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by:
Shane Eagen
photo: Cristopher Campbell |
DISAPPEARING ACT |
| Repairing
damaged veneers |
I remember an incident between my two older brothers during
which a skate was thrown (don’t ask). Fortunately enough, the
intended target dodged the sharpened footwear in time, but the
skate hit the wooden bifold door that led to the basement steps
and tore a chunk of wood out of it. My two brothers, antagonists
moments before, conspired to repair the door before my parents
came home, assuming there would be big trouble if the damage
was noticed. After the usual finger pointing and blame laying,
they put their heads together and came up with a solution. They
opened and ate a can of plums, saved and cleaned the pits, and
glued the best fitting pit into the gouge. Even the colour matched.
My mother never noticed and wasn’t told of the incident until
years after the house had been sold.
Unfortunately, furniture repairs
are not limited to those necessitated by thrown skates, nor
are plum pits often the perfect patch material. However, there
are two traditional methods I use to patch holes in wood or
veneer. I’ll limit this discussion to patching veneer, although
these methods work equally well for solid wood.
First Method
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| Mirror
image: When patching veneer, avoid using circles
or shapes with straight lines, as they tend to stand
out. An ellipse with pointed ends, a shape known
as a marquise, works best as it’s not easily noticed
as a patch and isn’t too difficult to cut |
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Buy a piece
of veneer (available at specialty hardwood outlets) that is
the same species of wood as the surrounding veneer and that
has as similar a grain pattern as possible. Draw a marquise
on the veneer with the long axis parallel to the grain pattern.
Why a marquise? The shape of the patch should avoid straight
lines, especially across the grain, because they are so unnatural
they draw the eye. The same is true for circles. Irregular organic
shapes will make the patch less noticeable, but can be much
more difficult to cut. I find an elliptical shape with pointed
ends the best compromise. Draw the marquise on the section of
the veneer that most closely matches the grain pattern of the
veneer surrounding the damage. Make sure that the area covered
by the marquise is big enough to completely cover the damage.
Next, cut out the marquise. I
use a utility knife and take care to cut with many strokes of
the blade. Do not try to cut through the veneer in one or two
passes of the knife as it’s too hard to control, and cut with
the grain where possible. I cut to the line, angling the knife
so the cut is slightly undercut. Using a scroll saw will also
work.
Use double-sided tape to stick
the patch (the marquise) over the damage using as little tape
as possible. Be sure the orientation of the grain pattern exactly
matches the orientation of the surrounding veneer. Trace the
outline of the patch with the utility knife, angling the knife
slightly (the same angle as the patch). Hopefully, the angles
will give you a tighter fit, therefore a thinner glue line,
and a less visible patch. Again, if you press too hard the knife
can slip, causing further damage. Cut the outline several times
until you have cut through the veneer.
Peel the patch off and remove
the tape. If you have used too much tape, it will be difficult
to remove the patch without damaging it. Set the patch aside.
Use a sharp chisel, with the
chamfered side up, to remove all the veneer inside the outline
of the patch. When all the old veneer has been removed, fit
the patch into place. Make sure it fits tightly. Ideally, the
patch should fit exactly and be proud of the surrounding veneer.
If the patch is not proud of the surrounding veneer, do not
glue the patch into position. Make a new patch out of a thicker
material. Resawing with your bandsaw is usually the best approach.
Assemble the following: wax paper,
a piece of plywood or board larger than the patch, glue and
something to use as a weight. Use a glue-resist product like
Waxilit to prevent glue squeeze-out from staining the surface
of your furniture. Spread glue on the underside of the patch
and the exposed substrate. Place the patch in position, cover
with wax paper, place the plywood or board on top of the paper
and put the weight on top of the board. Be careful not to shift
the patch while applying the plywood or the weight. If you forget
the wax paper, the plywood will be glued to the furniture by
the squeeze-out and you’ll be in deeper trouble than when you
started. Wait 24 hours.
Now comes the tricky part. When
you remove the weight, board and paper, the patch will have
squeeze-out around it and the patch will be proud of the surrounding
veneer. You can use a sanding block and sandpaper to flush the
patch, however be extremely careful you do not sand through
the veneer surrounding the patch. I prefer to use a smoothing
plane with the blade set for a very fine cut, or a sharp cabinet
scraper. When the patch is flush, you’re finished.
Second Method
This method is quicker and easier. Start by sanding the edges
of the damaged veneer until they are gently feathered out to
the surrounding veneer. Be careful to sand only the edges of
the veneer, not the substrate. The more gradual the slope from
the substrate to the top level of the surrounding veneer, the
better.
Acquire the appropriate veneer
and cut out a patch larger than the damaged area, with the same
attention to grain pattern as in the first method. The shape
of the patch does not matter.
Assemble the wax paper, glue
and weight. In this instance, the pressure from the weight should
be concentrated in the centre of the damaged area.
Spread glue on the underside
of the patch, and over the damaged area including the exposed
substrate and the area feathered out with the sandpaper. Glue
the patch in position, as always, making sure the orientation
of the grain of the patch matches the surrounding veneer. Wait
24 hours.
Sand the patch flush with the
surrounding veneer. This will remove all the excess veneer that
is sticking up out of the damaged area. What is left will exactly
match the required shape.
I have had problems with the
feathered edge of the patch lifting when stain was applied.
Make sure the glue used in this method is not going to be affected
by the stain or finish. Happy patching, and watch out for flying
skates!
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