rcarlton Posted September 7, 2008 Author Share Posted September 7, 2008 Applying glue to the veneer. Note tape around 3 edges. That serves 2 purposes; holds the veneer down and keeps glue from getting on the other side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcarlton Posted September 7, 2008 Author Share Posted September 7, 2008 Ironing the first piece of veneer down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcarlton Posted September 7, 2008 Author Share Posted September 7, 2008 Ironing the second piece down. Notice the 1/8" bar and tape. Steps in making a tight joint. Iron down veneer piece one. We made a pencil mark on both sides to line the veneer up. Place an 1/8" rod about an inch from the joint. Tape the second piece of veneer to the first piece. Iron up to about 2" of the joint. Remove the rod. Iron toward the joint to make a tightly compressed joint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcarlton Posted September 7, 2008 Author Share Posted September 7, 2008 More ironing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcarlton Posted September 7, 2008 Author Share Posted September 7, 2008 You can see the buckle the bar forms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcarlton Posted September 7, 2008 Author Share Posted September 7, 2008 Close up of the joint. Once the wood cooled and relaxed it became even tighter. The perforated tape was used on some small cracks in the veneer. We taped the other side as a precaution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcarlton Posted September 7, 2008 Author Share Posted September 7, 2008 A quick rub down to see the grain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcarlton Posted September 7, 2008 Author Share Posted September 7, 2008 Final picture tonight. One surface done. Nine more to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerolW Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 NICE! jerol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg928gts Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 Nice work. What's your process for trimming edges? Did the trimming come out perfect, or are there any small imperfections? Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcarlton Posted September 8, 2008 Author Share Posted September 8, 2008 Rosewood seems to be a splintery type of wood so care must be taken with cutting along the grain and against the grain. A nice feature of the glue is it tends to reduce the splintery nature of the wood so we got near perfect edges. As far as basic triming goes, I just flipped the cabinet over on some MDF and carefully cut with the knife. I then used a veneer edge planer and 80 grit sandpaper to true up the edges. The end grain is another matter...we got some splinters along the end grain ~1/32 to 1/64" and about 1/168" thick. I've attached an extreme closeup that illustrates this. The edge is a little proud and has not been final sanded by any means. I sand the edge with a downward stoke at an angle to minimize splintering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Fantastic work! Thank you so much for the technique tips! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 That's some beautiful veneer and thanks for the detailed explanation and photos of your technique. Isn't it possible for that 'buckle' under the rod to be too large and become a problem? I have to wonder if I'll have the patience to do this. I'm known for my lack of patience. Perhaps veneering can teach me some? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcarlton Posted September 11, 2008 Author Share Posted September 11, 2008 Finished the second bottom surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcarlton Posted September 11, 2008 Author Share Posted September 11, 2008 Getting the compressed joint has proven to somewhat of an art which I haven't mastered yet. Here is a closeup of the joint after I repaired it. The repair consists of a thin sliver of veneer in the joint. It is almost invisible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanl Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 Well, once again after being gone for a year you are still up to your fantastic work! I have done a fair amount of veneer work myself but noting like experience too bad we don't live closer. Well done, Mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcarlton Posted September 21, 2008 Author Share Posted September 21, 2008 Going slow. One more side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 "Rosewood seems to be a splintery type of wood so care must be taken with cutting along the grain and against the grain. A nice feature of the glue is it tends to reduce the splintery nature of the wood so we got near perfect edges" I can imagine that cutting across the grain would be difficult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcarlton Posted September 21, 2008 Author Share Posted September 21, 2008 I can imagine that cutting across the grain would be difficult. Actually cutting across the grain has proven to be fairly easy. Let the weight of the blade cut the veneer, may take 5-7 slices but it will cut nice and true. Santos Rosewood has some undesirable qualities that has given me some headaches. It is an oily wood which means Tung Oil will not work. I tried it on some scraps and it made a very uneven, sticky mess. Brush on semi-gloss lacquer and wipe on gloss polyurethane have done well. Also have a problem with checking (cracks along the grain). What I have done to minimize the checking is to be careful with the amount of glue used, veneer tape on any places that might check. Since the veneer is bookmatched one of the pieces will tend to check more. When veneer is rotary cut minute breaks or splits known as lather checks are apparent on the concave side. This is commonly referred to as the "loose" side as opposed to the "tight" or convex side. I found a veneer conditioner that has helped somewhat. The veneer and substrate are stored in the same room, 78 degrees, and 50% humidity. The photo shows a check that I hilighted with water so you can see it better (circled in blue). The compressed joints have proven to be difficult. I use the 1/8" rod but can't seem to get the joint perfect from end to end. Allow 2" from joint to remain untacked down, allow the tacked down veneer to cool (don't want it to move). Start from the middle, work to the right (I am right handed) get that side down pretty good but notice the left side has opened up some despite taping it together. We are talking about 1/32" but it seems like the Grand Canyon to me. Fortunately it can be fixed by gluing a sliver in the gap. Once sanded you can't see it unless you know what you are looking for. The top of the picture has a perfect compressed joint. I'm hoping things start to move faster now that I have a lot of the problems figured out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcarlton Posted October 9, 2008 Author Share Posted October 9, 2008 Still pushing on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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