Small veneer machines?

[Sean Rainaldi]

Hi,

Does anyone make a veneer machine that will cut small sheets? For example something that would cut veneer out of up to 12 inch wide (or less) boards?

Or would that be done on a lathe with turning stock and some kind of jig for cutting veneer?

Thanks.

[Dan Hintz]

What is your definition (i.e., thickness) of veneer? I ask because it varies, and the desired thickness will help us determine the best solution for you. For example, a good bandsaw will allow for 1/16" resawing... if you need thinner, throw it in a wide belt sander. If you're shooting for 1/64" right off of the bat, well, that's a whole 'nother ball o' wax.

[Keith Hankins]

I cut veneers with a bandsaw. I have the Grizzly 17" HD. It has the opening wide enough to do 12". I use a carbide tipped blade from Laguna and get good results. I have a high fence as well to support the material. If you only want to do an ocasional veneer I'd reccomend just getting them precut. I get some nice burl and quilted stuff from www.joewoodworker.com (http://www.joewoodworker.com)

[Frank Drew]

Sean,

Industrial veneer manufacturers do use a version of a lathe and knife to peel veneer off a log (imagine paper towel coming off a roll), but the equipment is super heavy-duty and the cut has to advance very evenly and accurately to keep the veneer thickness consistent. This kind of peeled veneer is most suitable for plywood. Better quality veneers are also cut with monstrous knives but by slicing, not "peeling" the log.

For small shop purposes, resawing veneers on a band saw, as noted by Dan and Keith, is about the only practical method I'm aware of.

[Ryan Hellmer]

Also, for industrial veneer, the logs are generally subjected to steam treatment to facilitate the unrolling. Not real practical at home. I've resawed quite a bit on my standard 14" bandsaw down to about an 1/8th, more could be done, I've just not taken it on yet.

Ryan

[Mike Henderson]

I'd ask why you want to cut your own veneer. You can get essentially any kind and figure of veneer commercially at reasonable prices. You'll put a lot of time, effort and equipment into cutting your own veneer. If you want small pieces of veneer, look on eBay. People often sell veneer that wouldn't be attractive to cabinetmakers because it's too short (or too narrow) - so you can get it at very reasonable prices.

Mike

[Brad Shipton]

I think a BS is your best bet. If you want to see how veneers are cut, you can find video's on the M. Bohlke website. Even if someone did make a small machine to cut veneers out of your own logs, I doubt you would want to pay the price to have one. These things are quite the machines.

Brad

[Chris Padilla]

I'd ask why you want to cut your own veneer. You can get essentially any kind and figure of veneer commercially at reasonable prices. You'll put a lot of time, effort and equipment into cutting your own veneer. If you want small pieces of veneer, look on eBay. People often sell veneer that wouldn't be attractive to cabinetmakers because it's too short (or too narrow) - so you can get it at very reasonable prices.

Mike

I guess it depends on the project. For my Tansu (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?92396), I felt that I wanted thicker veneer than commercially available so I sliced my own. But, yes, it is A LOT of work: Bandsaw the slice, face joint, bandsaw, face joint...then drum sand down to final thickness...then finally laminate.

[Mike OMelia]

Not to mention that the kerf is wasting a lot of figured wood. I have heard that when burled logs come in, they put them on these "peelers". I would love to see that done. Hardly any waste too! Got to think there is a service somewhere that you can send a board and have it truly sliced into veneers.

Mike

[Chris Padilla]

Mike,

I imagine the "peeler" is just a huge handplane but it has to big big, heavy, and sharp to peel logs like that.

[Paul Symchych]

Years ago I bought veneer from Constantine's when they were still in NYC. I think they were the people who had some really big flitches. The nice part was getting pieces about 7 feet long by 16" wide. These were for a harpsichord the size of a grand piano. These were rotary peeled and around 1/8" thick. I refuse to even consider the paper backed garbage that is all too easy to find. I have never bought sawn veneers.
Just this week I used my Jet 18" BS with a fresh 1/2" Timberwolf to make slices a bit over 1/8". Oddly, the 1/2" blade was easier to use and made better slices than a 3/4" blade. Go figure. After finishing they came down to 1/8" or so. Not hard with a sharp blade. It just takes patience and attention to what you're doing.
If you want 12" veneer, unless you have a 12" jointer to freshen the face between slices I would suggest using 6" boards and edge gluing the veneer to get the 12". If you joint the edges of the boards you should get straight edges that meet with a minimum of fitting.

[Frank Drew]

Mike,

I imagine the "peeler" is just a huge handplane but it has to big big, heavy, and sharp to peel logs like that.

I've only seen photos, but if I remember correctly the knives used in veneer production are a bit like planer knives in shape (flat stock with a bevel), but are several inches thick and maybe a foot or so wide, and are quite long. All that mass is to ensure that they don't flex even the least little bit during the cut.

[Chris Padilla]

I've only seen photos, but if I remember correctly the knives used in veneer production are a bit like planer knives in shape (flat stock with a bevel), but are several inches thick and maybe a foot or so wide, and are quite long. All that mass is to ensure that they don't flex even the least little bit during the cut.

Sounds about right. Veneers can be thought of as thick shavings from a plane. :)

[Van Huskey]

A bandsaw is really the only feasible home shop "veneer" machine. Depending on your budget the first thing I would suggest would be one of the great Italian bandsaws from Agazzani, MiniMax or Laguna. If budget doesn't permit there are plenty of saws that can do a adequate to great job at this from about $600 up. In either case tuning the saw well and a great resaw blade are 2 major keys to success.

[Thomas S Stockton]

Go to www.theveneerstore.com and they have a video of how veneer is made it is towards the left on their home page
Tom