Awhile back I asked this list about whether I can fix the missing veneer off a table or should replace the whole tabletop. An answer was to fix the missing veneer. (I’m attaching a picture) I understand that undertaking reveneering the top is a job for an advanced woodworker with the right tools. The table is round and measures 52″ across. It opens to accept two leaves. My father made them 30 years ago.
So if I’m going to fix it I I need a piece of quarter-sawn mahogany veneer that will match to a large chip (6″ by 2.5″) in a table that I have. Maybe you might have such a thing in your shop? Woodcraft wants to sell me a 4’by 8′ piece. Or you have a suggestion about where to buy a smaller piece?
Alternatively I could find a furniture repairer who has the skills and tools to redo the top- but I fear that it would cost me more than I can afford. The advantage of redoign the top is that due to various attacks on the finish it is bleached and off-colored and needs a new finish. That would be part of my fix-it job.
I’m in Southern Vermont.
Thanks for your thoughts and help.
Replies
If there is a Rockler near you, they carry packs of veneer for less than $10. It might be a good idea to take the table with you. Grain and color can be difficult to match. Thickness could be an issue, also. Sometimes you have to make your own veneer when faced with repairs. There have been times when I used artist paints to blend and fake grain patterns. With my artistic ability, you have to stand back 500 ft. but some folks are amazing at it.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Go to ebay and type mahogany veneer in the search box on the upper right corner of any page. You should get quite a list, with people selling anywhere from a few square feet to hundreds, most with decent pictures to help you find something that will match.
Rob
riaamp,
Before you go out on a wild goose chase looking for a matching veneer, try and measure the thickness of the veneer that is on the table currently. I would suspect that if it was made 30 years ago, the veneer was way thicker than what is currently available now commercially (the norm now is 1/42nd - 1/50th). 30 years ago the norm was probably 1/16th - 1/20th. You may have to resaw your own to get the thickness you want.
Some other veneer suppliers:
Certainly Wood Veneer in New York, veneersupplies.com, B&B Rare Woods in Colorado
Personally, I would re-veneer the whole top rather than try to patch it. I think it would be harder to make the repair invisible than replace the whole top. But as you said, it is not necessarily a job for a beginner. A shame you are in southern VT, I would be more than happy to help you out with it if you were a bit closer.
Good luck and let us know how it turns out.
Lee
Thanks everyone for you replies. So very helpful. Thickness - I don't have a good device for measuring... seems like it is as thick at three index cards- or maybe a better common reference - four times the back cover of Fine Woodworking. (I folded it in half and half again.) Yes there are veneers at Ebay. Great tip. One is 5" by 7" tiles with a sticky back. I have a feelling I should forgo those? Probably the "right" answer is to redo the whole thing. That raises the question of the worth of the table. Sigh.
riaamp,
You have nothing to lose in trying to repair this table. Give it a shot. If you don't like the results, you can then exercise your "plan B," whatever that is.
You are going to have to clean up the raw edge of the torn piece. I suggest you go ahead and trim out a small wedge so you can remove the piece to measure thickness and to do whatever grain matching might be available.
It will be impossible to color match the new insert with the existing veneer. If you succeed in dyeing it to a close match, the new piece will then go on darkening past that point. It may be necessary to sand the whole top, then refinish.
In all probability the glue was hot hide. If so, fresh hot hide glue will re-activate the existing residual on the substrate.
Rich
Edited 4/7/2007 4:21 pm ET by Rich14
Thanks for the encouragement. I had been planning to refinish the whole table - it desperately needs it. By dyeing - I hope you mean staining? The whole table needs to be darker. It has suffered -when my mother bought it, it was black. She stripped and refinished. When I got it, I too stripped and refinished. That would have been almost 20 years ago. I'll see what I can find for veneer patch. Thanks
Dyeing or staining. If you refinish the whole top, you might be able to achieve a decent match.
If the bottom of the table top is also veneered with the same wood, then you might consider removing a piece from it for use on the top. If you can do this, the color will most likely be different but at least the grain/species will match. If you need to purchase some veneer, you might try calling the sales guys at Certainly Woods and offer to purchase 8x10 inch samples of any mahogany they think may be a match. This cost should be very minor. I would also try my best to repair this table and leave intact most of what my father has left me. It wouldn't bother me in the least to see a slight blemish where the old man needed some patching. Too often tables are thought to be precious objects and must be kept pristine. Whereas their reality is utility and a common ground for people to meet and interact.
If you have not yet found a piece of veneer to repair this, send me your address and the dimensions needed to cover the damaged area and I'll mail you a piece.
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