It was raw 1/42" Waterfall Bubinga. Not bad to work with. You need a sharp knife, metal straight edge, and a MDF cutting surface. Used flammable contact cement on this small project.
Prepare the substrate, 100 grit sandpaper should work fine. Figure out the pattern to lay the veneer down. Use the knife to roughly cut the veneer to size. Follow the instructions for the glue. Use a wood block with a rounded edge to flatten the veneer. Use the sharp knife to trim edges. I used a random orbital sander to do the rough sanding. 220 grit to finish. Let sit for a week before applying the finish. This is to make sure the glue is set. I used an oil finish which soaks into the wood. 8 coats of Tung oil (I tend to overdo it some). Not too hard to do. Actually pretty fun activity
.
Bubbles seem to be inevitable with raw veneer
, but are an easy fix. Take a hairdryer and warm up the bubble, this reactivates the glue and allows you to flatten the bubble. May have to use a needle to allow the gas to escape.
