Cherry Veneer ? (1 Viewer)

[Greg Yeatts]

Last night I picked up two sheets of 4' X 8' cheery veneer at a cabinet supply warehouse. The sheet looks like it was made from edge-glued 6" boards, then sliced thin. Now I know that to get a 4' wide piece of veneer you have to glue some boards together, but this is really obvious. Did I get hosed on cheap veneer, or will this be less noticeable when it is finished (Watco Cherry Danish Oil)? TIA

 

[Dan Wesnor]

It will look like 6" wide cherry boards glued together. This is the way most cherry furniture looks. It will be less obvious if you darken it with some dye (which is what most furniture makers do).

If you have the opportunity, you should always look at the sheets before you buy them. This is considered normal in both the veneer and lumber industry, so don't be embarassed to ask the store if you can unroll the veneer right there on the floor.

 

[Mark Barnhill]

I'd say you got an average plain sliced cherry veneer. Cherry trees are not a large diameter tree, and 6" wide boards would be a good average of yield. I don't think you got hosed at all.

 

[Hank Frankenberg]

Yes, cherry boards are narrow, as Mark pointed out. Very expensive handmade cherry furniture with large pieces (desks, sideboards, tables, etc) are made with edge-joined narrow boards. Your veneer reflects reality, although since we can't see what you've got, we can't speculate on the "quality" of your specific sheets.

 

[Greg Yeatts]

Anybody ever use any Watco Cherry Danish Oil on cherry? I plan on giving this a try. I will keep my options open if anyone has any great ideas.

Dan

What kind of dye do you use to darken cherry? What do you put over the dye? TIA

 

[Mark Barnhill]

You can use any good wood stain. I always preferred Minwax brand stains. As far as the oil finish, I've never used oil, I always use a lacquer finish.

 

[Brian Bunge]

Greg,

I use Solar-Lux Medium Red Mahogany dye on cherry and maple to get a nice dark red color. I think stains in general are the devil, at least on veneers (just ask Hank what he thinks of stains!). Dyes give a much nicer finish. I always top coat with a wipe on polyurethane.

Hank has used Watco Danish Oil but I don't know that he's used the colored versions.

 

[Greg Yeatts]

Drian,

How do you apply the dye. I saw the cabinets you dyed on your website. They look great. I am trying to get a finish similar to some furniture I already have that is sorta brownish red. May take some experimentation to get the color right. I would rather not use stain, as I think it obscures the grain too much.

 

[Brian Bunge]

We just brush on the dye with a foam brush, let it sit a minute or two, and then wipe it off.

I would rather not use stain, as I think it obscures the grain too much.

That's exactly why I hate using it. It's fine for oak but really screws up maple and cherry.

 

[Dan Wesnor]

I've never dyed cherry, but I've worked with cherry and seen what it looks like raw, and I own cherry furniture, so I know what it looks like when the manufacturers get sone with it. They apply heavy amounts of reddish-brown dye to even out the color and hide the grain of the wood. This makes it the color of hundred-year-old cherry. (Like most woods, cherry darkens as it ages.)

I prefer cherry in it's natural color, which is a brownish-reddish-blonde.

 

[Ted_Polzin]

Anybody ever use any Watco Cherry Danish Oil on cherry? I plan on giving this a try. I will keep my options open if anyone has any great ideas.

I use this all the time. I assume you are using a natural finish? It works great. Really brings the grain out of the wood.

As far as your veneer goes. Not sure where you get it. Maybe I am just lucky all my veneer I order from a shop in Edmonton comes in 12" widths and is built up from there. So my 12" is 1 piece and 24" is 2 pieces veneer taped together.

Good choice on the wood BTW

Ted

P.S if you want to see how it will looks. Just take a scrap piece of Veneer and apply some to it.

 

[Hank Frankenberg]

Danish oil, with my labor-instensive process, is my favorite finish and really shows the natural beauty of wood. If you rub it in with wet-or-dry paper of decreasing grit sizes, filling the pores with the slurry of oil/wood particles, you can end up with a finish as satiny or glossy as you want. Most beautiful finish, IMO, but, the least protective for the wood. IOW, you wouldn't do an oil finish on a table or bar top - oil finish doesn't protect from moisture. I have not used Danish oil on cherry, and I do like Brian's method of the medium red mahogany dye - it give cherry an aged look, but not as overdone by the furniture manufacturers that Dan refers to. If you don't want it quite that aged, SolarLux has a cherry dye you might try.

 

[Ronnie Ferrell]

I am trying to get a finish similar to some furniture I already have that is sorta brownish red.

Solar-Lux also makes a Medium Brown Mahogany NGR dye. It is still reddish like Mahogany, but is toned down with a brown. I used the Light Brown Mahogany on maple here, this is just dye with no top coat:



My local shop did not have the Medium Brown in stock. :frowning: I went back over it with Minwax Dark Walnut stain to get it to match my darker Armoire:



I was surprised how much the stain brought out the grain in the above shots. Maple's grain is easier to cover up than cherry! The second shot also has 3 coats of satin wipe-on poly that might be helping pop the grain that is not visible in the first shot.

rf

 

[GeorgeS]

Nice

 

[Greg Yeatts]

Another question for the DIY forum brain trust. How much oversize do you guys make the veneer that is applied to the enclosure? What do you use to trim the veneer? If you use a router, does the veneer splinter when you route across the grain? Sorry to have so many question. TIA

 

[Brian Bunge]

Greg,

We cut the veneer so that we have a 1/2" overhang on each side. I have a laminate trimmer that I use to trim the veneer. It leaves some little feathery pieces sometimes but you can sand them off with some 220 grit paper.

 

[Greg Yeatts]

I hate to ask, but I can't find this post now. I have seen a post that people talk about what order they put the veneer sheet on the hox (top first, bottom second, etc.) I can't find this post now. Anybody have any great ideas on this? Does it matter?

 

[Brian Bunge]

If I use straight 90 degree edges I do bottom, back, sides, front, top in that order.

 

[Pete Mazz]

If you want to just "age" the cherry, try mixing lye with water and applying. It will darken the cherry to look like antique furniture. Use a wash coat afterward to neutralize any leftover lye solution.

Pete

 

[Greg Yeatts]

I tested a piece of the veneer with Solar-Lux cherry dye and natural Watco Danish Oil. It looks fantastic. The cherry dye is not dark, and does not obscure the grain of the wood at all. I did get a little contact cement on the test piece (glad its just a test piece). It made a real mess. I tried to get it off with mineral spirits and also tried to sand it away. Neither solution worked. The dye would not penetrate the veneer where the contact cement was.

Looks like you have to be very careful with the front of the veneer. I think I may use 3M painters tape and some Kraft paper to protect the face of the veneer when I apply the contact cement. Is this ok?