Chris: "Hey Bob, I want to join some veneer sheets.  How do I go about joining 2 or more veneer sheets together?"

Bob Morgan:

Thank you for your question, Chris.

Joining 2 or more sheets of veneer side by side can be done, but it takes some patience and skill. The trick is to get the joints/seams of the veneer sheets joined up so that there are no open places. The longer the sheets of veneer, the more difficult it is to join them together.

Our veneer sheets are clipped at our factory. This gives a nice straight edge, but it isn’t necessarily a perfect edge. When joining the sheets of veneer together it all starts with getting the edges perfectly straight.

Here’s how to join two or more sheets of veneer side by side:

Clamp a straight edge on the veneer good and tight. “Good and tight” means – Make sure that the straight edge is clamped down tight enough on the veneer to guarantee that the sheet of veneer cannot move AT ALL.

You can use a sharp razor knife with a new blade to cut the veneer along the straight edge. However, a hand held veneer saw is best. Reason: A razor knife can wander and it is hard to control the angle of the cut when you are cutting the sheet of veneer.

Once you have your veneer sheets trimmed with perfectly straight edges, lay them side by side on a flat surface. The surface must be soft enough to allow straight pins to penetrate and stay in place.

Start at one end of the veneer sheet assembly. Use a pliers and straight pins to pin the veneer sheets in pace as you squeeze the joints of the sheets together. Pin the veneer sheets at about 10” intervals or so.

Next, use some good quality masking tape to tape the veneer sheets together along the joint. Run the tape along the whole length of the joint. Then, run some small pieces of tape (6” or so long) at right angles to the first tape. This assembly of joined up veneers is called a veneer face.

Remove the pins from the veneer sheets. Use a Q tip to dab a bit of moisture on the holes where the pins were. This will swell the pinholes shut.

You are now ready to mount the veneer face to your substrate.

Regards,

Bob Morgan

Veneer Factory Outlet.com

Wood Veneer Factory Outlet.com