Hi all,I have made a complex conical-shaped structure with wiggle wood and cross veneer over a complex form in a vacuum press bag for an abstract chair and dresser project. See attached image. I am having difficulty working out the next steps and was wondering if anyone has experience with something like this?
The final veneer will be waterfall bubinga with the grain going in the opposite direction. I will need to apply veneer to both sides. One of the tricky bits is that now that the initial structure is rigid, I will need to bend the veneer, both inside and out to the tight diameters, especially at the bottom, without the veneer cracking to shreds!!!!
I had an email correspondence with someone at veneer systems about using a veneer softener. The idea would be to use the softener to saturate the veneer and then apply the WET veneer to the structure and then slide it onto the form. He says other customers have done this but you must use a UF resin glue.
Has anyone ever done something like this? When do you seam and tape the joints relative to the softner? Likewise, when do you cut to shape? Is it before or after the softener?
Thanks for any input,
Steve