Ask Dave: How do I store veneer to keep it flat? And if it’s already not flat, how do I fix it?

Veneer’s biggest enemy is humidity fluctuations. Veneer left loose from hot humid summers through cold dry winters will develop lumps and bumps and will eventually be unusable. 

Hopefully, your veneer is currently flat(tish). There are several steps to keep it that way:

• Restrict air circulation. Cover them in blankets or cardboard, keep them in boxes, keep them in closed drawers. Architectural file drawers are great for shorts. Keep them under the bed, wrapped in something. The objective is to have (some) humidity in the air around the veneer which does not experience huge fluctuation.
• Stack the veneers so that their weight helps flatten the pile, and restricts air flow to most of the pile. Also, keep burls that are shipped flat in their shipping container until you use them.
• Humidity-control your storage space. Here in Virginia it is humid in the summer, and dry in the winter. I dehumidify in the summer, and humidify all winter. There is about a month between where I do neither. My target humidity is 50%, but the actual target is less important than the ability to maintain it year round.

As you may have gathered, after humidity fluctuation or too much humidity overall, the other big threat to veneer is to dry it out completely. Storing the veneer in a hot attic can dry it out and make it brittle*. 

Once your veneer is already not flat, there is a veneer flattening technique which I will write about in more detail in a couple of months. If you need the information right now, Craig Thibodeau covers it well in his excellent book – The Craft of Veneering (affiliate link), from Taunton Press. FYI, flattening veneer is not fun, and it’s not fast. I will only go through that process for something I really need.

*A key component in the veneer flattening solution mentioned above is glycerin, which makes veneer more supple. Using the veneer flattening technique should rescue dried out veneer as well.

Class Schedule for 2024 Released

There is only one class left in 2023 – the Veneering for Furnituremakers II on October 26-29. This class, which I believe is an outstanding foundation for using veneer in a variety of furniture and cabinetmaking scenarios, covers both types of four-way matches & radial veneering. 

We have some family travel planned, and I have a major commission to complete (and I’m on track to get it done!) and then I can teach more classes.

The plan for next year is to teach each class at least once, and add two new classes: an Advanced Double Bevel class, and an Advanced Geometric marquetry class. In both cases we will make one work more complex picture that requires refinements in technique. I am still working out the details for what picture we will make in each, but I have a fine clump of irises in mind for the DBII that I made last year as a commission. The advanced geometric marquetry project will definitely use curved templates in addition to a straight straightedge, similar to the front of the 66th St. Jewelry Cabinet. I intend to have pictures and a detailed course description for you in the next newsletter.

Speaking of the next newsletter: this is your advanced notice that class costs for my existing classes will have a slight increase after October 1.  I will remind you in the next newsletter also, but this is your opportunity to try them out at the current pricing.

Lastly, I have also renamed the Pictorial Marquetry class to Painting with Wood, which describes the results to someone that doesn’t know what Marquetry is. Sadly, that is most people. You, my faithful newsletter readers, are exceptional in many ways, and that is one of them.

Without further ado, here is the schedule:

• Jan 27-28  Geometric Marquetry
• Feb. 17-18  Painting with Wood
• Mar 2-3  Double Bevel II
• Mar 23-24  VFM I
• Mar. 30-31  Double Bevel I
• May 4-5 Geometric II
• May 18-19  Geometric I
• June 8-9  Painting with Wood

I will also be teaching at the Sam Beaufort Woodworking Institute in Michigan in both June and August.

If you’re on the fence about singing up or wondering if a class is a good fit for you, please don’t hesitate to email or call me to discuss.

Tech(nique) Topic: Key Tools for the Budding Marquetarian

Not just what, but why: my Key Tools for the Budding Marquetarian PDF has a list of all my tool must-haves, what exactly you need them for, and why they are the best tool for that job.

Click here to download our Key Tools pdf