Veneer

[aulddiy]

I'm no greatshake at pyrography and wood can be expensive. With that in mind I thought I'd try wood veneer.

Pictures by aulddiy66 - Photobucket
While the out come is not first class its passable. Anyone else use this as a material? I thought maybe a backing of stiff board would help it from spliting.

[hwallen48]

Originally Posted by aulddiy

I'm no greatshake at pyrography and wood can be expensive. With that in mind I thought I'd try wood veneer.

Pictures by aulddiy66 - Photobucket
While the out come is not first class its passable. Anyone else use this as a material? I thought maybe a backing of stiff board would help it from spliting.

John horse looks good in Veneer, i didin't think it would come out as good as it did!

[aulddiy]

Its a bit rough more a doodle than anything. However veneer is cheap.

[Irish]

Your celtic horse is beautiful! Did you just burn the veneer sheet or is the veneer already glued to a substrate?

I have two concerns about working veneer ... these are questions only as I do not know the answer!

1. When the veneer is glued to it's substrate (wood burning the top of a night stand that has mahgany veneer glued to poplar) can or will your burning work down enough that you would see the intersection line between the two woods? With many veneers 1/16" or less of thickness it seems that you could easily burn all the way through to the poplar or pine below.

2. What would happen to the glue??? Over time the glue dries and somehow turns to dust. At that point the veneer begins to crack, chip and disappear. I am wondering if the burning process would not damage the glue in the surrounding areas leaving the table top prone to chipping???

Again, I don't know. I have burned a few pieces of antique furniture table tops but I have always lifted the old veneer first so that I was working directly on the substrate or carcase wood.

Susan

[aulddiy]

It has no substrata. Having said that I think I'll addone. I'll give it a try.. Looking at it again I wish I'd graduated the burning around the horse out ward. Aw well maybe next time.

[Sharon of the Dell]

John, I like that burning! Seems like if veneer is cheap it would be good to practice on. your other art pieces are great too!

[Bill V]

John I like the horse, Ihave to agree with Sharon, veneer good for practice work.

Bill

[LisaS]

Do you think veneer over a substrate would act that differently than say, baltic birch plywood? Isn't that a popular surface for pyrography? I found on the web that 1/4" baltic is 5 ply, which makes the top < 1/16" (assuming even plys). 3/8" BB is 7 ply.

[bigEd_H]

Nice job, John. I like it. Veneer is a good material for wood burning since it is much less expensive than thicker wood. I imagine you have to regulate the temp a bit more so you don't burn through, but that is easily done with practice. People do pyrography on paper and other very thin materials, so veneer isn't that unusual to use.

That said, I really like Celtic design. I think that is because of my ancestry being Celts.

Thanks for sharing.

[teeburn]

My only concern would be is veneer treated wood. As long as it isn't treated I don't see what would be a problem with it. That is the main thing to look out for when you are burning. Definitely check for toxicity of the material and for burning. Some things aren't toxic for other application but are when burnt. You have to watch when you burn on paper also cause not all paper is suitable for burning. And while plywood is a very good material to burn on you have to make sure you do not burn past the top layer of ply into the glue. So if it is not treated wood, as the others have said great inexpensive material for burning. Just because some people burn on certain material doesn't mean it is safe too. Lots of people take chances I'm not willing to take when there is so many materials available that are safe and not that expensive. It could be a lot more expensive in the end to save a little now. Your health is priceless.