Using Veneer wood to finish question

[Blacksb21]

Hey everyone, has anybody ever used a veneer wood over body to get that real wood look, and how did you apply it on to the front and back aprons, did it cover the whole apron or only down to where the endplates meet?

[azureskys]

Hi Yes you can use it just like mica , make sure you have it all flat and use a good wood glue , glue the front and back on first then the top you can always use a trim router to trim it up , just remember its thin and you don't want to do any heavy sanding , should be a piece of cake .Id cover the whole body . There is a lot of nice wood you can use like burls and crotch type cuts , book matched also . Make sure you wipe any excess glue off the wood with a damp towel if you let it dry on your finished wood it ll be very very hard to sand off. hope this helps you . Russ

[Blacksb21]

Hello Russ, thanks for the advise, do you happen to know what a trim router looks like since I never used one before? Steve B.

[richard37066]

Gonna get just a little picky, here.

My complaint with veneer coverings is that the seam where two pieces meet at a corner will always show. A neat way around that is to use a strip of wood that is the same specie as the veneer and insert it ala a banding and purfling technique. Needs some careful sanding in order to bring it down to the level of the veneer.

An add-on to Russ' note. As noted in another thread, I use masking tape on each side of a joint to "capture" the squeeze-out. If the glue gets smeared on the surface and dries then you would play hell getting a stain to penetrate. Won't happen.

Send us some pics when the cabinet is finished.

Richard

[azureskys]

Hi steve just go to wherever they sell wood working tools and tell them you want a trim router , you ll probly spend less than a bill for a good router , you can use it for other work on your building steels also and you ll need bits sometimes bits are expensive but you ll find uses for them im sure , when using a router keep safety in mind , cutting tools don't care what they cut and that includes you .One thing to keep in mind if you cover your steel body with a veneer you cant do any decorative edges with the router WHY? the veneer is thin and you ll cut into your base material and it ll show , if you get what im saying .

[na4it]

There are some very nice "trim routers" out there today. A way to make them more stable, is to make a larger base out of Plexiglas. Below is an example (not mine, wish it was!)

[Blacksb21]

Thanks Guys can a exato knife work to trim veneer? or do you still recommend trim router and why?

[na4it]

I would use the router with a laminate bit. One slip with the knife, and the guitar or you are ruined...

[Blacksb21]

Hey na4it I found a trim router at Harbor Freight not expensive but is powerful they even gave me some bits with it, going to practice on some scrap sheets to get a feel for it.

[na4it]

Get a laminate trim router bit. Some examples here... http://www.woodcraft.com/category/10011 ... -bits.aspx