Wood Veneer how thick ?

You are reading the forum of the Society of American Period Furniture Makers — people who build and study American period furniture.

Membership brings the whole forum, the annual journal and quarterly magazine, the members’ gallery and workbench, and chapters across the country. About membership

W

walter connolly

Active member
Is there an optimum thickness when cutting veneer on a bandsaw, and has anyone used the Laguna Drift Master Fence if so does it work as advertised?
 
I think about 1/8-1/10 is right for the thickness. I have not used the laguna fence, but do have the laguna resaw blade- I would bet the fence is good too. However, I don't cut enough veneer and really I did just as well with the thin resaw blade from highland hardware and my homemade fence.  Since I dont cut veneer but a couple times a year, its no big deal to set the drift with a fence clamped to the table.
 
oh, and I would reccomend the site borsonresaw.com, as this fellow has some pictures of his saw setup and methodology, as well as highlandhardware.com.
 
I would say after milling the resawn lumber that the final thickness is about a 1/16 of inch thick is more than plenty.  Regarding the Laguna Fence you need to find the drift angle and then adjust the fence to the drift.  That is how I was taught and it worked fine.  If the fence still is not useful and you want to be productive, then use a man made fence that is parallel to the drift.  Good Luck

Freddy

If I 1/16 thick veneer for all the work I do then I would be in Heaven.

 
 
For thickness I would agree that about 1/16 is correct.

For drift I would say that you need to adjust your saw. I have never had drift on any of my saw once properly adjusted. The main culprit for drift is improper tracking. Just because the blade stays on the wheels does not mean it is tracking correctly.

If you have drift you most likely need to adjust the tracking. Another culprit is the wrong set on the blade for your saw which can move the tracking on a blade by lifting one side of the blade up on the wheels. Usually this can be solved by adjusting the tracking, but other times you may need to replace the tires or the blade.
 
A treasure trove of the best advice! One other detail not mentioned is the type of blade. I admit I am terrible with the bandsaw but one thing that saves my behind is using the skip tooth blade. The other thing is going really, really slowly.
I once got some advice from a very good wood worker to not slice veneers too thick. He claimed that a veneer cut greater than 3/32" would likely curl a thin panel (+/- 1/4"). I laughed. Boy was he right!
Fran
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

If this discussion was useful, there are twenty years of them here. Join SAPFM to take part — the forum, the journal, the magazine and the members’ gallery come with membership.

Back
Top