Popular Post Chestnut Posted March 17, 2019 Popular Post Report Share Posted March 17, 2019 So i mentioned it a while back that i had a request for a backgammon board. It sound like fun and would be an interesting change from furniture. Over Christmas @Ronn W gave me a crash course in veneering and helped me figure out the complex issues creating a backgammon board might create. This first one is going to be a test to see how it goes. I fully expect to mess it up somewhere. So i started out by taping the field on top of the light color veneer that i wanted for the light triangles. To keep the triangles the exact same size you cut through both veneers at the same time. This way you don't have to worry about accuracy on cutting. After i cut the three light triangles I taped them in to their places with plenty of painters tape on the backside. This is import because you don't want the bevel on the razor blade to push the veneer around as you are cutting near the delicate points that will be formed. The taping above is after i completed both sides but it shows the overkill taping i did to make sure nothing moves. The next step was to rinse and repeat with the dark triangles. I'm going to make the board in 2 parts, getting veneer wide enough to do both on one sheet proved to be difficult. It also isn't necessary as there is generally a divider separating both pieces so i can take advantage of that to do separate veneers here. Typically the boards are made with a hinge in the middle but i wanted to go for something a little different. Still working it out so I'll explain later. Now i'm at the point where i need to add the veneer tape and then prep everything to be glued down. I'm not quite sure how that's going to work so off to do research. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted March 17, 2019 Report Share Posted March 17, 2019 Very cool! I bought some veneer supplies a while ago, but never actually got around to playing with them yet. I'll be interested to see how this goes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronn W Posted March 17, 2019 Report Share Posted March 17, 2019 Great start, Drew. Cutting through to layers at once was a good approach. If you want to use my vacuum bag, let me know. BTW, you can use the blue tape to "pull' pieces tight to each other by taping perpendiulcar to a joint while stretching tape slightly. Keep us posted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmac Posted March 17, 2019 Report Share Posted March 17, 2019 Awesome, great start. Also glad to see a project in progress posted! This is a neat project to post. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick S Posted March 17, 2019 Report Share Posted March 17, 2019 Nice project, Drew! Definitely going to be following along. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted March 17, 2019 Report Share Posted March 17, 2019 Looks great Drew! I look forward to following along! Nice job Ronn! You must be a really good teacher becuase that looks great 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byrdie Posted March 17, 2019 Report Share Posted March 17, 2019 Fully expect this to turn out as near perfect as possible. Certainly looks like you're off to a good start! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted March 17, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2019 6 hours ago, Ronn W said: Great start, Drew. Cutting through to layers at once was a good approach. If you want to use my vacuum bag, let me know. BTW, you can use the blue tape to "pull' pieces tight to each other by taping perpendiulcar to a joint while stretching tape slightly. Keep us posted. Thanks. They are small enough i think I'll be good with cauls and clamps. I did send you an email with a few questions when ever you get time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronn W Posted March 17, 2019 Report Share Posted March 17, 2019 35 minutes ago, Chestnut said: Thanks. They are small enough i think I'll be good with cauls and clamps. I did send you an email with a few questions when ever you get time. I did not get your email. Will confirm my enail address in private message. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted March 18, 2019 Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 That looks darn cool so far. Looks like I’m going to learn a whole new game, no pun intended. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted March 18, 2019 Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 Can't wait to see the end result, Drew. It looks great so far! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chip Sawdust Posted March 18, 2019 Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 Chestnut, what would we ever do without blue tape? This is looking good, you’re a quick study 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted March 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 9 hours ago, Chip Sawdust said: Chestnut, what would we ever do without blue tape? This is looking good, you’re a quick study Probably use green tape . I don't know, the stuff is really nice to have around. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Chestnut Posted March 23, 2019 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 Well I made a big step today. I got the 2 board pieces finished and have them all veneer tapped up. I cut off a piece of BB ply for the substrate and started at things for a good 15 min nervous to proceed. So i broke out the glue and glue roller. I"m not sure if regular woodworking glue is the best for this but it's what I'm going to use. I think i remember Ron mentioning at one point that less glue is sometime more with veneer so i may be dead in the water before i started with this one. I fear i applied too much glue and I'm going to be dealing with that. I used some towel to act as flexible cauls to distribute the pressure around. I figured if i can get 500 lbs of force from these clamps which is half of their marketed rating i should be around 25 psi which is more pressure than a veneer bag. We'll see how it goes. This glue dries fast so i may post an update in a couple hours. This is where i sit. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 Good luck! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Chestnut Posted March 24, 2019 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted March 24, 2019 Things went excellent. Came out dead flat and sanded up nicely. Removing the veneer tape was fun but also nerve racking i didn't want to sand through the veneer. I don't know what this link will do but the origional image is 10 meg and has a bit more resoulition. If you go to the full size version you can maybe see some of the gaps but i'm really happy with how hard they are to find. Thank you @Ronn W i hope i did well. Now to glue the other one down and then make the box to go around all of this. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronn W Posted March 24, 2019 Report Share Posted March 24, 2019 Looks good - not your usual simple first veneer project. Well Done. I like it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted March 24, 2019 Report Share Posted March 24, 2019 That turned out great Drew! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted March 24, 2019 Report Share Posted March 24, 2019 Nice work, Drew! Not only is the fit near perfect, but that one maple (?) point with the abrosia streak highlights the fact that this is a handcrafted piece, not a factory run. I like it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick S Posted March 24, 2019 Report Share Posted March 24, 2019 Really nice, Drew! Makes me want to get started on one, but too many projects going right now to start another. Soon! Can't wait to see your next steps. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Chestnut Posted April 11, 2019 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted April 11, 2019 Learning experience that i thought I'd offer. When slicing veneer cuts that go along the grain will disappear but those going across the grain do not. You can see the cut that was left by the razor blade when i made the cut. I'm going to try and fix this with sawdust and wood glue but i'm not sure if that's going to make it better or worse. I'm going to use wiping poly so it should blend fix it somewhat I just don't know the effect it might have on the burl. I know now to be far more careful with this kind of cut. If any one thinks of a better fix feel free to throw it out and I'll give it a shot. There are 3 separate areas where this happened. Zoomed out. Still have some sanding to do to remove some veneer tape. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted April 12, 2019 Report Share Posted April 12, 2019 Darn nice Nut! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Chestnut Posted April 14, 2019 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted April 14, 2019 Finally got some steady time to get this one wrapped up which is good too. I am upgrading my electrical panel this Thursday and i have to button up a bunch of wiring and get new grounds ready before the big day. The sawdust and glue mix worked surprisingly well. You can still see marks but it's far better than it was. After i got the frame made and the top sized, it was as simple as thinning out some walnut to make a slip fit top. I needed some dividers for the piece treys as well as the center wall thing. I had a small piece of redgum sitting on my scrap shelf and figured with all the chaos of wood on this one why not add 1 more species. It turns out it blends well between the walnut and the black dyed wood i used on the field. I just have the brass latches left to install after the finish cures. It's too bad the Mahogany veneer is so much darker than the piece i had. I hope that in time it evens out. If i get a chance i might toss it out side to sun tan this week. It's supposed to be in the 60s!!!!!!!!! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted April 15, 2019 Report Share Posted April 15, 2019 That turned out great Drew! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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