Trimming Veneer
by Sal Marino
The two most commonly used tools to cut and trim
veneer are a veneer saw and a craft knife. I will cover the use of both
these tools in this document.
Veneer Saw
The veneer saw is a neat little tool. Its teeth have no
set and therefore it cuts straight and resists the pull of stubborn
grain which is very important especially when you are ripping (cutting
with the grain) veneer. When used properly, the saw will also produce a
relatively clean cut. Because it has no set, it will leave a very narrow kerf.
Sharpening The Veneer Saw
Blade
While most veneer saws work
fine when first purchased,
we can re-sharpen the blade
to make the saw cut cleaner.
The blade is held onto its
handle by two screws.
Remove these screws and
separate the blade from the
handle. Sandwich the blade
between two pieces of soft
wood and then place this in
a vice.
First, You will need to
bevel the top side of the
saw blade using a
smooth cut mill file.
Position the file at a 15
degree angle to the blade
and push the file across the
teeth. When using a
mill file for this
operation, do not pull the
file back, but rather lift
the file after each pass and
return to the leading edge
to start a new pass.
Continue making passes until
you have an even width bevel
across the entire length of
the blade. Repeat this
process on the other edge of
the blade.
Once both edges are beveled
they should be sharpened
using a
small triangular jeweler's
file. File each
tooth 60 degrees to the
surface of the blade with no
back or front, this way you
can use the saw in either
direction. This will
make the saw cut a little
slower but much cleaner.
After the teeth are filed,
both the beveled and back
sides of the blade need to
be honed to remove any burrs
created by the mill file and
refine the edge of the
teeth. I like to use a
hard Arkansas stone for this
operation but any stone
should work fine. Lay
the blade on the surface of
the stone at approx. a 15
degree angle matching the
angle of the bevel you cut
with the mill file.
Move the blade across the
stone several times.
Finally flip the blade over
and lay the back side flat
on the surface of the stone
and make several passes on
the back of the blade.
Crosscutting With The Veneer Saw
 To cut veneer to length you must cut against the grain of the wood. The
grain usually runs parallel with the length of the veneer, therefore you
must make a cut that is roughly 90 degrees to the grain direction. Place
a backing board on your workbench so you when you cut through the
veneer, you will not damage your workbench surface. Now lay your veneer
on top of the backing board. If your cut has to be exactly square, use a
try-square or other accurate square. Use a pencil to mark your cut line
on the face of the veneer. IMPORTANT NOTE: Always cut veneer slightly
oversize, then after it is glued down, trim it flush to edges of work
piece. Lay a metal or aluminum straightedge along the pencil line and
place the back of the veneer saw against the straightedge. make sure the
saw will be cutting on the waste side of the veneer, this way if you
make a mistake, it will not ruin your good stock. Refer to photo to the
left
for proper position of saw against straightedge. When cutting against
the grain, always cut from both edges toward the center of the piece. If
you attempt to cut across the grain from one edge to the other, the
veneer will most likely split of on the trailing edge. Do not try to cut
through the veneer in one pass, take light passes until the saw cuts
completely through the veneer. Some thicker and harder veneers may take
longer to cut.
Ripping With The Veneer Saw
Basically, ripping (cutting with or parallel with the grain) is
preformed the same way as crosscutting with the exception of a few
things. Fist, unlike crosscutting, you don't have to cut from one end
into the center to avoid splitting. The trailing edge will not split out
when ripping. Second, extra care should be taken to keep the saw from
pulling away from the straightedge. When ripping, the tool has a
tendency to pull away from the straightedge because alternating hard and
soft areas in the grain pattern, the tool can catch in a soft area and
pull away from the straightedge or hit a hard area and skip over the
straightedge. Other than these two points, the method is the same as
crosscutting.
Craft Knife
 One of the best ways to achieve a clean, sharp cut is to use a craft
knife. Commonly used by artists and hobbyists, this tool has a metal
handle with a slit jaw at the top which accepts razor sharp blades of
many shapes. The shape best suited for cutting veneers is a #11 type
blade. This blade has a very sharp point that will score as well as cut
through veneer leaving a clean edge with no chipping.
Using The Craft Knife
The craft knife is used in a similar manner to the veneer saw. Make sure
you take very light scoring passes with the tip of the
craft knife. Once
again, when crosscutting, cut into the center from both edges. The craft
knife has more of a tendency to pull away from the straightedge than the
veneer saw does, so be careful. |
