Veneer question (1 Viewer)

[aaron_d]

Has anyone stained Cherry veneer? I heard that cherry can be some what problematic. I searched on the internet and a site reccomend to use amber shellac. Does this sound right to everyone? Also i have one problem, i used the jasper jig to route my holes, and then i veneered. All of my drivers are flush fit. How could i go about cutting the holes out of the veneer? I think my only uption is to use a exacto knife and carefully cut the veneer. Thanks guys!

 

[Darren_T]

Personally I think staining any hardwood is a sin

Staining cherry isn't hard though. You just need to be sure you use a test piece to ensure the veneer will take the stain you have chosen evenly. An amber shellac will not stain the cherry, it adds a tint to the finish coat. Shellac is a finish which will penetrate a little but is mainly a built up layer of finish. The tint will look great but keep in mind a tinted finish will obscure the grain a bit and it won't be as defined.

Something to consider: Cherry darkens quite a bit over time. Try an experiment, take a scrap piece of veneer and lay it in the window where some sunlight will hit it. Place a wrench or something on the veneer and leave it there for a day if you get any sun at all you will see where the wrench was when you remove it. The cherry will tan quite a bit over time.

 

[aaron_d]

Thanks Darren, i read that cherry darkens over time so i was thinking about just putting a protective finish over it.

 

[Mattak]

I'm in the same boat as far as flush mounting goes. Looks like a knife may be the only ("easy") option. Something you could try is to cut templates that match your recess diameters, clamp the templates over the recesses, and then use a template router bit (I think that's what they're called - they have the guide bearing above the actual cutting portion of the bit instead of below it like a flush trim bit). You'd have to be pretty exact

 

[Darren_T]

Also, take some thinner like mineral spirits and wipe a generous amount on a piece of veneer with a rag. This will give you a good idea of what it would look like with a natural finish on it. It will be quite a bit darker and the grain will come out.

 

[aaron_d]

Matt, what i am going to do is using my flush triming bit on my rotozip to cut out the inner hole and then switch to a 1/4 trim bit and get as close as i can to the sides of the outer diamater hole by just working slowly with my rotozip. After that i will sand the edges to get super close. I figure my rotozip will work better than my router because it is smaller and all i need to cut is the thin veneer. I cant wait, my speakers are getting so close to being done!

 

[Chris Bates]

Personally, I would go with a danish oil for cherry. If you have to stain it, I would go with a mixture of 1 part mahogany and 2 parts cherry gel stains. Try it on a scrap piece...its beautiful.