Use of Claro Figured Slab

[Don L Johnson]

I recently purchased a nice slab of figured Claro Walnut. I’m going to resaw one slab off of it for a jewlery box top. My question is: Would it work to resaw maybe an eigth of an inch and then glue it to a slab of regular walnut? From there I would make it a raised panel, so I would hope, using dark Titebond, one wouldn’t see the seam. Would there be any wood movement issues since I’m using like wood (sort of)? Obviously, I’m trying to get more use of my slab of wood. Good or bad idea? Thanks,

[David DeCristoforo]

I have made my own walnut "lumber core" material by laminating a core of 3/8" X 1/2" strips to make up a 1/2" thick "vertical grain" core which I then faced on both sides with 1/8" thick figured (burl) walnut "veneers". I was using it for chessboards and it worked great and has held up very well. I have never tried to make a raised panel like that. What I have done is to band pieces of plywood with strips of solid stock (mitered corners) wide enough for the panel detail. Then I veneered those with my figured wood. It makes a very nice raised panel because there is no end grain showing on the panel.

[Jamie Buxton]

It'll work structurally. You might have an issue with seeing the color shift in the wood between the claro and the ordinary walnut. One fix for that is to use a panel-raising profile which puts a little step right at the edge of the raised portion. That is, the front of the panel is flat, then the edges go straight back about an eighth or so, then there's a big flat ogee or something. Put the seam between the two walnuts in that step, and nobody will ever notice it.