Panel construction question

[Jery Madigan]

Hi,

As part of a major makeover of our builder-grade powder room, I have made the structure for the following vanity that is more of furniture-type construction rather than cabinet structure.

https://www.signaturehardware.com/24...BoCzQ8QAvD_BwE

I am not using reclaimed wood. The structure pieces are made and mortised (Domino), finished with GF dark chocolate milk paint and GF topcoat. I just need to do final glue-up.

I altered the design such that the drawer fronts (false, for me) and side panels are insertable from inside the cabinet and can be changed out in the future.

The top is made of Honduran Mahogany and I am in the process of finishing it with Waterlox.

For the panels, I have a ribbon-pattern Honduran Mahogany board I have picked out for the drawer fronts and side panels. The board is .77" thick and I plan to resaw it to make it go farther and have nearly identical drawer fronts.

From what I have read, if I want to use something like plywood for a backer, I should limit the mahogany veneer to 3/16" or less. My other option would be to use a thicker veneer and back it with less-figured mahogany (read, less valuable).

It may be possible that the plywood edge could show a little on the drawer fronts if I got that route.

My current thinking is to use the thicker veneer on mahogany for the drawer fronts and thinner veneer on the panels.

The drawer fronts are about 5.5x21 and the side panels are about 12x18

Interested in thoughts.

[Paul Girouard]

Hi,

As part of a major makeover of our builder-grade powder room, I have made the structure for the following vanity that is more of furniture-type construction rather than cabinet structure.

https://www.signaturehardware.com/24...BoCzQ8QAvD_BwE

I am not using reclaimed wood. The structure pieces are made and mortised (Domino), finished with GF dark chocolate milk paint and GF topcoat. I just need to do final glue-up.

I altered the design such that the drawer fronts (false, for me) and side panels are insertable from inside the cabinet and can be changed out in the future.

The top is made of Honduran Mahogany and I am in the process of finishing it with Waterlox.

For the panels, I have a ribbon-pattern Honduran Mahogany board I have picked out for the drawer fronts and side panels. The board is .77" thick and I plan to resaw it to make it go farther and have nearly identical drawer fronts.

From what I have read, if I want to use something like plywood for a backer, I should limit the mahogany veneer to 3/16" or less. My other option would be to use a thicker veneer and back it with less-figured mahogany (read, less valuable).

It may be possible that the plywood edge could show a little on the drawer fronts if I got that route.

My current thinking is to use the thicker veneer on mahogany for the drawer fronts and thinner veneer on the panels.

The drawer fronts are about 5.5x21 and the side panels are about 12x18

Interested in thoughts.

3/4” + for the board , with the saw kerf you’lol be lucky to get two strips out of .77 thickness.

I’d recommend MDF for the drawer fronts and the panels on the side.
Plywood could work.
If you afraid the edges will show veneer those and stain them a matching color of the finished veneer.
I wouldn’t glue veneer to solid wood.

G/L.

[Jim Becker]

Laminating nicely figured stock to "more mundane" stock of the same species is a great technique to have a great look without breaking the bank on material. Keeping to the same species and grain direction deals with any wood movement. I would likely go with that technique for the drawer fronts myself because with use, the edges will absolutely be visible. For the panels, you could use the same technique for simplicity or use shop-made veneers that are reasonably thin over the stable substrate of your choice as you ask about. 1/8"-3/16" thickness for that veneer should be doable, but having a drum sander available will make that a lot easier to do without tear-out. Many planers get iffy when you get "really thin".

[Robert Engel]

Regardless of substrate, edge banding prior to veneering make a clean looking drawer front.

I would shoot or 1/8" thick veneer, which on my bandsaw means starting at 3/16+" & rejointing after each pass.

If you don't have a drum sander, you can glue the jointed side to the drawer front, then plane the rough side.

[Paul Girouard]

Laminating nicely figured stock to "more mundane" stock of the same species is a great technique to have a great look without breaking the bank on material. Keeping to the same species and grain direction deals with any wood movement. I would likely go with that technique for the drawer fronts myself because with use, the edges will absolutely be visible. For the panels, you could use the same technique for simplicity or use shop-made veneers that are reasonably thin over the stable substrate of your choice as you ask about. 1/8"-3/16" thickness for that veneer should be doable, but having a drum sander available will make that a lot easier to do without tear-out. Many planers get iffy when you get "really thin".

The drawer fronts are false fronts, no drawers according to the OP’er.

[Jim Becker]

The drawer fronts are false fronts, no drawers according to the OP’er.

I missed that. In that case, preserve the good stuff and do the veneer thing!

[Jery Madigan]

Thanks all. Jim, you confirmed what I hoped. It was my understanding that thicker veneer is mostly caused by different movement by the substrate that differs from the veneer. I have some suboptimal mahogany I got by mail, so I will probably use that for drawer backing.

Robert, I was planning to use the glue and then plane approach on the drawer fronts and the panels.

I may post up the project when I finish in several weeks. Besides the vanity, I will be making a matching mirror frame, shop-made craftsman style painted trim and possibly a matching corner table. Probably the biggest part of the project will be a 5' wide by 10' tall wall of shop-made shiplap made of hard maple. I have a treatment that turns it a light, silvery gray and then will finish clear.

[Jim Becker]

Jery, I used that technique recently with the English Brown Oak hall table I posted about in the Woodworking Projects forum area...the "show" aprons were about 1/4" thick and re-sawn from the same stock as the table legs. I backed them up with "lesser quality" similar oak to get the proper thickness while minimizing wood movement issues. I've done the same with cherry and some other species in the past to extend yield from the really nice stuff. On one mahogany piece I was restoring and had to make new curved aprons, I took plain mahogany stock, bandsawed the curve and then veneered the faces...all this to avoid doing a laminated glue up.