Nickbee

My 3rd panel is clamped up so it’s time to fix that ¼” hole in the one side piece of veneer.

The game plan is to find a similar color in a cut off and use an xacto to cut around the defect and patch piece at the same time:



I’m not thrilled with the results as the burl was very fragile in that area:



But from a foot away it does not look too horrible:



I’m thinking the results would be better if I didn’t cut the patch with straight lines. I can see where one of those veneer punches would be very handy here. I’m hoping that once the dark glue fills in the gaps and it gets sanded it will be less noticeable. And I’ll plan to put this panel on the inside of the box.

I put a small patch of veneer tape and the panel is ready for the press:



BTW, how do you guys like to remove veneer tape after pressing?

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harrysin

I can't answer you're question Nick. but I agree that a non linear patch blends into the background much better.

__________________
Harry

Nickbee

Ya Harry,

I can see getting something like this in the future:



http://www.veneersupplies.com/produc...roducts_id=190

Nickbee

Here’s the patched panel after coming out of the press:



I’m not thrilled with the results and I completely forgot that I now have an extra sheet of veneer (since I’m doing a book match for the floor). I might make up another panel and use this one to practice sanding and to test out the finish.

It’s time to start the 4 way book match for the box floor. Both Marc Adams and Jonathan Benson show how to use mirrors set at specific angles to “preview” what a radial match will look like. I figured this should work for a 4 way book match also.

So I gently put two mirrors into a 90 deg clamp:



Now I can move the “house of mirrors” over different sections of a veneer sheet to see what a 4 way book match will look like:



Nah…



Nah…

I move the mirrors to a corner of the sheet that has more of a grain pattern and see two mock-ups that I like allot.

One looks like Xs:



And one looks like Diamonds:



This is the one I decide on.

Nickbee

Now since I marked the sheets when I 1st got them I have them in sequential order as they were cut off the log. In every progressive sheet the grain pattern is slightly shifted. As I line up the features I’m going to use it creates staggered edges, perfect for holding in place with blue tape:





Marc Adams goes over his method for making great radial matches in his video. It involves packing the veneer between two pieces of MDF, cutting the bundle with a band saw, then using an edge sander to clean up the cuts. I don’t have a band saw or edge sander but I do have some MDF and a 2x2. My 1st plan was to use screws to hold the MDF “clamps” together. But things where not sitting well so I broke out my magnetic jigs / vertical presses (left over from my model building days): After cutting the veneer a bit oversized I clamp everything down:

Nickbee

With the veneer stack clamped down I use a piece of adhesive backed sandpaper on an oak 2x2 to sand away the overhang. I start with 80 grit and finish off with 220:



Jonathan Benson mentions that he uses sanding blocks on his shooting board when dealing with difficult burls. This works like a champ on this difficult burl:



With one side done I shift my clamps and polish off the 2nd side. The factory edges of the MDF assure I’ll be at a 90 deg angle when done.



A quick mock up shows everything looks decent and the well aligned:



After deciding on the “good side” I flip the pieces over and tape the seams with blue tape on the glue side:



One trick here is to tack the tape to one side then pull the seam tight as you press it down on the other side. This pulls everything together nicely and now the good side is ready for veneer tape:



I get out a clean sponge to dampen the glossy glue side of the tape. One tip I’ve read is to use distilled water for this. I can imagine that hard water could possibly leave some staining on dark veneer. Since my other hobby is a salt water fish tank I have an endless supply of RO / DI water from a special filter. This is basically pure H2O:



I place strips of veneer tape perpendicular to the seams every few inches. I roll my seam roller over a paper towel to flatten the tape and remove any excess water:

Nickbee

Then I run long lengths of tape down each seem:



Ok, so I might have over done it with the tape… But I’m new at this so give me a break

As the tape dries over the next 15 minutes the panel cups up slightly:



This shows that the tape is doing its job of slightly shrinking and pulling the seams tight.

Looking though the tape holes you can see the seam looking pretty damn good:



The slight cupping shouldn’t be an issue once the panel is pressed.

After the veneer tape is dried I remove all the blue tape from the glue side and the panel is ready to be trimmed and glued to the substraight.

harrysin

I've said it before Nick, but I have to say it again, you're patience simply amazes me, never even in my heyday did I have that sort of patience. This must be why I've taken to pen-making, one can go from start to finish in an hour or two. Keep amazing me Nick.

__________________
Harry

challagan

Looking great Nick! Thanks for all the photos.

Corey

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http://iowacarver.tripod.com/

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http://woodshop51503.tripod.com/

Nickbee

I think this comes from my RC airplane days. That's when a project was done over an entire winter! So getting a project done over a few weeks of casual building seems quick for me. And from what I've seen of your pens you would never know they are done in an hour!