Sunday, July 31, 2011

Veneer, after- ish


In the last post, I showed the gluing of the loose veneer.  Here, I am making a pattern to patch the places that have missing veneer.
While it would be easier to cut the patches of veneer if I squared out the missing parts, it does not look as well.  Following the splits in the wood seems to normalize the difference in the veneer.  The pattern process is like making a rubbing of a grave stone.  I just use a pencil.

Here, I am checking the fit of the pattern, and will adjust by trimming the paper as needed.  Above the pattern you see the piece of veneer that I plan to use as a donor.  I save loose veneer from other cabinets, in cases where the top is so far gone that it is better to just take it all off.  If heated with a hairdryer and carefully removed with a thin metal spatula, useful pieces can be harvested.  Veneer can also be bought in sheets.  Avoid the peel and stick- it is too thin to fill in with.

I cut the patch using an exacto knife.  If the pattern is intricate, I secure it with a swipe of a glue stick.  When cutting, look at the grain and decide which way you think it will split if things go wrong.  Work in such a way that the split, if it happens, will not go into your patch.  Here is the patch, glued in.   I don't worry about the edges- they can be easily sanded later.  I use Titebond hide glue here, as well, wipe off the over flow with a damp rag, put down a sheet of wax paper 9 I use wax paper because if it does stick, it is easy to sand off), a flat surface and heavy weight.

After the patches have dried, I use finishing putty, sold with the wood putty in the hardware store, to fill in the inevitable gaps.  Finish putty comes already colored, and can be mixed.  Apply stain before finish putty, and linseed oil or shellac or what have you after.  Sand it gently when dry.  This top just needs a final sanding and then  oil.

Anyhow, that's just how I do it.

3 comments:

Magpie Sue said...

Wow, impressive.

DragonPoodle said...

Awesome! Will you come over to my house and fix mine, too? it looks JUST like your before picture.

I'm putting this on the list of things to try---someday.

Michele Bilyeu said...

This is really interesting and very helpful to me. I am bookmarking you for future reference. Maybe one of these days, I will actually try this..it looks awesome! And yes, I wish you lived closer too ;)