# My my...veneering!



## oscorner (Aug 7, 2006)

*The journey begins*

Due to the kindness of a fellow LumberJock (Karson), I am about to dive into an area of woodworking that I had no intention of diving into…VENEERING! With Karson's guidance I purchased these:










A veneer saw, three hole tape and a wooden roller. With his help and others I plan to build a chess board for my son. Well, to veneer one needs veneer, right? Karson, being the super kind and pushy guy that he is said that he would supply me with some veneer, so that I wouldn't be able to come up with anymore excuses not to try veneering. When the package arrived, I was overwelmed to say the least. My son and wife almost had to pick me up off of the floor. Well enough of the suspense…*check this out*.





































Isn't that some beautiful stuff? Now, I'm more nervous than ever to cut this great looking veneer. Well, I have a few projects to get out of the way, but will continue this journey as soon as possible.


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## Don (Dec 18, 2006)

oscorner said:


> *The journey begins*
> 
> Due to the kindness of a fellow LumberJock (Karson), I am about to dive into an area of woodworking that I had no intention of diving into…VENEERING! With Karson's guidance I purchased these:
> 
> ...


Good luck on your journey, Mark. I know what you mean by "Now, I'm more nervous than ever…". I just hate messing up beautiful wood. When you are at the beginning of a journey, you have no idea what the road ahead is, how hard it will be to travel and whether you will arrive at the desired location. So no wonder you are nervous, It's only natural.

Travel easy!

Karson, you are a good man!


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## oscorner (Aug 7, 2006)

oscorner said:


> *The journey begins*
> 
> Due to the kindness of a fellow LumberJock (Karson), I am about to dive into an area of woodworking that I had no intention of diving into…VENEERING! With Karson's guidance I purchased these:
> 
> ...


I will be stepping lightly and carefully, for sure. Thanks, Don for understanding.


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

oscorner said:


> *The journey begins*
> 
> Due to the kindness of a fellow LumberJock (Karson), I am about to dive into an area of woodworking that I had no intention of diving into…VENEERING! With Karson's guidance I purchased these:
> 
> ...


how exciting-a new learning curve

that Karson-what a man!!!

re: nervous; I originally chose willow because it was just wood for bonfires and I wouldn't care if I ruined it… and then I saw it… and cutting each piece became "panic mode". I didn't want to waste a single inch. And that's just "plain willow" off the woodpile. I can only imagine your trepidation re: this beautiful selection of veneer that you received.


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## Sawdust2 (Mar 18, 2007)

oscorner said:


> *The journey begins*
> 
> Due to the kindness of a fellow LumberJock (Karson), I am about to dive into an area of woodworking that I had no intention of diving into…VENEERING! With Karson's guidance I purchased these:
> 
> ...


I tout Paul Scurch all the time.
He has the most reasonably priced veneer for small projects.

www.schurchwoodwork.com

He has them in 100 foot collections of 20-25 different species. Just plain veneering or marquetry.

DOGS I found a supplier in LIttleton CO that has a great selection. I don't remember the URL I just remember that its 3 miles from where my brother lives. www.certainlywood has a great selection. I'd spoken with the folks there while I was at IWF. They have a great quantity discount.

While the kits available thru Rockler and Highland Woodworking are convenient they are extremely pricey per sq ft.


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

oscorner said:


> *The journey begins*
> 
> Due to the kindness of a fellow LumberJock (Karson), I am about to dive into an area of woodworking that I had no intention of diving into…VENEERING! With Karson's guidance I purchased these:
> 
> ...


Don't wory about screwing it up. If you mess it all up you are not out any money. LOL

There is some veneer there for practising on and could make a few box tops like "Don, I just love small boxes" makes.

You can do some seaming, some book mtching. When I first tried veneering, I had no one around and not even any books. Just glued up a box and then handfitted veneer around on the edges.

Kind of like John Nixon did here


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## Treefarmer (Mar 19, 2007)

oscorner said:


> *The journey begins*
> 
> Due to the kindness of a fellow LumberJock (Karson), I am about to dive into an area of woodworking that I had no intention of diving into…VENEERING! With Karson's guidance I purchased these:
> 
> ...


Nice looking variety. Get to it Os….no excuses now!

Someday I'll try my hand but it won't be for a long time. Maybe a snowy winter project when I can't work outside.


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## oscorner (Aug 7, 2006)

oscorner said:


> *The journey begins*
> 
> Due to the kindness of a fellow LumberJock (Karson), I am about to dive into an area of woodworking that I had no intention of diving into…VENEERING! With Karson's guidance I purchased these:
> 
> ...


Thanks for the video link, Karson. I'm accumulating quite a collection in my favorites. If I can get my dovetail jig setup right, I'll make one of those small boxes that everyone loves and try my hand at veneering it. ;^)


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## Sawdust2 (Mar 18, 2007)

oscorner said:


> *The journey begins*
> 
> Due to the kindness of a fellow LumberJock (Karson), I am about to dive into an area of woodworking that I had no intention of diving into…VENEERING! With Karson's guidance I purchased these:
> 
> ...


One other thing - that type of veneer saw will not work for left handed folks.
Us lefties need the French type of veneer saw.

I've had good luck with this type of veneeer saw.

http://www.mikestools.com/847-4000-Traditional-French-Veneer-Saw.aspx


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

oscorner said:


> *The journey begins*
> 
> Due to the kindness of a fellow LumberJock (Karson), I am about to dive into an area of woodworking that I had no intention of diving into…VENEERING! With Karson's guidance I purchased these:
> 
> ...


that's good to know!


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## oscorner (Aug 7, 2006)

*The next step in my journey.*

Well, cutting veneer has been a challenge for me. No matter what I've tried, I haven't found a way to do it and get a nice fit. I've tried using the veneering saw, a knife and even sissors. The sissors worked suprisingly well during some test cuts on burl, but not so well on straighter grained samples. I tried using a board for a straight edge and tried cutting with my miter saw by sandwiching a piece between two pieces of plywood. This worked, o.k., but not good enough. I found that for me, my 12" fast square was the best guide for my veneering saw.










Here is a shot of my cut veneer as I prepare to begin the task of taping with painter's tape:










I decided to make the chest board out of 1/2" MDF. The process of taping the strips was tedious and a bit nerve racking, especially with the difficulty I had getting the seams to match up. I tried numbering the strips as I cut them, but found that didn't work too well. This is what my taping job looked like after about 30 minutes:










This is what it looked like after trimming the excess off and taping all of the joints: Oops, I got ahead of myself…this picture shows the taping after reversing every other one:










Here's a view of the other side…not bad, right?










I would have rathered not have seams in the middle of a couple of the squares, but it is a good learning experience that will teach me how to deal with this in the future. Here is a look at the show side of the checker board: Great looking veneer…thanks again, Karson!










I then applied the three hole tape on the show side of the checker board and this is what it looks like, now:










My next job is to work on the veneer that will border the checker board and make a press that will help me clamp the veneer to the substrate after applying Titebond II. I kind of wanted to do the coating of glue on both and then ironing over it to reactivate the glue, but I will have to do some test pieces of both before trying it on this large project.


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## Dorje (Jun 17, 2007)

oscorner said:


> *The next step in my journey.*
> 
> Well, cutting veneer has been a challenge for me. No matter what I've tried, I haven't found a way to do it and get a nice fit. I've tried using the veneering saw, a knife and even sissors. The sissors worked suprisingly well during some test cuts on burl, but not so well on straighter grained samples. I tried using a board for a straight edge and tried cutting with my miter saw by sandwiching a piece between two pieces of plywood. This worked, o.k., but not good enough. I found that for me, my 12" fast square was the best guide for my veneering saw.
> 
> ...


Way to go!


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

oscorner said:


> *The next step in my journey.*
> 
> Well, cutting veneer has been a challenge for me. No matter what I've tried, I haven't found a way to do it and get a nice fit. I've tried using the veneering saw, a knife and even sissors. The sissors worked suprisingly well during some test cuts on burl, but not so well on straighter grained samples. I tried using a board for a straight edge and tried cutting with my miter saw by sandwiching a piece between two pieces of plywood. This worked, o.k., but not good enough. I found that for me, my 12" fast square was the best guide for my veneering saw.
> 
> ...


Great Job Mark.

I sent you that great looking veneer. I want it back, after you glue it all up of course. LOL


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## Sawdust2 (Mar 18, 2007)

oscorner said:


> *The next step in my journey.*
> 
> Well, cutting veneer has been a challenge for me. No matter what I've tried, I haven't found a way to do it and get a nice fit. I've tried using the veneering saw, a knife and even sissors. The sissors worked suprisingly well during some test cuts on burl, but not so well on straighter grained samples. I tried using a board for a straight edge and tried cutting with my miter saw by sandwiching a piece between two pieces of plywood. This worked, o.k., but not good enough. I found that for me, my 12" fast square was the best guide for my veneering saw.
> 
> ...


In a previous response I gave a link to a French veneer saw. You might try that over the saw you have.

Then you might want to make three passes on each cut -
The first will score the veneer where you want it cut, the second will follow in that score and increase the depth and the third will separate the piece. With no real pressure on the saw it follows the edge more easily.

Also, make sure that the teeth on the saw are sharp and that you rock the saw from back to front as you make your cut. Sort of an ergonomic move.

It is good that you emphasize the glue side and the show side.


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## Treefarmer (Mar 19, 2007)

oscorner said:


> *The next step in my journey.*
> 
> Well, cutting veneer has been a challenge for me. No matter what I've tried, I haven't found a way to do it and get a nice fit. I've tried using the veneering saw, a knife and even sissors. The sissors worked suprisingly well during some test cuts on burl, but not so well on straighter grained samples. I tried using a board for a straight edge and tried cutting with my miter saw by sandwiching a piece between two pieces of plywood. This worked, o.k., but not good enough. I found that for me, my 12" fast square was the best guide for my veneering saw.
> 
> ...


I'm not even going to begin to start veneering for a while yet. I love following the progress and the process though. Nice job Os! What's the 3 hole tape for?


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## oscorner (Aug 7, 2006)

oscorner said:


> *The next step in my journey.*
> 
> Well, cutting veneer has been a challenge for me. No matter what I've tried, I haven't found a way to do it and get a nice fit. I've tried using the veneering saw, a knife and even sissors. The sissors worked suprisingly well during some test cuts on burl, but not so well on straighter grained samples. I tried using a board for a straight edge and tried cutting with my miter saw by sandwiching a piece between two pieces of plywood. This worked, o.k., but not good enough. I found that for me, my 12" fast square was the best guide for my veneering saw.
> 
> ...


Karson, I'll get it to you, but it is in smaller pieces, now. LOL.

Sawdust2, I am making several lite cuts as you have suggested. My cuts just don't match up to well. :^(

Bob, from what I read…the three hole tape is the tape you put on the show side before gluing and the purpose for the three holes is that the center hole allows you to see the seam. It is suppose to shrink once it dries, thus pulling the seam tighter. After application of the three hole tape you must remove the painter's tape before glue down. One instructer said that he will use the painter's tape on the show side, if he has a veneer that has holes in it to prevent the glue from sqeezing through. Once the glue dries it can be removed easily. The three hole tape needs two to three wettings before it can be removed.


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## lclashley (Feb 19, 2007)

oscorner said:


> *The next step in my journey.*
> 
> Well, cutting veneer has been a challenge for me. No matter what I've tried, I haven't found a way to do it and get a nice fit. I've tried using the veneering saw, a knife and even sissors. The sissors worked suprisingly well during some test cuts on burl, but not so well on straighter grained samples. I tried using a board for a straight edge and tried cutting with my miter saw by sandwiching a piece between two pieces of plywood. This worked, o.k., but not good enough. I found that for me, my 12" fast square was the best guide for my veneering saw.
> 
> ...


These sites have some videos on cutting and jointing veneer. (In case you haven't seen them) Hope this helps.

http://www.woodworkingonline.com/category/podcast/
http://furnitology.blogspot.com/index.html

Is Karson dealing veneer?


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## Don (Dec 18, 2006)

oscorner said:


> *The next step in my journey.*
> 
> Well, cutting veneer has been a challenge for me. No matter what I've tried, I haven't found a way to do it and get a nice fit. I've tried using the veneering saw, a knife and even sissors. The sissors worked suprisingly well during some test cuts on burl, but not so well on straighter grained samples. I tried using a board for a straight edge and tried cutting with my miter saw by sandwiching a piece between two pieces of plywood. This worked, o.k., but not good enough. I found that for me, my 12" fast square was the best guide for my veneering saw.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Mark, a journey is never meaningful unless it provides some challenges. I'm with you on this one, Mate!


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

oscorner said:


> *The next step in my journey.*
> 
> Well, cutting veneer has been a challenge for me. No matter what I've tried, I haven't found a way to do it and get a nice fit. I've tried using the veneering saw, a knife and even sissors. The sissors worked suprisingly well during some test cuts on burl, but not so well on straighter grained samples. I tried using a board for a straight edge and tried cutting with my miter saw by sandwiching a piece between two pieces of plywood. This worked, o.k., but not good enough. I found that for me, my 12" fast square was the best guide for my veneering saw.
> 
> ...


bravo for being brave enough to take the plunge!

Learning curves: gotta love them. Sometimes, though, you just can't love them until they are over! ha.

Well done. It looks beautiful You must be very proud of your accomplishment.


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

oscorner said:


> *The next step in my journey.*
> 
> Well, cutting veneer has been a challenge for me. No matter what I've tried, I haven't found a way to do it and get a nice fit. I've tried using the veneering saw, a knife and even sissors. The sissors worked suprisingly well during some test cuts on burl, but not so well on straighter grained samples. I tried using a board for a straight edge and tried cutting with my miter saw by sandwiching a piece between two pieces of plywood. This worked, o.k., but not good enough. I found that for me, my 12" fast square was the best guide for my veneering saw.
> 
> ...


Karson is more of a pusher of veneer….lol

I belive he sent OS some to play with.


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## oscorner (Aug 7, 2006)

oscorner said:


> *The next step in my journey.*
> 
> Well, cutting veneer has been a challenge for me. No matter what I've tried, I haven't found a way to do it and get a nice fit. I've tried using the veneering saw, a knife and even sissors. The sissors worked suprisingly well during some test cuts on burl, but not so well on straighter grained samples. I tried using a board for a straight edge and tried cutting with my miter saw by sandwiching a piece between two pieces of plywood. This worked, o.k., but not good enough. I found that for me, my 12" fast square was the best guide for my veneering saw.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Iclashley…I viewed those before I began and they were a great help along with all the LumberJock's blogs on the subject. I've since cut and taped the border to it and will post those pictures soon.


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## oscorner (Aug 7, 2006)

*Veneering woes...disappointed :^(*

Well, I completed my journey and this is my story. I decided to use the maple veneer Karson gave me for the border of the chest board. Here is a picture of it taped up from the back:










The next task was to completely tape the seams with the three hole tape as seen here:










This was a somewhat tedious job because of all the seams. I felt that the mitered corners came out quite well and I was getting excited about finishing the process of gluing it up. I did a test piece with some of the burl on a scrap piece of pine. When I coated it with the glue it became obvious that the burl had many small holes that would allow the glue to seep through. To stop this so that I didn't end up with a strip of veneer sandwiched between two boards, I covered it with the painters tape before clamping another piece of pine over it. The next day I was quite pleased with the outcome. The burl was glued on flat and the painter's tape kept the glue from seeping through to the other board. Now that I had proved that this method worked, I was ready to glue up the veneer to the MDF. I applied painter's tape over all the burl and any small cracks that were evident in the seams. What a job! I applied Titebond II to the MDF and spread it nice and even across the whole surface. I taped on side of the veneer to one side of the MDF so that I could flip it over onto the glue. I worked my way from the end closest to the taped end across the MDF with my wooden roller making sure that the veneer was mated flat to it. I then took another board of MDF and clamped it on top of the veneer using cauls to equalize the pressure applied across the entire surface without applying too much pressure. Just enough to get a little squeeze out. The next day I removed the clamps and noticed that the maple border had a couple of spots that were bubbled up and a few of the maple squares were in the same shape. Needles to say I wasn't happy with my results after my test piece worked so well. My next discouragement came when I began the process of removing the three hole tape. I used a sponge dampened just enough to dampen the tape as was described in material I read about veneering. I started to remove the tape which was coming off nicely, when I notice more wrinkling of the maple veneer squares and border. :^( Now what was I to do? I had to get the tape off and this was the process in which to do it. I continued removing the tape and as I did I tried to think of what I could try to fix this mess. I decided to try using an iron to heat the veneer, thus removing the moisture and hopefully getting the glue to reactivate. Well the veneer started to lay down, but it was turning color. The iron was set too high! I turned it down and tried again. The glue started letting go and I could see that this was going to get worse before it got better, so I canned the idea of using the iron. I sanded the darkened veneer and tried rolling it with my wooden roller hoping that as it cooled that the glue would hold. Well, I think I was back to where I started. I finished removing the tape. Afterward, I decided to put the veneered piece on the driveway direct sun light hoping it would dry the veneer allowing it to flatten out. I seemed to work somewhat, but not perfectly. I then decided that while it was flatter to go ahead and seal it with several coats of poly. I seal the back of the MDF with shellac. I brought it into the house hoping the the air conditioner would further drop the humidity in the veneer. Well, I'll let you be the judge. Of course, there is still some bubbled spots that the camera doesn't show and one spot along the border and the edge of the substrate that didn't hold. I will re-glue it. My only solution it to put 1/8" acrylic over the entire board so that the chess pieces will not be affected by the bubbling. Here is what it looks like:



















Any suggestions from my more experienced veneerer's on how to avoid this in the future and what it is I did wrong would be greatly appreciated. I plan to make this into a table with a drawer as a completed project in the near future and will post when I finish it.


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

oscorner said:


> *Veneering woes...disappointed :^(*
> 
> Well, I completed my journey and this is my story. I decided to use the maple veneer Karson gave me for the border of the chest board. Here is a picture of it taped up from the back:
> 
> ...


How thick was your cauls, and how many clamps did you use. And how far apart were the clamps.


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

oscorner said:


> *Veneering woes...disappointed :^(*
> 
> Well, I completed my journey and this is my story. I decided to use the maple veneer Karson gave me for the border of the chest board. Here is a picture of it taped up from the back:
> 
> ...


but it's beautiful … learning opportunities.. humph.


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## Sawdust2 (Mar 18, 2007)

oscorner said:


> *Veneering woes...disappointed :^(*
> 
> Well, I completed my journey and this is my story. I decided to use the maple veneer Karson gave me for the border of the chest board. Here is a picture of it taped up from the back:
> 
> ...


I was taught to cover the whole piece with 2" wide paper tape. (Where it wasn't already taped with 1" tape.
I've always used a vacuum press (well, once years ago I used a friend veneer press with lots of screw clamps in a metal rig) so I don't know about the type of clamping you did. Sounds OK.
This is the hard part. Take your belt sander, put it on the tape and sand away. Just remember do not start it until is is flat on the piece and let it come to a COMPLETE stop before you lift it off or you will sand into the veneer.
Scary but it works. Then you only need a wet sponge and a scraper (a sharpened putty knife) to take of the few pieces you could not sand off.
DO NOT (at least with a vacuum press) let any painters tape stay on the piece as it will be permanently stuck to the veneer.
The figured maple looks nice.


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## oscorner (Aug 7, 2006)

oscorner said:


> *Veneering woes...disappointed :^(*
> 
> Well, I completed my journey and this is my story. I decided to use the maple veneer Karson gave me for the border of the chest board. Here is a picture of it taped up from the back:
> 
> ...


Karson, my cauls were 1 1/2" thick and spaced at about 4 1/2" apart, top and bottom over 1/2" MDF. I used ten clamps…all that I have and even had one cheap one break. The handle is molded plastic and so was the body of the lever assembly, so I didn't have an extreme amount of pressure capabilities with it. I think that even though I felt that I had way too much glue on the MDF that the MDF may have soaked it up causing me to have weak or no glue left in the areas that were able to lift up, especially those that lifted when I dampened the 3 hole tape.

MsDebbieP, thanks for the nice words.

Sawdust2, one of the reasons I was reluctant to try this was because I didn't have the budget to get into vacuum presses and such. The tape was not a problem to get off…it was just annoying to see the maple lift up from the moisture applied after spending so much time trying to do everything just right. Thanks for your input and suggestions. I may need them on another try.


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

oscorner said:


> *Veneering woes...disappointed :^(*
> 
> Well, I completed my journey and this is my story. I decided to use the maple veneer Karson gave me for the border of the chest board. Here is a picture of it taped up from the back:
> 
> ...


Was there a caul that covered the entire surface and then other cauls that applied the pressure from the clamps.

Pressure is applied as an inverted "V" the clamp is at the point and the pressure is applied within the mouth of the "V" If those mouths don't overlap then you have pressure voids. A vacuum bags kind of keeps that from happing, but you still need a caul over the entire surface but it can be 1/2" plywood and even 1/4" if a small piece is being glued. Can you draw a picture with Pencil Cad and post that image from a side view so I can see what it looked like.

Here is kind of what I'd like to see.


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## oscorner (Aug 7, 2006)

oscorner said:


> *Veneering woes...disappointed :^(*
> 
> Well, I completed my journey and this is my story. I decided to use the maple veneer Karson gave me for the border of the chest board. Here is a picture of it taped up from the back:
> 
> ...


Karson I don't have Pencil Cad, but here's a drawing of what I did.








The bottom board is the MDF with the veneer on it. The top is MDF that was used to apply equal pressure across the top of the veneer. The blocks indicate 2 X 4 cauls that were placed top and bottom and then clamped.


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

oscorner said:


> *Veneering woes...disappointed :^(*
> 
> Well, I completed my journey and this is my story. I decided to use the maple veneer Karson gave me for the border of the chest board. Here is a picture of it taped up from the back:
> 
> ...


Mark e-mail me your phone number so I can call. and what might be a good range of time to call.


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## Steffen (May 9, 2007)

oscorner said:


> *Veneering woes...disappointed :^(*
> 
> Well, I completed my journey and this is my story. I decided to use the maple veneer Karson gave me for the border of the chest board. Here is a picture of it taped up from the back:
> 
> ...


Mark,

I did a quilted maple veneer once and had similar results. I don't remember who I talked to about it, someone at rockler or woodcraft, but I remember them suggesting wetting the back of the veneer before clamping them together. I used the old concrete block clamping method so I know I had plenty of even pressure over the entire surface. The board looks great though. I'll post the project where I had problems. It's hanging in a church prayer room in Anaheim and nobody has ever said a word about it.


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## oscorner (Aug 7, 2006)

oscorner said:


> *Veneering woes...disappointed :^(*
> 
> Well, I completed my journey and this is my story. I decided to use the maple veneer Karson gave me for the border of the chest board. Here is a picture of it taped up from the back:
> 
> ...


Karson, PMed you!

Steffen, any ideas as to what happened?


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## oscorner (Aug 7, 2006)

oscorner said:


> *Veneering woes...disappointed :^(*
> 
> Well, I completed my journey and this is my story. I decided to use the maple veneer Karson gave me for the border of the chest board. Here is a picture of it taped up from the back:
> 
> ...


I messed up and deleted the drawing, Karson. I'm sorry…here it is again:


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## Steffen (May 9, 2007)

oscorner said:


> *Veneering woes...disappointed :^(*
> 
> Well, I completed my journey and this is my story. I decided to use the maple veneer Karson gave me for the border of the chest board. Here is a picture of it taped up from the back:
> 
> ...


I don't remember what they said was the cause. It has been a while since I did that project and when I was talking to someone about it I was just passing through. If I can remember the name of the company I purchased the veneer from (online) I will give it to you so you can call them and ask. They were very friendly and very helpful.

http://www.wood-veneers.com/index1.htm there they are.


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## oscorner (Aug 7, 2006)

oscorner said:


> *Veneering woes...disappointed :^(*
> 
> Well, I completed my journey and this is my story. I decided to use the maple veneer Karson gave me for the border of the chest board. Here is a picture of it taped up from the back:
> 
> ...


Thank you, Steffen.


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