Veneer tight around corners question (1 Viewer)

[Denis!K]

I've recently finished up veneering my sub enclosure in Spanish Cedar veneer. I used 3/4" bit to round over the edges and ran one piece of veneer over the sides. Then did the top and left the bottom unfinished (downfiring). I had to wrap across the grain since my veneer piece wasn't long enough to wrap parallel to the grain.

While my results are pretty good, I'm wondering if anybody has tips on how to make sure veneer is wrapped tight around rounded corners? I did my best to pull the veneer tight, but in the finished product there was some unfilled void right where the corners are.

Also for finishing question, would finishing spanish cedar with just shellac (I want to keep the color as light as possible) be a good idea or are there any other recommendations?

Thanks

 

[MarkMel]

interesting choice veneering with spanish cedar. I don't think I've ever seen anything using spanish cedar other than cigar boxes or humidors. Isn't it very soft?

 

[Denis!K]

Well I don't have alot of experience with wood, but it didn't appear to be too soft to me, and the grain is very pleasant, I like the look very much.

-Denis

 

[PaulT]

While I haven't done a Sub, I have done veneer successfully around corners such as yours by doing it in stages.

First stage would be to glue down the veneer to the flat part, leaving the corner loose. After the glue is dry on the flat part, you can now use a reversed image of your corner profile, cut from a piece of scrap wood (in your case something like a 3/4 cove) and use it over the veneered corner with clamps.

Don't know if my description is understandable, but give it a try. It's possible to steam or dampen the veneer on the corner before the final glue up to keep it from splitting as well.

 

[Pete Mazz]

Your corners must be perfect for the sheet to lay flat. Usually problems occur from the top and bottom not being perfectly square to the sides. A longer pattern router bit works well here. Avoid too much sanding, as well, and use a sanding block to keep things flat.

Shellac or lacquer is a good choice to keep it from darkening too much. Water-based poly is another, although I don't care for it myself. It can be wiped on with a rag fairly easily to avoid brush marks.

Pete