Replies

1. 
   Ronaway | Jan 20, 2006 07:44pm | #1

   There are some suppliers that offer 1/16 thick veneers. l believe they are considered Architectural veneers. The other option is to resaw your own if you have the capacity in your tooling to do so. In any event veneers thicker than 3/32 can cause problems in that they want to act like boards so there is a delicate balance between too thin and too thick. I typically like to resaw to .094 and drum sand to .060. Like you I think .024 is just a bit too thin.

   Ron

   Edited 1/20/2006 11:46 am ET by Ronaway

   
   

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   Edited 1/20/2006 11:46 am ET by Ronaway

1. 
   Archibald | Jan 31, 2006 07:49am | #4

   Can you offer the names of these suppliers who offer 1/16" thick veneer?

1. 
   Ronaway | Jan 31, 2006 03:39pm | #5

   Visit the Certainly Wood website and go to the special thickness veneers section. They have
   1/16 and 1/20th veneers in several species.Ron

2. 
   Danceswithwoods | Jan 22, 2006 12:02am | #2

   I'm reasonably new at working with commercial veneers also and have found it a lot of fun and a great learning experience.  They are pretty easy, even at 1/42, if you handle them gently.  You'll find that most of the best figured woods are used in this thickness so that the yield from a flitch is greater.  Also, if you check around I think you'll find that many of the veneer houses carry "double-backed" veneer which has a second layer adhered which usually has the grain running in the opposite direction.  These are a breeze to work with.  Have fun, experiment, and good fortune!...Tim

    

   P.S.  Don't forget to veneer BOTH sides of a panel to keep it from warping, even if you use a cheap veneer on the reverse.

1. 
   JETofTN | Jan 23, 2006 09:30pm | #3

   Thank you - best reply I've had thus far.  Never heard of the double thickness.  I've been looking at e-bay mostly - stuff seems very cheap but great looking stuff.  Maybe I need to explore other outlets.

   Thanks.

3. 
   cadiddlehopper | Feb 18, 2006 02:22am | #6

   I don't quite know what is meant by working veneers, but I guess that is what I have done for 40 years. How will you attach it? Does the bed you plan to put it on already exist or are you planning it as a project?

   I began veneering as recommended by A. Constantine of NYC, that is applying contact cement to veneer & substrate then pressing them together. The experts condemn this method, but I have pieces about 40 years old showing no separation. I repaired a piece that was damaged also. I don't do that anymore, but it works better than claimed & makes a veneer press unnecessary. Some skills must be developed & don't forget the fumes from the glue. They are both toxic & dangerous. Ventilate!

   I now have a veneer press that is 24 x 48 inches. I use yellow glue to fasten the veneer. I apply veneer to both sides at once. If veneer is attached first to one side then the other, the panel can warp due to all the moisture from the glue. The panel will almost surely warp if veneer is applied only to one side using yellow glue. It took a bit of practice to apply veneer to both sides of a 24 x 48 panel!

   Making up a 24 x 48 panel of veneer is the most difficult part. I have a method, but it is messy. I hope you can do better. It works better using contact cement than my press.

   If you use contact cement, be certain to avoid water-based products. They were just becoming available when I began veneering. Unaware that I had purchased such a product, I blithely went to work with it. Next day: The veneer had split to ribbons.

   When I began veneering, most of it was 1/28th inch thick. I have sliced my own thicker. That is not a piece of cake.

   I live in north Alabama. Are we close enough to share war stories in person?

   cadiddlehopper of AL

1. 
   JETofTN | Feb 18, 2006 07:26pm | #7

   Maybe; I live in Chattanooga.  Thanks for the advice.  JET

1. 
   cadiddlehopper | Mar 11, 2006 04:46pm | #8

   Sorry for replying so late. I guess I didn't click on the envelope.I live on the Chattanooga side of Huntsville, AL, just over 100 miles away. Scottsboro has a hardwood outlet which has exotics at decent prices but an indecent sales tax rate. Do you ever travel this way?If you haven't done any veneering, you might want a project a bit smaller than a bed for practice. My own methods aren't in any textbooks, but they work pretty well. You might develop a method that no one else has ever used, too.Cadiddlehopper

1. 
   JETofTN | Mar 11, 2006 08:30pm | #9

   Thanks for the reply.

    

   I come through Scottsboro occasionally.  The last time, we had been to the Walls Of Jericho at Skyline on the mountain.  The hike just about killed my knees.  Getting older.

   What's the lumber yard  I might rive down just to check it out.  Seems to me I saw a hardwood sawmill as I came off the Mountain.

   Maybe getting older is an excuse for more time in the shop.

   JET

    

1. 
   cadiddlehopper | Mar 12, 2006 07:06am | #10

   Walls of Jericho! I have wanted to go there myself. Our Sierra Club makes trips there. I just had my 70th, so I doubt that I could keep up with those professional hikers.The Hardwood Center is not a lumber yard exactly. They supply millwork for houses mostly - stair parts, flooring, cabinet parts, etc. Much wood they use is imported, but they have domestic hardwoods, too. They have probably 20 varieties of imports. They sell some of their stock as lumber - 4/4s to 16/4s in a few varieties. They sell a lot of shorts such as a turner might want. Some of the wood is so hard that you really don't want it!I went there today. It is on the south side of US72 just a little east of the plastics plant (I can't think of the name just now, but it used to be a Goodyear plant). It is a block off the highway in a grey building. There used to be a sign on 72, but they must have been made to move it off. It is sort of hard to find. If you get there, you are 30 miles from my place.Cadiddlehopper