holey veneer

[Timothy G. Craig]

Good afternoon all,
I purchased some really nice Carpathian Elm burl veneer (4 sheets about 9" x 12"). The veneer is not backed and was packaged on brown corrugated board and sealed in film wrap. Upon opening up the beautiful veneer, I noticed it had many (a few hundred) small holes per sheet. A typical hole is about 1/16" or smaller.

Question: Will a regular glue up: core, then glue, then veneer on both sides, then wax paper and cauls on both sides be adequate? Should I try to press in some very fine sawdust into the holes for better overall finish?
Other thoughts?
Thanks very much in advance.

Timothy G. Craig

[Bert Johansen]

Tim, you might have a problem with powerpost beetles. Are the holes perfectly round, and was there fine dust in the package? If so, you might want to return the veneer to the supplier--contact him first. You definitely don't want to contaminate your project--or your shop--with these critters. Google them and see what I mean. They are very hard to get rid of!
Here is one web site that discusses them: http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef616.asp

[Timothy G. Craig]

Bert,
There is not a spec of dust to be found anywhere. The holes, or maybe more specifically, voids, are not round, but follow contours within the burl. These voids appear to be part of the wood. Could they be caused by shrinking from uneven wood densities within the burl?
Thanks for your reply.
Timothy G. Craig

[Rob Cohen]

Tim
The holes in the Carpathian Elm burl veneer are quite normal. You will need to fill them or patch them

Rob

[Timothy G. Craig]

Thanks Rob,
What is the best material to do so? Glue mixed with fine sawdust? Is there something better than this?
Thanks,

[Jim Tobias]

Timothy,
Carpathian and a lot of burl veneers will have small voids like the ones you have. The way that I would typically handle those would be to fill with famowood wood filler, sand smooth, then do your glue up. You can stain or tint the famowood to get a match in color. Test it on a scrap if you have some available. If the voids are larger (1/16th or larger),I would put veneer tape on the "show side" of the veneer and then from the glue side, chop up some very, very fine pieces of the veneer and use those with glue to fill the void. You can literally crush it with the point on a chisel edge and force it into the void filling it. Once it dries, sand smooth from the glue side and do your glue up on the veneer. When you remove the veneer tape, the voids will be filled and your veneer will look natural. The more you practice this technique, the easier it gets.

Jim

[Tony Joyce]

Tim,
Be sure to use a tinted glue for the glue up. If there is any glue that squeezes through it will be very outstanding if it's a contrasting color.

Tony

[Rob Cohen]

Timothy
I think Tony and Jim pretty much covered this. The only other item that can be useful here is a veneer punch for larger holes. They are a little pricey and I believe veneer systems has them. It will punch an irregular hole. Use it once in the repair spot and then on a piece of similar scrap to produce a fill piece for the hole

Good Luck! Rob

[jerry cousins]

i typically use 5 minute epoxy - tinted with powdered artist pigments. you can blend the tints to get any shade. put out a glop of the base - add tints until you get the right shade - then add the catalyst - would back the voids with masking tape - fill and sand - then remove the tape and proceed as usual.

jerry

[Timothy G. Craig]

Thank you all very much for your advice. Glue up starts tomorrow early am.
Enjoy your weekend!
TGCraig