Laying Out to Veneer a Cone
Advice on planning the cuts in veneer pieces required to veneer a cone segment. November 5, 2013
Question
We are going to build a radius wall for a bar application, but it will slant at the same time. This will make the application of the maple veneer interesting at the least. Does anyone know how to cut and apply the veneer so the grain stays vertical? I'm thinking some sort of trapezoid shape? It’s likely I would have to do the same thing with the flexible substrate as well. I have a CNC so once I get a cutlist I can get solid cuts for the wall and layout of the materials. I don't have a clue as how to figure the sheets.
Forum Responses
(Veneer Forum)
From contributor J:
You can make a radius wall that slants, or you can make a radiused wall that the radii changes, as in a section of a cone. You have to know which you are making first. If you take a section of a cylinder and lean that section over to whatever angle you want the veneer joints would always be straight and parallel. You are correct that they would be trapezoidal if your radius changes. I skipped the math, made a paper template and just drew lines on it to figure out the shape.
From the original questioner:
My radius will change but my angle top to bottom will be constant. So what you’re saying is put some vertical lines on a piece of paper and lay it on the wall? Would I use it like a framing square to get proper lines to cut on the paper or are you saying just eyeball it?
From contributor J:
What I was trying to communicate is to build your wall and skin it with your bending ply or whatever your substrate is. Now apply a piece of craft paper to it and cut along the edges. This will give you a full size template of the veneer layout. It will be sort of C shaped. You could use a framing square with a board clamped on it at the angle of the tilt of the wall, or you could set up a laser level to shoot a plumb line. Mark the paper with a center line, then mark along the top edge the widest width of the leaves you have. Chase those marks down to the bottom following the laser line or your square. This should give you a series of tapered leaves fanning out from the center.
