesive residue dry completely and
then scrape or sand the remainder of the residue off. It will turn to powder and
come off easily. If you try to sand while the residue is still damp, it will be pushed
down into the pores of the wood and create a gummy mess. After jointing, the
veneer is ready to be glued down to its surface.
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