I’m looking at doing a baby bed for a friend (unsolicited surprise), and I’m debating how much I love them. I’m trying to decide whether I love them to the point of solid curly bubinga, or if I only love them to the point of “regular” bubinga.
I’m thinking maybe the “luv” compromise might be veneer made from the curly bubinga boards. However, what I don’t want is that look that veneered furniture has. I know most professionals use really thin veneers, but for some reason I can spot those a mile off. It’s something about the surface texture and how even curly koa veneer seems to have no depth to the chatoyance.
So, I’m wondering how thick a piece I need to give the appearance of “solid” pieces. I’m also wondering at what point veneer is no longer veneer. Is 1/4″ veneer? 3/8″? 1/8″. Can you glue a 1/4″ panel front and back to baltic birch and still be good?
Also, if I use the curly on the “good side” can I get away with using the “regular” on the other side? The “other side” is on the back next to the wall, but I really want this to look like it’s made from solid hunks O’ goodness…
Replies
Jgourlay,
I like to cut my veneer at about 1/8 of an inch. Press the veneers and then sand them down to about 1/16. 1/4 inch veneers are way to thick and will definitely cause you problems down the road. Using figured on on side and regular on the other can be done just keep in mind what the piece is and how it will be fit into the project as a whole. I would suspect if you left a panel just leaning against a wall you would notice some warping but fit into a frame like a panel door you probably wont have any problems. When doing doors in this way I like to make a panels of smaller, say, 1 1/2" wide strips of edge grain laminated together. This will help somewhat with the stability.
I should also warn of the working properties of figured Bubinga and Bubinga in general. I don't know if you have worked this species before but it can be a little unruly. Trying to slice veneers off a wide plank might be a difficult task. Especially at these smaller thicknesses. Good solid figured Bubinga will also put a nice dent in your wallet.
Take a look at this thread. It's a cabinet I made in figured Bubinga. Virtually every part has been resawn from 8/4 stock. The doors were constructed like I mentioned above. It's a beautiful wood. Good luck and have fun.
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-knots/messages?msg=12926.1
Hempstalk, you do beautiful work!! I’ve not done much work at all. The major few projects I have made have been from solid bubinga and padauk, so I really don’t have an easier wood to compare it to. I do know that I despise working on the pine from the hardware store because it destroys my chisels.
What do I need to watch out for on the figured Bubinga? What problems will I see if I saw the veneer too thickly?
No kidding about the cost of figured Bubinga. I just bought a bunch of rough cut figured Bubinga and figured padauk from Gilmer, and verily it was a swift kick in the pocket book!
Jgourlay,
I've been working primarily in exotic woods for the last three years. These woods are so dense in comparison to some domestics that they don't get dried completely through. When you resaw them the center is a different moisture content then the outer surfaces. Not so much as to make them unusable but enough to make them want to move around a bit. I would recommend you do all your resawing at the start of the project and let the wood sit for at least a couple of weeks if possible. You could use them immediately but it may case some headaches latter.
If you use veneer that is to thick it acts like solid wood. If you glue it to a substrate, it has to much strength and when it makes it's seasonal movement it will either warp, split, delaminate or a combination of all. It's just not a good idea. You may be able to get away with 1/8" thick veneer but I stress the word "might". The way I see it is if your going to spend all that time crafting something you want to last for many years why risk the whole project with veneer that just a little to thick.
http://www.hearnehardwoods.com/index.html
Try these guys for some nice woods.
Thanks!
How about 3/16" scraped down to an 1/8"?
Jgourlay,
That's a lot of scraping. I think if you attempt to scrape off 1/16" of material you'll have a hard time keeping the veneer a consistent thickness. I don't think the end result would warrant the amount of work but that's just my opinion. I glue my veneer down and then run the panels through a drum sander. You could lay up your veneers and have them sanded for you if you don't have a sander. That's probably your best bet.
Hmm...so no good way for a garage woodworker to do this himself?
I wanted to start thicker to minimize the chance of scraping/sanding through. I kind of like of the finish I get from scraping more than the sanded finish-it seems to look better.
But I'll do whatever you recommend. So, 1/8 down to 1/16?
Jgourlay,
Scraping doesn't remove as much material as you might think it will. Take a careful measurement of the thickness of a piece of you material. Use calipers if you have them. Then scrape the piece fairly aggressively and measure again. I think you'll be surprised at the amount of effort it takes to remove any considerable amount of material.
Do a few tests with the bandsaw and see how thin you can cut the veneer and still get good results. By jointing the surface then sawing the veneer off you can use jointed surface as the glue side. Joint between each cut. Aim to saw around 3/32" and once the veneer is pressed you'll have plenty of material to clean off the saw marks.
Cheers.
Edited 3/25/2004 4:22 pm ET by HEMPSTALK
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled