Hello one and all!
I am searching for a source for 1/16" veneer to make resonator backs. I tried Certainly Wood, and while they typically have what I am looking for, they are currently out of stock on the things I need.
Are there any other sources out there for 1/16" thick plain maple, poplar, and mahogany all 15" wide? A source for 1/16" curly maple would be appreciated too.
a. google link below.
b. search for typical stocking and min quan purchase policies.
c. call sales depts.
d. sales folks will likely inform you your quan too small therefore ask for names of customers (millwork and custom veneering shops) who may have inventory or offcuts you could purchase. Take donuts.
e. your desired width limits list of suppliers - then google veneer stitching.
thomasnet.com/suppliers/usa/wo...-97005831
Constantine’s sells some 1/16” veneer and B&B rare woods may have some too. B&B will definitely have some wild stuff for the outermost layer. That one doesn’t need to be 1/16 of course.
I’m curious to know how you’re going to lay up the laminates. This is something I’ve wanted to try.
Contact manufacturers on Alibaba.com who make veneer. Ask them to produce whatever you need. There might be a minimum quantity.
Most I found are around 1/32 or less. Sometimes with curly wood this thin some glue can penetrate the veneer deep enough that it can mess with staining
Are you ok with the look of rotary cut veneer? I feel like 15" wide is a pretty severe requirement for flat sliced veneers that will drive up price and reduce availability.
Of course, for inner layers the aesthetics aren't important, so rotary cut or glued-up flat sliced veneer is fine. A book matched panel for the outer, visible, face could also look quite nice. It's not hard to joint and join a veneer panel the size of a resonator back.
I've been working working on a 1930s banjo with a resonator made of veneers similar to modern thickness (i.e. less than 1/32 inch), so that can work too.
When I worked for the company that made Hamilton music stands back in the Seventies, there was a company across the street that was in the veneer business. It appears that they're still in business. Below is a link to their website.
1/16" and 1/8" poplar is fairly common, as far as I know, in the skateboard-making business. I don't have any specifics about your geographic region (East Coast-ish) but might be worth a try to check out what's being used and if you could snag offcuts or culls.
The thinner veneer, 1/32" (rare-ish now) and 1/64" (more common), is not ideal because of glue bleed-thru, as others have mentioned. And, use of the thinner material, with the added weight of multi-layers of glue lines, makes for noticeably heavier resonator lay-ups.
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