Project - "Making the Grandfather's Clock - Veneering the Panels"

During the week, Beth and I cut the stock for the rest of the sides.   When we cut the walnut to size, we found that we ran out of stock that was wide enough for the several panels, so before we ordered another bundle, we decided to see if we could veneer 1/2" MDF. Frankly, if we can, the panels will probably be more stable — so that is what we will try. The MDF on the table is the final size of the panel that will be cut for the clock front. It will be our test piece.
	She places two pieces of the walnut burl together to see how the "bookmatched" orientation will look. It is a wonderful joining except that the edges do not butt exactly.
I told her that we could use a straight edge and a sharp utility knife, but that there is a better way. This that way: she has put both sheets together and has placed the edges to be trimmed about 1/16th of an inch over the board.    These are not just any boards but two straight pieces of poplar that I had. They are cut a couple of inches longer than the veneer. I had previously screwed them together and ran the one edge through the jointer so I know that edge is straight.
	She now places the "top" of the two boards and screws it in place. The two screws are beyond the width of the veneer.
Beth has installed a flush trimming bit and has set the height so that the bearing rides against the top board.
	In this picture, she is half way through the trimming. Note that she is working in reverse direction and doing a "climb" cut. This is preferred for trimming veneers — particularly those with "crazy" grain patterns, like this burl.
Beth can tell by the feel that the trim is a smooth cut. The two pieces should mate perfectly.
	The pieces do butt perfectly. If you are new to veneering, note that when you use the router trimmer method, not only can they be a perfect match, but the sides of the veneer will be square to each other. The square edges butt together well — that is hard to accomplish when using a knife.    Beth uses strips of masking tape on this, the face side. She stretches the masking tape across the joint to pull the edges tightly together
She has flipped the taped pieces over and applies veneer tape over the length of the seam. Veneer tape is a very thin paper tape that is moistened and applied to the veneer. This tape remains on the veneer and helps to keep the joint tight when being glued on the substrate — the MDF panel, in this case.
	Before she can glue the burl to the MDF, Beth cuts a piece of straight walnut veneer. She will glue this to the back side of the panel. While this is for looks, it also helps balance and stabilize the final sandwich.
She applies a thin layer of PVA cement to the MDF.
	She positions the backer veneer onto the glued panel. Beth purposely left about 1/4" margin on the veneer. This will be trimmed away after the panel is dried.
She lightly presses the veneer in place. Now, she can flip it over and prepare the other side for the burl veneer panel.