Do you buy veneer on eBay?

[Eduard Nemirovsky]

I am looking for mahogany veneer. Taking in account I never use veneer before, don't want to buy a lot of expensive lumber and my wife asked for mahogany shelves/desk - I have only one option - start using veneer. I know it will involve vacuum pump, bags, glue, veneer specific tool - which add expense to total.
I look over internet - it is expensive, on eBay little bit cheaper. Do you buy veneer on ebay, any specific seller I need to check, or buying in reputable place will be safer in general?
Please give me advice on this matter.
Ed.

[Jamie Buxton]

www.certainlywood.com. Been in business a long time. Very reliable. Quality veneers. (And you don't have to deal with Paypal!)

[Tony Joyce]

Three sellers I buy from on eBay regularly are -greatdane6 - brkgas - lepkowski
All have quality veneer, will combine shipping, pack well and ship timely.

Tony Joyce

[joe maday]

I get my veneers from Ben Barrett at Berkshire Veneer. Tell him what you need and what you are doing and he will point you to the proper veneer. Very helpful. Great service.

Rare Wood Veneer, Exotic Wood Veneer

You do not need a vacuum bag, If the veneer is flat, you can "hammer" it on using hot hide glue and a purchased or homemade veneer hammer. (Which is really a heavy edged tool that pushes the veneer down). There is plenty of information on the web.

Another idea is not to use veneer, skipping any cost for special tools and use a Mahogany substitute, like Sapele or Sipo. should be in the 6.75- 7.50 BF price range. That way you could make moldings, profiles etc. and "dress it up".

[Chris Padilla]

veneersupplies.com is my go to place for veneers and veneering equipment. I recently picked up some Bosse Cedar for some new bathroom cabinets.

[Thomas S Stockton]

I second dealing with Ben at Berkshire veneers
great guy and extremely honest in describing his veneers.
Tom

[Paul Hinds]

I like B&B Hardwoods ... extensive list, great pics, good folks to deal with

[Charlie Kocourek]

Yep, I sometimes buy veneers on Ebay. Certainly Wood is the best IMHO, but there are some great vendors on ebay, too.

[Paul Wunder]

Since you are just beginning in veneering, may I suggest two articles in Shop Notes Magazine, Issue #113. The articles speak of "engineered veneer" (from: Oakwood Veneer Co and Certainly Wood). These products do not require vacuum presses and Shop Notes has good articles describing the products and how to use them. Apparently , the products have been specified by architects for years for use in high end furniture and cabinets.

I have not done any veneering myself, but the SN articles intrigued me and now veneering is on my to do list.

[Steve Peterson]

You didn't ask directly, but check out Joe Woodworker for reasonably priced vacuum press kits and bags.

Steve

[Larry Fox]

I get all my veneer and veneer supplies (except glue) from Joe Woodworker. Nothing but positive experience thus far over several orders.

That said, you mention you are looking at veneer for cost and that you have never done it. If you want to try veneer for sake of trying it and to add another skill to your toolbag I definitely get that. It is very fun and there is a lot of cool things you can do with it. However, depending on how much solid lumber you would need to do your projects, you might not be coming out ahead on this project by going with veneer. You need a press, bag, glue (gallon of Unibond is $45 + shipping), the actual veneer, substrate, etc. Doing veneer layups of any size is a decent amount of work and you are doing two-sided panels you need about 9 more hands than you have. You will still need to buy some solid stock for things like edging etc. Once you have the panels veneered there is a decent amount of cleanup for things like glue pull-through and you need to be very careful to not sand through (it doesn't take much). Comparing that to the cost of genuine mahogany around where I am ($8.99 / bd-ft) and the veneer solution is not a clear winner. You might also be able to punt a little and source mahogany plywood which will save you a TON of money and time.

I did a project a while back where I made a corner cabinet using mostly veneered panels. I was cutting my veneer on the bandsaw out of 8/4 walnut boards. My vac bag is 4' x 6' and I was cutting veneer and pressing panels for almost two straight weeks (not full time - I am a hobby guy). It got tedious after a while.

Another thing you need to consider is that doing veneer work at scale can be a MESS with the tape, glue, etc.

Definitely not trying to talk you out of it but merely trying to point out that going the veneer route is not a clear cost winner.

[Chris Padilla]

Veneering is great for getting unusual and limited quantity type of woods into your projects. Some woods are only available as veneers and some are prohibitively expensive in solid form. Veneering is also great for expanding your wood if you don't have enough for the project. Like most aspects of woodworking, it can take some cash to get going but each to their own in how they wish to approach things. I love veneering for getting the unusual/figured woods for reasonable money.

[Jeffrey Martel]

I normally just lurk on the forum, but...

1) I buy everything from Certainlywood.com. Keep in mind, though, that they don't really sell shorts except for highly figured wood like burls. Some of the pieces they sell are up to 12' long. I ended up making a special storage box that hangs from my garage ceiling to accommodate the long pieces.

2) While a vacuum bag or hammer veneering with hot hide glue is ideal, they aren't necessary. Both will cost you up front. I have so far gotten by with just using Titebond Coldpress glue, a lot of cauls and a whole bunch of clamps. That being said, I just picked up a glue pot for stupid cheap, so I will be going to hide glue for the next projects.

3) You won't really save money. It's not that much cheaper (and sometimes more expensive) than solid wood, and you also have to factor in extra glue and the cost of the substrate (plywood or MDF) that you are laminating the veneer to.

4) Where I personally see the main advantages with veneer is for doing things that would be difficult/impossible/super expensive in solid wood. Things like quad matches, sunburst patterns, super figured wood, marquetry, parquetry, etc.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Also, for some parts, consider using plywood of an appropriate type, then they have applied the veneer for you

I made a huge beautiful computer desk out of African Mahogany. I used plywood for the carcass and for one shelf. I used edge banding on some of the plywood and 1" wood strips on others. If I did it over, I would have used wood strips on all pieces since I think that it turned out nicer. I used regular wood for the primary desk top and the hutch top (the hutch top acts as a shelf). I also used regular wood for the drawer faces. The drawers are very large for a desk (as in very deep), so I used mostly hard maple that had sitting around for the drawer bodies. It is difficult to do hand cut dovetails in hard maple if you were wondering (at least for my meager skills).

[Eduard Nemirovsky]

Guys, thank you for your info. I am going to look for cost of veneer work vs solid wood. Sound like veneer will be not very different in final cost to build. May be I will build desk from wood and bookshelves from plywood with veneer. I am still in early stage of planning yet.
Ed.