CAREER AND TECHNOLOGY STUDIES

CON3140: SURFACE ENHANCEMENT

MODULE NOTES
Introduction:
Not all products that we use in woodworking are
visually appealing. In order hide or enhance a
surface there are many methods that can be
used to accomplish this. We use materials that
may not be visually appealing because these
are less expensive than building using products,
such as solid stock, which can be very
expensive. Also, materials such as plywood are
more stable and available in larger sheets than
what solid stock is available in. This cuts down
on the labour required to make larger sizes, so
it saves time as well.
There are four surface enhancement methods that will be explored. These are
veneering, marquetry, Inlaying, and carving. There are specific applications where each
of these are used. This will be examined as well.
Veneering:
Veneer plywood:
Veneer is a thin layer of solid material that is bonded to other wood products. One type
of plywood called veneer core describes the way it is constructed. The cores or layers of
the sheet are made from thin layers of solid material glued together. Generally, these
layers are an inferior wood material that will
give the sheet strength but do not have a
visually appealing look. In western Canada,
the veneer cores are made from poplar,
spruce, pine, and aspen that is otherwise
not usable. To make the sheet more
appealing, very thin layers of a desirable
species of wood are applied to the surface.
There are many species of trees used for
veneer. Common examples are oak, cherry,
mahogany, maple, walnut, and birch.

Applying veneer to enhance a surface:

Quite often, a pattern is desirable to improve the appearance of a surface. Plywood is
not available with a pattern in it. The plywood veneers are book-matched at most.
Cutting solid stock and gluing it into the pattern is very expensive, so we use veneer
which costs considerably less. Since veneer is thin and relatively inexpensive when
compared to solid stock, there are many species that are available in veneer form that
we would not be able to have access to in solid stock form.
There are many common veneer patterns as shown below.

Slip Match Book Match

Checkerboard

Producing Veneer:
In order to make veneer, it must be removed from the tree. The method used to remove
it will determine what the veneer will look like and its relative cost.
Rotary Cut:
As the name implies, the tree is mounted on a large
lathe and a large blade is held against the log as it
is rotated. This peels off the veneer in layers and
produces a wavy grain pattern. This is the least
expensive of the veneer patterns as it is the least
visually appealing.
Flat or Plain Sawn:
Flat slicing takes a flat cut of veneer off the log.
Though the pattern is less wavy than rotary cut,
it will produce cathedrals in the grain. As noted
in the picture on the left, cathedrals are the
rounded ends of grain pattern in the veneer.
Due to the method of cutting, since grain
doesn’t run exactly straight in a tree, these
cathedrals will show up where the knife cutting
the veneer cuts into the next annular ring of the
log.
Right or Half-Round Sawn:
To prepare a log for half-round
sawing, it is first cut in half. It is
then mounted to a lathe and
rotated past a knife. This will
produce a veneer pattern that
has characteristics of both rotary
and plain sawn lumber.

Quarter Sawn:
Quarter sawn lumber is the most desirable cut
for veneer. It produces the straightest grain
pattern. As can be seen in the top right image, the
annular growth rings are almost perpendicular to the
faces (wide flat surfaces) of the wood. This makes
the board very stable. In the case of veneer, the
straight grain pattern makes it very suitable for book
and slip matching where the objective is to make the
veneer look like one piece.
 A characteristic of quarter sawn oak is
visible medullary rays. Notice the
lighter coloured lines running across
the grain on the table pictured on the
left. These lighter lines are the
medullary rays. Since quarter sawing
is one of the only cuts to produce
these characteristic lines, it is
considered a premium feature. Mission
style and Stickley inspired furniture are
most often built using quarter sawn
oak. Using the premium grade lumber
or veneer coupled with quality
construction will bring top dollar for the
furniture being made. It is not
uncommon for a vintage Stickley bow
chair to command many thousands of
dollars if sold. One original model was
sold by Sotheby’s auction house for $48000.00.

The Process of Applying Veneer to a Surface:

1. Selecting the veneer:
Veneer selection involves considerations such as
cost, availability, colour, grain pattern, and the
desired effect to be achieved. There is quite a bit
of waste when using veneer in order to achieve
the desired design look. Due to this, when
choosing veneer, a person must select more
veneer than is actually needed and plan where
the veneer pieces will be cut from. Grain pattern,
colour and design are considered when picking the veneer.
2. Making the veneer forms:
In order to make the veneer pieces the same size, forms the exact size and
shape you want the veneer to be must be made. In a wood shop the most
convenient material to use would be closed-grain hardwood such as ash or
hickory. Cut and form two pieces for each shape that you need. Your veneer will
be clamped in between these. You will then trim the veneer down to these exact
shapes using a combination of sharp knives, chisels and sandpaper.
3. Shaping the veneer to size:
Cut veneer pieces to rough size. These should be cut so they are at least 3mm
or 3/16” larger in all dimensions than the finished size. Clamp the veneer to a
 table with a metal straightedge to hold it tight and follow the straightedge with a
sharp knife. Caution: Do not attempt to cut through on the first pass. Go over the
cut several times lightly until the veneer is cut all the way through. This will
prevent the knife from following the grain in the wood and cutting crooked.
4. Clamp the veneer between the two forms made in step 2.
Ensure the veneer sticks out slightly all the way around
and the form pieces are perfectly aligned.
Hint: Cut a 1mm deep groove in a
piece of MDF the width of the
veneers and use this to align the
form edges while allowing 1mm of
veneer to extend past the form
Veneer clamped between
edge. forms
1mm deep groove machined in
MDF for veneer edge and form
alignment

Veneer edge sitting in groove Forms placed on either side of 1mm of veneer extending past
made in MDF veneer form edge

5. Machine veneer to form edge:

At this stage, use a chisel or sandpaper wrapped around a smooth wood block to
bring the veneer down to the edge of the form. Take care not to sand down the
edge of the form pieces or your veneer will end up being the wrong size.
6. Tape veneer pieces together:
Once all pieces have been brought to finished
size, lay the pieces out and tape them together
in the desired pattern. Veneer tape is the best
to use for this as it is very thin and easily
sanded once the veneer has been bonded to
the substrate (the surface you will be applying
the veneer to). As you are taping, cover over Veneer pieces taped together
the edges you have already taped to keep the
veneer as flat as possible.
7. Adhering veneer to the substrate:
 Your veneer should now be ready to be
attached to the substrate. MDF makes an
excellent backer for veneer as it is very
smooth and accepts glue readily. Make sure
your taped veneer pattern is slightly larger
than the backer (substrate) you are going to
use. Once you are satisfied that everything
will align the way you want it to, you are
ready to glue the veneer pattern to the
backer.
8. Attaching veneer to backer:
There are many types of adhesives and presses that can be used to attach
veneer to backer. Specialty glue for veneer works excellent but is expensive and
has a shelf life (it will go rancid after a period of time). Carpenters’ glue works
well if it is applied sparingly and only to the backer. Caution: If you apply
carpenters’ glue to the veneer the moisture in the glue will be absorbed by the
veneer and it will warp horribly.
There are two types of veneer press, vacuum
and mechanical pressure. Mechanical
pressure can be applied by either using
clamping or hydraulic means.
Clamp pressure veneer
Hydraulic press press

A vacuum press bag forms veneer to the shape of

the form used. As shown in the picture on the left,
veneer is being formed to a shape. After curing, the
veneer will retain this shape. This is the type of press
you will be using to adhere your veneer to the
Vacuum bag press
backer.
Have the type of press you will be using set up and ready to use. Your instructor
will help you with this. The backer with glue, the veneer, and a topping board are
all placed in the bag. Once the bag is sealed, a vacuum pump sucks the air out
of the bag and this squeezes the veneer tight to the backer. After the glue cures,
the veneer and backer will now be bonded together. Release the vacuum
pressure and remove the material from the bag.
9. Finish sanding the veneer:
Veneer tape is very thin and made to be sanded. Sand on the direction of the
grain until all veneer tape residue is removed. Your veneer project is now ready
for finishing.
Marquetry and Inlaying:
Marquetry:
Marquetry is the art of cutting and placing small pieces of
veneer together to make a picture or design. This is an
extremely complex process that is very labour intensive.
Watch this YouTube video to get an idea of the process
traditional craftspeople use to form these intricate patterns.
This process can also be
simplified to add just a few
elements to enhance a surface. Marquetry pattern on
Due to the intricacy of tabletop
marquetry, this process is not employed until one
has had experience working with veneers.

Simple marquetry pattern

Inlaying:

This process involves inserting a different type of

material in the background material. This could be
different wood species, relating it to marquetry, or
inserting other media such as bone, shell, stone, ivory,
or ceramic. Inlaying traditionally is thought to be
mixing differing media to make the pattern or picture.
Employing this technique requires the artisan to be
trained in the shaping and manipulation of various
Bone inlaid dresser
media.
Fluting and Reeding:
Fluting:
Fluting is the process of machining shapes into
the wood surface. These are commonly found on
millwork around doors or built in cabinetry. This
surface enhancement technique is also used to
add accent to furniture legs and pedestals. In
order to use this technique, guide jigs for routers
must be built or a CNC router used to machine desired shape into the wood.
 Reeding:
Reeding is applying a moulding to the surface of the wood.
These pieces are the opposite of fluting. Where fluting cuts into
the wood piece, reeding is applied on the surface to create a
raised decorative surface. Reed pieces are machined as
separate pieces and then adhered to the surface. In the photo
on the right, reed pieces are applied to the round leg to add an Furniture leg with
reeding
additional design element to the piece to enhance the surface.
Carving:
Carving is used to embellish or enhance a surface. This process
must be applied to solid stock. Pressback chairs are a common
furniture item that has carving used to enhance the backplate on
the chair. As seen in the picture on the right, carving involves
cutting into the wood surface in order to create a picture or
pattern. Specialized tools are required in order to carve. Hand carved pressback chair