To mitre or veneer that is the question

[ABN]

Wifey wants some new furniture, coffee table, TV unit, table lamp etc

Been round the shops and seen some things that we like but they are either the wrong size, to expensive or crap quality. So said I would try to build them myself .

Was going to be reasonably easy as her original choice just used butt joints which could have edging veneer ironed on.the edges.

New design will need 80mm square legs and L shaped strips 120mm x 70mm and 1M long. These need to look as if they have been made using solid wood rather than strips so visible butt joints or visible mitre joints are out of the question.

Expect to be using oak veneered MDF, doubt that I could afford solid oak even if I knew where to buy it. So as I see it I have 2 choices.

1) Mitre joints.
2) Use plain MDF and veneer myself afterwards.

Quite happy working with solid pine as its forgiving and mistakes can be rectified, but not sure with veneered MDF.

So question is how can I make a good mitre joint 1M long and how best to glue together such that the joint will not be visible.
Or would it be better to use plain MDF and veneer. If so how best to apply the veneer to that size of wood. Did try veneering many years ago without too much success as sheet veneer seems to be a bit wavy rather than flat.

Sorry for the long post. Hope you got this far

 

[Jasonb]

To get a tight mitre joint along that length of pre veneered board is very difficult. I would go with the MDF and veneer option.

You could either use pre oak veneered board for two sides of your legs and then cover the other two with veneer but there is a slight risk of the colours not matching so it may be easier to veneer all 4 sides.

I quite often use a product called "flexiveneer" which is leaves of reall wood veneer that have already been edge jointed and are then bonded to a backing film. This comes in 8x4 sheets and can just be cut a little oversize with a stanley knife and then stuck to your work with a spray contact adhesive or a liquid glue Like PVA, I use Titebond II. If using contact adhesive it will need rolling with a "J" roller, if glue then plenty of clamps or heavy weignts work if you don't have a vacuum press.

Here is a table I made using just the method you have thought of, all the thick edges of the shelves and worktops for the living room furniture in this album were also done with the flexi veneer.

Jason

 

[ABN]

Thanks.

Your furniture looks nice. Hope mine turns out as nice as yours

Sounds like veneer is the way to go then. Seems quite expensive, not a lot different from the price of pre veneer MDF.
Just need to find where to buy the "flexiveneer" from. Prefer to see and select pieces to get the grain/colour look that I like.

Couple of extra questions

Rather than using one piece per side is it possible to use just one piece and bend it around the edges or will it just snap/crack.

End grain looks different to side grain. What did you do for the tops? Did you just use the same veneer but put it on at an angle?

 

[Jasonb]

The choice of grain on the flexi is quite limited, basically you will get crown cut American White Oak with little variation between the sheets.

If you go for actual leaves of veneer then you will have a bigger choice both of species and grain pattern but you are likely to get more waste and have to edge joint the leaves for larger areas.

I'm In Surrey and get the flexi veneer from Richard Russel and for small amounts of veneer you could try South London Hardwoods

The flexi veneer will not bend round a sharp corner. The grain on the table tops was just a straight looking bit set on the diagonal.

Jason

 

[ABN]

Those places sound good and are handy as I live near Epsom. Will have to visit both places. Thanks

Apart from size, is there any techincal difference between the flexi compared to the leaf veneer.
Assuming that no edge joints are required, because of the smaller size available, is one easier to work with than the other?

 

[Jasonb]

Not much between the two on smaller areas.

Jaso

 

[MALLYMAL]

Hey JasonB - major respect! Your furniture is beautiful.

 

[Fluffybf]

Good luck with the furniture ABN, I really am sorry if this seems rude but I have a question for JasonB if thats ok.

Great photos Jason, you do nice work. Can I ask what you used to get that gorgeous finish on the cabinets.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers ABN

 

[JohnD]

Jason, are you posting messages to yourself under false names again?

 

[Jasonb]

Now, Now John

The company that made the water bourne Lacquer I used are no longer in Business, The nearest you will be able to get is Dulux Diamondglaze, any of their trade outlets should have it and they will sell to the public.

Jason

 

[Fluffybf]

Cheers bloke,
Now I can get er indoors off my back by finishing mine.

 

[holmslaw]

JasonB, what a craftsman, beautiful furniture. How do you deal with the edges when using flexiveneer, do they have to chamferred?

 

[Jasonb]

As it sonly about 0.5-0.7mm thick the edge does not really show, I usually just knock the arris off with a bit of 180g paper on a wooden block.

Jason