Veneering case goods

[Alan Wright]

Hi all... I was hoping for some advice. I am ordering a band saw (Grizzly 514X) this week. I'm hoping that is will give me more versatility in the shop and open up some more options in terms of projects I can tackle. One of the main reasons I want the saw is for resawing. Here is my question.

When making case goods (entertainment centers, bookshelves etc...) is it a common practice to resaw lumber (I usually play with QSWO) and lamitinate it to a substrate? Seems like it would really cut down on the cost of the lumber, I could bookmatch and take advantage of pieces where I like the ray flake etc., and I get to play with my new band saw.

It seems like laminating for case goods would make for more stable pieces if done correctly. I've never laminated, but I'd be willing to invest in or make a vacuum press or whatever else I need (I'm not in a race and as a serious hobbist, I have all the time in the world). There would be all sorts of things to consider; like the proper adhesives to use, thickness of veneers etc. However, I'm sure I'm not the first one to think of this. Is this a common practice, or is the process just not practical for a hobbist?

Thanks

Alan

[Mike Henderson]

I can't answer your question about case goods, but it's a whole lot easier to just buy veneer than to try to re-saw it yourself. The only reason most people resaw for veneer is because they have some really unique piece of wood.

If you're using ordinary maple, walnut, or whatever, you can buy it fairly inexpensively. Plus, you can buy some really decorative veneer, albeit at a higher price. The veneer people generally get the best logs.

Mike

[P.S. I buy most of my veneer from Certainly Wood (http://www.certainlywood.com/).]

[Frank Drew]

Re-sawing is very popular among members here but I never really got into it myself, largely for the reason Mike mentions. I'm also not as wild about bookmatching as some, and slipmatching really doesn't do anything for me.

I really can't say how many shops commonly veneer their own sheet goods for carcase work; commercially, it would have to be pretty high end work to justify the added cost, and I haven't heard of a lot of hobbyists doing it, and, in either case, resawing their own veneer for the job? Very uncommon, I'd think.

Making up your own veneered panels for cabinet doors and the like, that's probably fairly common among home shop resawing enthusiasts.