Flattening The Veneer

The walnut burl veneer is super wavy stuff that needs to be flattened. My go to softener is SuperSoft 2 by veneersupplies.com. I spray softener on both sides of the veneer and let it sit for a few minutes before dabbing away any standing softener. If you can't get to the veneer in time, just apply another coat of this softener, no need to waste the veneer.

Veneer Press

I don't have a vacuum press so I made a simple press out of some 3/4" baltic birch plywood. The platens are 8" wide by 7" long and the cauls are 2" wide by 7" long. I opted to not put a camber on my cauls because my clamps can easily reach the center of my press. If you are flattening larger veneer sheets, you should consider putting a camber on your cauls. Be sure to put some packing tape on the face of your press platens to keep the veneer from sticking to them as glue will squeeze out.

Using The Press

With the veneer softener applied, it's time to put it in the press. I sandwich the veneer between a sheet of paper towel but you can use thin newspaper type material (without any print on it of course). Every 6 hours I changed out the paper towel and allow the veneer to dry for 24 hours.

Ironing The Veneer

After about 24 hours I like to go ahead and iron the veneer to completely dry it. Typically you would let the veneer dry for 2-3 days in the press (while swapping out paper towels for fresh ones) but I needed to batch out several boxes so I couldn't wait. With the iron on a medium setting, and a cotton cloth over the veneer, I slowly iron the veneer until it's dry.

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