I veneered the edges of a plywood shelf by applying Titebond II (thinned slightly) to both surfaces, letting them dry separately, then ironing them together. Whoever discovered this method is very clever, indeed.
The only problem I had was in trimming. I cut off most of the excess veneer with a razor blaze, then used a mini-plane to bring the veneer down to the level of the shelf. The plane removed a tiny amount of of the veneer face of the plywood, too. The exposed grain in these sections look different, even after applying clear shellac.
What is the proper tool for trimming off excess veneer?
Janet
Replies
flush trim router bit perhaps, providing you can provide adequate support on what you are trimming to keep the router level and non-tippy.
I trim my homemade 1/8 thick veneers with a block plane and usually don't have any trouble getting them flush with the plywood they are capping or with tearing out its veneer.
JD
Thanks, JD. The "plane" I used is so small, it's hard to keep level.
The exposed grain took on an orange tint, I'm not sure why.
Janet
Janet use whatever you want to do the major trimming (I usually use a large file) but when you get down to the fine cuts as you near a perfect fit nothing is quite as good as a hard block wrapped with sandpaper. If you use one that is a bit overlength it makes it easier to keep your bevel angle accurate. Well ... actually ... sticky backed sandpaper may be a slight improvement.
Has any one tried the Bandit? They are available from Woodworker's Supply for $5 or $6 and have two blades, so you can cut in either direction. I use mine for trimming iron on edge banding. It works great. I have not tried it for trimming veneer though.TCW Specialists in Custom Remodeling.
Those double-edged trimmers work well on plastic, but don't work well on real wood veneer. Think of the blade as a plane: it wants to be cutting away from the grain direction. If you run it the wrong way, it digs into the wood and rips out little fibers. If you use the trimmer to trim both edges of the edge-banding simultaneously, one blade will be cutting nicely, and the other will be digging in. The only time when this edge-trimmer works well on veneer is when the grain of the veneer runs exactly straight down the board.
DW, is it paper backed veneer? If not, don't use a flush trim bit, it will tear out the grain. A small plane works, but in my experiences with veneer, I use a chisel to pare the veneer flush. You can watch the progress, and make sure there is no tear out. If the grain lends itself to a uniform direction, you can use a sharp scraper to take it down to flush.
Janet,
A trim bit for a router works toi get most off. Then with all kinds of laminate I use a long fine file to ease edges. With a plane you are asking for lots of trouble. You have to watch for grain direction, depth, etc. Sandpaper wrapped around a block works well too.
viney, if you use a flush trim bit on bare veneer, with no paper backing, you run the risk of extreme splintering. It works great on paper backed, though. The file will work fine, but trimming veneer is not the same as laminates, so other methods should be used. Just my findings by trial and error. (mainly the latter)
Several years ago I helped on part of a big job that involved, among other things, applying and trimming backerless veneer. We had a LOT of problems with blowout and chipping because we were routing everything. Thru trial and error we found that applying wide masking tape eliminated the problem. What we found worked best was to try to center the the masking tape over where the trim was to be done and to lay the tape on nice and flat and then rub it on so that it was well adhered to the veneer. We flush routed and then pulled the tape and cleaned it up with a flat file.
Regards,
Kevin
Kevin, good idea. I'll try that next time. Thanks
all the veneer I trim using a router is hand applied and roughly 1/8" to 3/16" thick.....all the other stuff is applied, trimmed via machine
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