woods, many of which are of rare, exotic, and expensive

difficult or impossible to find whenin lumber properly form gluedthese todays. a sound Another advantage is that, and not subject to seasonal substrate, veneer is very stable Therefore, it can be arranged inexpansion any pattern and orcontraction. combination of species without danger of

fromcracking a log or in splitting. closely matched Many sheets,veneers allowing are sliced arrangement in sequence of many symmetrical or

canrepeating seem intimidatingpatterns. and To the uninitiated, veneering I’ll explain the basic tools complicated. But not to fear;

and techniques that you need to get started. Then, as an exercise, I’ll walk you through the steps for creating a “four- way” match, like the one used to make the box top on page 48Choosing (see “Curved and Top Box”). storing veneer

sizes,Veneer in is available in a wide 1 1 fromvariety 20 of" to species, 42" as figures,shown in and thicknesses ranging Photo⁄ A ⁄ No-Fear . The two common Rotary-cutmethods for producing veneer are rotary- and flitch-cutting. Veneering spinning log veneer to peel is awaymade long, by pressing a long knife against a Give your work a beauti ful skin. those you commonly see on wide, continuous sheets, like By Jonathan Benson Flitch-cut the faces of construction-grade plywood. veneer is Veneering has been around produced by knifing tangentially since the age of the Pharaohs and through the log in sequence, has been used to create some of substrateApplying a can decorative beautify “skin” mundane of ofessentially closely matched slicing it sheets into a thatstack wood panelsveneer andto an stretch underlying the use youof paper. can arrange This produces to create a series a the60 finest woodcraftmagazine.com furniture ever made. Oct/Nov 2010 Flatt ening Veneers To prevent buckling and cracking, burl and other lumpy veneers must be soft ened with a fl att ening agent and pressed before use. Commercial soft eners work well, or you can brew your own concocti on from two A parts white PVA glue, one part Veneer off erings include glycerin, one part alcohol, and many rare and fi gured species. three-to-four parts water. Using a spray bott le or paint brush, soak both sides of the shown in Photo B plywood such as Italian poplar or veneers. Repeat the process variety of patterns like those particleboard,Bending or high-quality plywood is to keep them wet for a half below.�litch The hour. Then stack several sheets bundle of sequentially matched Baltic birch. together, separati ng each veneers is called a . I use useful for creating curved panels. with a few sheets of ink-free flitch-cut veneers exclusively, Whatever substrate you choose newsprint (available at art as Asrotary-cutting you start accumulating doesn’t offer should have a stable core and supply stores). Place the stack the same design possibilities. a smooth surface free of voids, between plywood panels and otherbumps, common and other building irregularities. materials apply light pressure. Aft er 30 bundles of flitch-cut veneers, Avoid regular particleboard and minutes, replace the newsprint. you’ll want to keep them I also steer away from solid Change the paper every shippedorganized in androlled in goodform, shape.let the lumberlike construction-grade as a substrate because plywood. of hour or two for eight hours, sheetsMake sure slowly to storerelax, them then flat.number If increasing the stack pressure as you go. Then maintain its seasonal wood movement. the pressure overnight. flitch-cut veneers sequentially Urea-formaldehyde (plastic to keep them in order. Wrap tape resin) glue is one of the best around the “end-grain” edges of adhesives for veneering, because each sheet to keep them from toit provides be mixed, a andlong some open healthtime and splitting. Highly figured veneers dries very hard. However, it has Titebondcan set up III very allows quickly longer but is can be wavy and bumpy, and openfine for time smaller for gluing projects, up larger while will need to be flattened before risks are associated with it. For application to prevent cracking. many projects, I use polyvinyl include epoxy and Titebond Substrates(See “Flattening and Veneers,” adhesives right.) resistacetate (PVA) or “yellow” glues pieces. Other good choices hard,like Titebond and suffer II and negligible III. Both moisture, dry relatively Cold Press for Veneering. (I Common substrate materials avoid contact cement, because include MDF, cabinet-grade “creep” over time. Titebond II the bond is unreliable.) Diamond X Cross Square diaper

B These examples of four-way matches were all made using squares of macassar ebony veneer.

Photos: Paul Anthony Oct/Nov 2010 woodcraftmagazine.com 61 after applying the tape, dry the veneer. Immediately

it quickly with an iron, which also prevents excess moisture withfrom holesswelling to allow the wood you to fibers. see theVeneer underlying tape is available seam or withouteither

Gluingholes for andadditional clamping strength. C Veneering Tools and Tape: shooting jig (A); layout tools blueTo apply tape veneer from the to aunderside substrate, (B); veneer tape and blue masking tape (C); scraper (D); first make sure to remove any scissors, saws, and knives (E); sanding sticks (F). to temporarily align the pieces of the veneer (having used it Tools and tapes toduring apply layup). glue to Then the substrate use a gear (Photo C sawFor as cleaner shown sawing,in Photo I suggestD (brushPhoto or E short-nap paint roller Veneeringshould include requires a drafting minimal modifying a standard veneer ). Layout tools which rides against a . (Too much). Thoroughlyglue causes lumps,coat cuts and a protractor for laying Don’t bevel the “underside,” the surface without soaking it. triangle for marking out square can result in sections of the typesstraightedge of tape: when blue painter’scutting. while a glue-starved surface out wedge-shaped matches. For joining veneers, I use two sawScissors guided will by rough-cut a hardwood single surface,veneer lifting.) and then Press immediately the dry straightedgesheets of veneer, allows while accurate a veneer tape and white veneer tape. The dampenveneer sheet it with onto distilled the glued water to temporarilyblue tape, which attaching removes pieces easily without leaving residue, is for of the assembly with blue tape cutting of several sheets at a prevent curling. Wrap the edge time. I use knives for inlay and during pattern matching. The other intricate work. Shop- paper veneer tape (sold by most to prevent shifting, and then made sanding sticks (80 and veneer suppliers) is used for cover the veneer with newsprint scraper120 grit) will are clean needed tape to andshoot glue final attachment at the seams. pressingin preparation for clamping. straight veneer seams, and a It has water-activated glue on Methods for clamping, or one side, making it easy to apply , the veneer to the from the veneered surface. and remove without damaging substrate include vacuum

5-10°

D Hold a fine mill file at 5° to 10° to E bevel the top edges of a veneer Roll out an even glue coat on the substrate. Keep blue tape, clamps, cauls, saw’s teeth for clean cutting. and platens handy to quickly clamp up the work before the glue dries.

62 woodcraftmagazine.com Oct/Nov 2010 F Cover the faces of the glued-up panel with newsprint, G 3 then clamp the assembly between ⁄4"-thick MDF Veneer tape softened by distilled water platens, using cauls to distribute clamping pressure. removes easily using a cabinet scraper.

To ensure a good glue bond, pressclamping, is a bagscrew-press attached clamping,to a pump thenin “Fixing scrape Veneer the entire Blisters,” surface below. of and caul clamping. A vacuum leave the assembly clamped theMake panel any withneeded a sharp repairs, cabinet and upFinishing for at least up two hours. that evacuates the air from the bag to allow 14.7 pounds scraper to remove glue that per square foot of atmospheric anyAfter excess the glue glue has before dried, sanding remove (Usingmay have sandpaper squeezed for through this step the pressure to press the veneer the veneer tape and scrape away veneer under clamping pressure. in place. This method is ideal spritz it with distilled water and After scraping, sand the surface clampingfor curved screws work. Aattached screw-press to an letthe it surface. sit for a To few remove minutes the before tape, withrisks 220cutting grit throughbefore applying the veneer.) applies pressure from above via peeling away the softened tape with a cabinet scraper (Photo G overhead frame. For smaller jobs, area finish. good Surface-film choices, because finishes they caulsyou can to clampspread the pressure work between across ). like lacquer, shellac, and varnish theMDF panel, platens, as shown using long in Photo wooden F otherAfter raised the water areas evaporates, as described check the panel for “blisters” or overlay the veneer, unlike thin . Sources penetrating finishes like oils. Fixing Veneer Blisters In spite of your best efforts, Veneers and veneering tools and supplies are available from: “blisters” and other lifted Woodcraft:(800) 225-1153, www.woodcraft.com areas can appear after you take a veneered panel out of B&B Rare Woods: (303) 986-2585, www.wood-veneers.com its clamps. Check for lifted Certainly Wood: (716) 655-0206, www.certainlywood.com areas by lightly running www.constantines.com your fingertips across the Constantine’s:(800) 443-9667, veneer while listening for any change in pitch. To repair a blister, slice into it at its About Our Author edge, holding the knife at a Jonathan Benson has shown his handcrafted furniture nationwide for steep angle away from the over 30 years. Currently he teaches workshops around the country. blister. Then inject glue into He's written magazine articles and books, including Woodworker’s the cut under the loose area Guide to Veneering and Inlay and Woodworker’s Guide to Bending and reclamp the panel. Wood. To learn more about Jonathan, visit bensonfurniture.com.

Oct/Nov 2010 woodcraftmagazine.com 63 Laying up a 4-way match

This simple exercise walks you through the basics of matching, sawing, and assembling veneers to create a “four-way” match panel, like the one shown 1at left. Here, I’m using four pieces of walnut burl veneer taken in sequential order from a flitch. thenWith wrap the blue sheets painter’s stacked tape in theiraround original the edges sequence, number them from top to bottom, and

1 in8 several places to keep the stack intact during layout and cutting. Lay out a match using two ⁄ to"-thick capture mirrors the top set edges square (Photo to each H other. Tape their rear edges together and use a grooved panel ). (My panel is grooved at various angles to lay out 4-, 8-, 12-, and 16-way matches.) Shift the mirrors around on the veneer to preview a variety of layout options. 2Once you find the match you like, mark out the rough outlines by tracing along the mirrors. 1 cuttingGuiding about a veneer 16" shy saw of youralong layout a wooden line (Photo I straightedge, saw through the stack of veneers, ⁄ ). Hold the straightedge down seriesfirmly of while light pressing passes the bottom of the saw againstuntil its edge.each offcut Make a Tip Alert separates from the For bett er visibility, use a white pencil when cut through all the marking dark veneers. sheets,sheet. Once tape you’vethe sawn H edge for stability, and then cut just shy of your second

3 Joint, or shoot layout line in the same manner. edged clamping jig,, one as of shown the edges in Photo of the J, sawnbut you stack straight to create gap-free seams. I use a straight-

thecan boardssimply placewith one the ofstack the oftwo veneers cutlines between you drew two duringboards theclamped mirror in layout a vise. process Align the and upper plane edges or sand of

away the projecting veneer edges flush with the I edges of the boards. For tear-out-prone woods, I prefer to use sanding sticks instead of a hand plane. 64 woodcraftmagazine.com Oct/Nov 2010 I begin with 80 grit, than follow up with 120 grit. J K 4 Untape the package and renumber the sheets in sequence if the original numbers were lost to the saw. Then lay out sheets 1 and 2 in paired form, flipping one sheet over to create a mirrored faces“book-match” down, use with a few the short jointed pieces edges of abutting.blue painter’s Do tapethe same to hold with the sheets seams 3 togetherand 4. With (Photo the “show” K 5 ). Flip each taped pair over and check the seam matchalignment is balanced and the andgrain the match, seam makingtight, apply alignment wet L adjustments or reshooting if necessary. WhenPhoto the L veneer tape to the show faces, as shown in . 6Briefly apply high heat from an iron to the tape to dry it. Then remove the blue tape from the back. Now prepare the seam for joining the two pairs. First, tape them together at the edges, with the show face on the inside of the package and the previously joined seams precisely aligned, one on extendtop of the a cutline other. Registeralong the one adjacent edge ofedge a drafting (Photo M triangle against the previously joined seam, and Seam to be cut 7 Again using a straightedge as a guide, saw to ). Previously-cut seam Then repeat the procedure across the other half. M placeyour cutline. the two With assemblies the pieces together, still taped show together, faces downshoot thewith edge all four as before. seams Remove intersecting the tape at the and center. Use pieces of blue tape to connect the seams, and then flip the panel over to inspect the front for a symmetrical match. If either seam needs additional work, reshoot both edges, removing the same amount of material to maintain the pattern symmetry. When (everythingPhoto N looks good, tape the seams on the show side with wet veneer tape as before ) and remove any remaining blue n tape N from the back. The “laid-up” sheet of veneer is now ready to be glued to a substrate. Oct/Nov 2010 woodcraftmagazine.com 65