First Veneer Attempt

Dang it, Charlie, now I’ll never catch up to your box-making skills! Great job.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Really nice, Charlie! It raises the bar again.

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

can’t imagine the shop getting messy with storage units like this in it!!!
gorgeous.

(can’t help you with the brittleness issue)

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

That looks like a fun project and it came out great. I really enjoyed tackling veneering for the first time on my last project. How did you approach the veneering, vacuum press?

-- I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso

Thanks, everybody!

Damian, I don’t a have a vacuum press yet. I just used clamping boards with as many clamps as I could get on.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Great looking cabinet, and a good way to get used to veneer. The splintering of brittle veneers can be a problem. Here is my experience…

Softening is for flattening veneer before glue up, by the time all is dry, the softening effects are gone.
My best results come with blue tape over the kerf, I have had good luck with the Festool saw, jointer or table saw. Taking care to make sure you have a sharp cutting tool. Try all of these, what works for one species may not work for another.

Did you make the panels over size and trim all 4 sides? Seems the easiest way for me, it is easier to make panels a half inch bigger and let things slide a bit during glue up.

First attempt!!!? I’d think you’d been doing it for a lifetime. Beautiful cabinet.

-- /\/\/\ BarryW /\/\/\ Stay so busy you don't have time to die.

Very nice. Your tools will love you for this.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

Thanks!

Marco, thanks for the advice. I was wondering… I made the box first, then applied the veneer slightly oversize and trimmed the excess when cured. I was thinking (and it sounds like this is what you are saying), is it better to veneer the individual panels slightly oversize and then cut them to size and assemble the box?

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

great job. hope you enjoyed the project and taught yourself a couple more tricks !

-- ..... art for lifes sake

Slow down fellas. I’m adding to my ’things I must try’ list by the day! That’s really something Charlie.

-- Res severa verum gaudium - True pleasure is a serious business.

Stewart, that is the curse of Lumberjocks….. If I stopped looking at projects today, I’m not sure I have enough years left to finish everthing on my “must try” list. :-)

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Gorgeous – the photos make it look “hyper real” Something out of skethup or photoshop… what an addition and inspiration for your shop. Everything in our shops should look half as good. – might get me to keep it a little cleaner, or at least pass the shop vac once in a while… ;)

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Vincent Van Gogh -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/

It really looks great, Charlie. I odn’t know much about veneer. All I’ve ever used was Flexwood which is paper backed veneer. With it I trim with my trim router or I use a block plane going with the grain.I don’t know if regular veneer works the same or not. I usually skin the pieces before I make up the cabinet.

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

Thanks Scott. Tom, I was thinking a trim router might work well. I don’t have one, but have been thinking about getting one.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

hey charlie , i could sure use some tool storage if you want some more practice ! haha nice job

Nice job, can’t wait to try veneering myself.

-- Billp

Nice Charlie.
I’m sitill hung up on making jigs.

I may never get to the stage you are at .

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

Charlie I think you deserve a nice Bosch Colt, or you could by my PC laminate trimmer, and I’ll get a Colt…

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Charlie.

Some of my early projects were make the box and cover with veneer.

I now cover the veneer first and then cut to size.

Your construction then fits the panels into a stile and rail setup.

A great job on your first attempt.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

Doug, now that I know which tool you would prefer, I know where to start looking.

Karson, yeah I’m thinking veneer first would be bettwer for most situations. I’m glad you explained about the NFL box. I was trying to figure out what that jewelry had to do with football. :-)

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

I’ve got a Colt as well, Charlie. Well, come to think of it,I’ve also got 3 geldings.

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

Charlie,
Here is the Amazon.com link to my dream laminate trim package.

This one is the full ride, with everything a husband might want, say if the Missus wanted him to build a built-in cabinet into a three-sided nook in the bathroom of a 70 year old house with bowed walls. Has excellent scribing in capacities, full power and variable speed. There is a lesser kit at the Big Blue Box store. I have to go in there every so often and wrap my mitts around the cushioned grip and (quietly) make vroom-vroom routing noises. Ah, the toils of tool fever. You can get a base for it that adapts to PC guide bushings. Sweet.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Charlie I really don’t like the box and being a neighbor – I don’t think that you should have to suffer with that in your shop. I’ll be working Wednesday night, if you’ll put it out on the curb, I will be happy to haul it away for.you. Don’t worry about thanking me – that is what friends are for.

Great looking storage box.

-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/

Thanks, Bill. You be sure to do the same with any excess tools you just don’t have room in the shop for.

Doug, that does look like an awful handy setup. I’m thinking of sending that link to the aforementioned Missus for Christmas list consideration!

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Great job Charlie!

-- Carpe Lignum - Seize The Wood,

Yes Charlie. Example for panel, MDF 20×20 inches, Veneer 19 3/4 square. After the glue dries, trim all 4 sides to the finished dimension. My best results are by blue taping both sides and using a sharp table saw, good side up. If you have a Festool saw, it does well too.

Thanks, Marco. That makes a lot of sense. My original thought was that applying the veneer after constructing the box eliminated the need for miter joints. But the trade-off is the problem of trimming the excess veneer precisely.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

That is some very pretty veneer Charlie! And you used it very well.Nice contrasts.I will have to try this sometime.

-- " Stubborn tenacity substitutes for natural ability" ANDY

YES, that’s right; everybody needs such a verry special cabinet. NO kidding.;-)
nice project.

Wow! Very nice Job! :)

-- Dana,Texas

Charlie I really like this ,I like the Rosewood-Cherry comboination colors go well together .
It makes me want to make a project out the Rosewood I have .

-- Rj's Woodworks,San Jose & Weed Ca,