Any tips on cutting veneer???

[homemadeheresy]

Well thought that I had it all figured out???? Started to lay some
veneer on my slow, forward moving Cornscala project and found that my
chosen method of cutting veneer wasn't going to cut it(pun intended).
The first cut went rather well, but the second wasn't nearly as
perfect. I had a few small protrusions off of my other than square
piece. At this stage should I try to either sand it or cut it again. I
really don't want to cut it again since there is an attractive blonde
streak through that edge that I don't want to waste. The way it looks
by bookmatching the veneer I'll end up with three blonde stripes from
front to rear that will extend down the sides from the top. I'm using
contact cement and have already learned how unforgiving it can be, I
believe I'll try the iron glue on the next cabinet.

[Malcolm]

Veneer is best cut with a veneer saw and a straightedge. Pieces that are to butt together need to be jointed. You can do that by clamping them between two straight pieces of wood and using a plane on the edge. You have to be careful about the direction of the grain to avoid rip out. The same thing can be accomplished on a router table. Once the pieces are jointed, they should taped together and the edges glued so you have a single sheet. Then you can apply it to the cabinet.

[CECAA850]

There's some good info here also.

http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/t/109693.aspx

[msutton]

homemadeheresy,

in your photo it appears you just have a strip of veneer a few inches wide at the front of the cabinet..and you say you are wanting to bookmatch it, so i take you have smaller width pieces of venner you are joining together? that can be a headache to cut all those making sure the grain runs parallel each piece for sure. i dont know if this is raw veneer or paper-backed veneer but as mentioned above by another member, i clean up veneer edges with a simple jig. you can do several pieces of veneer at one time. take two mdf boards that are a tad bit longer than the length of your veneer and sandwich your pieces of veneer between these two mdf boards, making sure the front edge of the mdf boards is perfectly aligned with each other. you want your pieces of veneer to barely stick out past the front of these mdf boards they are sandwiched between..maybe 1/16th of an inch past the front edge of the mdf boards and then clamp the mdf at each end. then you take your router with a SHEAR flush trim router bit with a bottom bearing and you simply follow the edge of the mdf board and it will clean off the 1/16th of an inch that is sticking out. some people do the same thing on the jointer but i perfer the router method with a nice shear trim bit like a freud or whiteside.

i dont want to discourage you from using the veneer you have but on a project that size it would be much quicker, easier, and probably give you better results to look into using full pieces of 10mil paper backed veneer with the iron on method you had mentioned. i use a vacuum bag when i can, but have used the iron on method several times when it wouldnt fit in the bag and have had good results and its super easy. i am just not a big fan of contact cement as there is no room for mistakes or any open time to adjust. i have done the iron on method with both titebond III and heatlock glue from joewoodworker.com and each works well. with that method you can cut a piece of veneer just slightly larger than whatever you are covering..say the top. line it up iron it down, and once it has set for a bit then follow behind with the router and flush trim bit i had spoke about earlier to trim to size.i hope this helps,good luck

[Tom Mobley]

I had some really nice snowflake Cherry veneer for a DBB Cornscala project a couple years ago. Some of it just didn't want to cut clean no matter what. I was using a metal straightedgeto clamp the veneer on a piece of hardboard like Masonite. I tried to do the router thing but had tear-out, the grain was sort of wavy. I ended up using Norton 3X 220 sandpaper wrapped on a piece of plywood about 8" long. re-clamped the veneer on the hardboard with about 1/32" edge sticking out, gently sanded the edge to get rid of the roughness. Not talking about sanding it down the whole 1/32", just enough to get rid of tyhe whiskers and stuff on the edges. came out good. This was raw veneer from Certainly Wood, I know nothing about working with the paper backed stuff.

[Carbon_66]

There is no cleaner cut than the Olfa rotary cutter and mat. I use the 60mm. Very light pressure is needed. I also run a thin 1/4" strip of double sided tape on the back edges of my straight edge to prevent slipping. You will need to reduce the "tack" of the tape by rubbing fine saw dust, flour, etc. on the tape. After this is done, your "seasoned" straight edge will not stick or slip.

I glue my veneer large and let them dry, up to a couple hours. When they are ready, I trim them to size. At this point I will glue the substrate and attach when the glue is ready. This is the only time sensitive moment. You can also use wax paper on 90% of the area that is being veneered to position your edge and then roll the wax paper out. Be careful not to scrape the veneer too close to the paper, you won't get it out.

Good luck, looks like a cool project.

http://www.olfaproducts.com/