Yes I made a dumb mistake. Having not worked with hardwood plywood for 25
years, I sanded through an area of the veneer. Since I hadn't seen this
before I kept sanding (I swear it was thick in the good old days). I now
have a defect of about 2 by 4 on a 11 by 84 side of a nearly finished cherry
bookcase.



I think the best answer is veneer. This I have never done but I'm good with
Formica.

Questions:

1. Good or bad idea?

2. If a good idea, any good online sources.

3. Any other good solutions. I will be applying a light stain (no comments
please it's for my wife). Maybe a little darker stain and an artistic hand?



Dan

It was somewhere outside Barstow when "DrDan99"
wrote:

1. Good or bad idea?

Treat it like a burn mark and read some convenient book on restoring
antiques by replacing patches of veneer. As always, lemon or diamond
shaped patches hide better than rectangles. At this stage, while
you're still sanding the whole carcase, then a good patch repair
should end up pratically invisible.

You might like to try splitting a veneer patch off a ply offcut, so as
to get a better match.

Zachary Taylor's "Decorative Wood Inlay" will tell you,
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1861260431/codesmiths-20
or Bennett's "Discovering and Restoring Antique Furniture" is the best
resto guide
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/030434740X/codesmiths-20

My first choice would be to put that side against the wall. If it
cannot be concealed, or the project is for a customer, you're
probably hosed. The glueline of layered veneer will be visible in
the feathering. The spot cannot be stained or painted to match
because the surrounding Cherry will change color over time.
Veneering the entire 11 x 84 piece might be a good choice - cheaper
and faster than buying another piece of plywood and remachining the
piece.

Usually on "mistakes" like this I take the opportunity to advance my craft.

If you are going to "re-veneer" it. Then get a veneer saw, and do some
marquetry style inlay. Then put the piece in a prominent place where the
"art" can be viewed.

Assuming that this is possible or practical.

Some of my mistakes get the most compliments. Only difference between
now and when I started is that now I explain nothing. :-)

Then you don't even need Cherry veneer - but whatever you can get and an
idea for a "picture" or a pattern.



dwright wrote:
My first choice would be to put that side against the wall. If it
cannot be concealed, or the project is for a customer, you're
probably hosed. The glueline of layered veneer will be visible in
the feathering. The spot cannot be stained or painted to match
because the surrounding Cherry will change color over time.
Veneering the entire 11 x 84 piece might be a good choice - cheaper
and faster than buying another piece of plywood and remachining the
piece.


--
Will
Occasional Techno-geek

On Sun, 6 Mar 2005 07:01:07 -0700, dwright wrote
(in article ):

My first choice would be to put that side against the wall. If it
cannot be concealed, or the project is for a customer, you're
probably hosed. The glueline of layered veneer will be visible in
the feathering. The spot cannot be stained or painted to match
because the surrounding Cherry will change color over time.
Veneering the entire 11 x 84 piece might be a good choice - cheaper
and faster than buying another piece of plywood and remachining the
piece.


I noticed that the oak ply I'm working with has a veneer only as thick as
needed to allow for the grain to present itself....

My only suggestions would be to 1) if you can remove the damaged piece, do
it, or 2) buy some 1/8" cherry plywood and cover up the damage in a way that
is balanced (i.e. if the side is damaged, recover both sides). You might be
able to then hide the seam with the face frame.

This side will be against a wall for many years. But since I haven't
put the face frame on yet nobody would know the whole sheet of venere
was there. But the "patch" idea from Andy sound like a good place to
start and if I don't like it, there is always the full sheet idea. I
always like to learn a new skill.

Dan

Dan, Real cherry veneer is available that you just peel off the paper
and stick on. piece of cake especially since you haven't added face
frames yet. If you can't find the PSA veneer just use a kraft backed
veneer and apply like formica. I do not recommend trying to cut in a
patch. Waste of mucho time and looks like ... well....crap.

Get your Xacto knife out and cut a patch from your leftover stock, in
an elongated diamond shape.

Lift the veneer off (drill in from the back side with a drill press or
a router) and lay this over the area to be patched.

Trace it with a fine point pencil and then cut along the inside of
the line.

Done properly, your patch should lay in just fine.





On Sat, 5 Mar 2005 23:01:53 -0500, "DrDan99"
wrote:

Yes I made a dumb mistake. Having not worked with hardwood plywood for 25
years, I sanded through an area of the veneer. Since I hadn't seen this
before I kept sanding (I swear it was thick in the good old days). I now
have a defect of about 2 by 4 on a 11 by 84 side of a nearly finished cherry
bookcase.



I think the best answer is veneer. This I have never done but I'm good with
Formica.

Questions:

1. Good or bad idea?

2. If a good idea, any good online sources.

3. Any other good solutions. I will be applying a light stain (no comments
please it's for my wife). Maybe a little darker stain and an artistic hand?



Dan


Thomas J. Watson - WoodDorker

tjwatson1ATcomcastDOTnet (real email)
http://home.comcast.net/~tjwatson1 (webpage)

I ordered my veneer from Rocker today. I desided this would be the
fastest and if I waste any more time on this project, I'll never get my
taxes done. I'll post after I try it.