In my last episode, I created the curved front apron out of maple. However, my plan for the carcass of my hall table is for cherry. So in this episode I explain how I made my own veneers and then used three different clamping or pressing techniques to apply the veneers to all four table aprons. I could have made life a lot easier on myself if I had about twice as many clamps as I do, proving once again the axiom that a woodworker can never have too many clamps.
Some of you may have also heard my recent discussion on the Fine Woodworking Shop Talk Live podcast where I mentioned a recent mistake I had made with a vacuum press. While the footage in this video shows the "after" scenario, my first attempt at veneering my side aprons found me struggling with a hole in the vacuum bag. A simple piece of tape fixed the problem, but remind me how important it is to do a dry run of ANY kind of clamping technique before the glue gets involved.
Right click to download the HD version of this video
Showing posts with label veneer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label veneer. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Stacking the odds
In true Nakashima style, I wanted the live edge top for my hall table to dictate the size and shape of the carcass that supports is. Since the front of the table top follows a gentle curved shape, I want to match the same curve to the front apron of the table.
In my curved front writing desk project from a few years back, I used a bent lamination technique to create the curved drawer fronts. The technique works great if you don't need to cut any big joinery into the components. But to created the crescent front for this hall table, I need to build an apron that can be tenoned into the legs. Unfortunately, the big weakness of bent lamination is that if you shape or cut the piece and sever too many glue joints, you can weaken the bond.
So for this project, I decided to use a stacked lamination technique where I built up the apron structure out of four pieces of stacked maple which I will ultimately veneer with cherry to match the rest of the carcass. I originally thought I was using soft maple, but it turns out I was working with rock maple, so there was a little more elbow grease involved than I had expected. But I'm sure going to have one strong front apron!
Right click to download the HD version of this video
In my curved front writing desk project from a few years back, I used a bent lamination technique to create the curved drawer fronts. The technique works great if you don't need to cut any big joinery into the components. But to created the crescent front for this hall table, I need to build an apron that can be tenoned into the legs. Unfortunately, the big weakness of bent lamination is that if you shape or cut the piece and sever too many glue joints, you can weaken the bond.
So for this project, I decided to use a stacked lamination technique where I built up the apron structure out of four pieces of stacked maple which I will ultimately veneer with cherry to match the rest of the carcass. I originally thought I was using soft maple, but it turns out I was working with rock maple, so there was a little more elbow grease involved than I had expected. But I'm sure going to have one strong front apron!
Right click to download the HD version of this video
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