Veneer Tiles

[Mark Vaughn]

When quatering veneer would it be any easier to match up the joints by gluing the veneer to 4 smaller mdf panels, trimming the excess off and then gluing the 4 panels to a larger substrate kinda like laying tile?

[John Fry]

Mark,

It is probably easier to trim the edges without tearout, chipping, and splitting, if the veneer was "pre-glued" to a substrate. BUT, it would be MUCH more difficult to end up with perfect mating bookmatched edges.

The ideal method of trimming for a quartered, or any bookmatch really, is to stack the veneers together in flitch order and trim all at once. When you "open" the stack , the bookmatches should be perfect.

[Mark Vaughn]

flitch? whats the best tool to use to cut? thx, sorry, i'm new

[John Fry]

Mark,

A "flitch" is a term used to describe a stack of wood that has been kept in the exact order it was cut from its source. It could be anything from an entire log cut in boards and stacked and sold as a flitch unit, or it could be a bundle of commercial veneers, that are kept in order as they were sliced at the manufacturer.

I make a lot of shop sawn veneers at 1/16" thick and before resawing, I always mark the edge of the board with a triangle so I can take the veneers to the drum sander, mix them up, or accidentally drop them on the floor, but I can always return them to their "flitch" order using the marks.

By keeping the flitch in order, you can open any two adjacent faces, in any of the four directions, and should have a very close "bookmatch". But they must always have their edges cut the same for the match to be right. (Here is where your "tiles" may pose a problem.)

As far as cutting commercial veneers, there are several methods, veneer saws, razor knives, exacto knives. You can even sandwich them between MDF or hardboard and use a miter saw. What ever method you use, you need to always be careful with tearout when cross cutting, or anytime when cutting figured, or burls.

Veneering is a wonderful world that opens many doors to woodworkers, and I highly recommend that you get your hands on one of the many great books on the subject. There are so many different methods and things to learn.

HTH