Mastering Veneer: The Great Woodworking Cover-Up with Marc Adams June 22-26, 2020

The ability to work with veneer is a skill well worth developing, opening up a whole new world of design freedom. Walnut burl, mahogany crotch, Macassar ebony, and quilted maple are just a few of the countless woods available that woodworkers can incorporate into their work. This course will begin with the history of veneer and the techniques and tools necessary to cut, match, tape, and press veneer successfully. From there Marc will cover book, four-way, diamond, and radial matching of veneer. After everyone has created some veneered panels, border work and inlay techniques will be covered as well as edge details. Several methods for cutting, joining, pressing, and finishing will be presented, which will enable students to create projects in a variety of different situations, depending on their specific shop and tools. In the middle of the week, students will be introduced to parquetry techniques and allowed to incorporate geometric shapes into their work. By the end of the week, each student will have pressed up many examples to take home and turn into a special piece of furniture. Because vacuum presses open up a whole level of advanced veneering techniques, a portion of this class will be devoted to veneering with a vacuum. Students will leave with all the skills necessary to confidently use veneer in their work.