At work this week I have a someone come over & ask me about how I go about book-matching veneer. So I gave him a tip/trick I had on how I do my layouts.
This tip is most beneficial when you have large sheets of sequenced veneer. (You get more options) But since I did not have any in hand I pulled out this mini-pack to use for the demonstration.
Indexing: The first thing I do when I open up any pack (large or small) of sequenced veneer is grab a pencil and number the pieces in one of the corners.
Since the manufacture has sequenced the veneer this numbering will help me keep the pieces in the order that they were cut from the log. If you intend to do any book-matching with your veneer this will help you in the layout out by aiding you in getting the growth rings match more closely. (I'll cover that in another post.)
Book-matching: When I start with a simple book-matching project I like to play around and see what pattern will look best for my project.
Since most burl is brittle and I don’t want to damage the sheets by flipping them over trying to find a good match I simply grab a mirror. This way I can position it anywhere on top of my piece of veneer without worrying about damaging it and I’m able to visually see immediately what the resulting match will be.
Once I find a match I like I use the mirror as a guide and grab a pencil to put a couple of registration marks on the veneer. Then I register the pieces, taping them together and cutting them to size to use with my project.
Quad Book-matching: But if I’m going for a really cool look on say a table top I’ll grab 2 mirrors and hold them at a 90 degree angle and can see visually see what that will look like.
By doing this I’m able to move all over the piece (especially with large pieces of veneer) until I find the pattern that really pops!
Other Uses: Also by using two mirrors you can bring the angle in (under 90 degrees) and the same procedure will get you an idea of how a radial book-match would look.
