# Incorporating Veneer in Blanks



## donstephan (Aug 1, 2021)

Are older thicknessess of commercial veneer, 1/'32" or 1/16" a good or bad thickness for incorporating in pen blanks, perhaps by cutting a blank on the bias and inserting a thickness of veneer, or 3 thicknesses of contrasting veneer?  A few days ago I was given a few pieces of veneer, some of which are much thicker than the commercial veneer I have purchased in the past for tabletops and such.


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## Ted iin Michigan (Aug 1, 2021)

I would think that would be a really marvelous thing to try, esp if the woods are of contrasting colors.


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## Bats (Aug 1, 2021)

I think it depends entirely on the segmenting. I'd be reluctant to try something as thick as 1/16" in an application where it had to bend a lot, like one of these:




...but it's perfectly fine (and some would say _better_ than the thin stuff) for straight/angled segments like celtic knots. Using a piece of the thick veneer bracketed by pieces of thinner modern veneer in a contrasting wood could also work well.


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## mark james (Aug 1, 2021)

donstephan said:


> Are older thicknessess of commercial veneer, 1/'32" or 1/16" a good or bad thickness for incorporating in pen blanks, perhaps by cutting a blank on the bias and inserting a thickness of veneer, or 3 thicknesses of contrasting veneer?  A few days ago I was given a few pieces of veneer, some of which are much thicker than the commercial veneer I have purchased in the past for tabletops and such.


I use 1/32" often.  (I purchased from B & B Rare Woods).

I agree with 'bats' that the 1/16" may be testy to bend; but it would look fine for simply rings.  The 3 ply would look very nice simply on an angle, but a straight inlay.  

In the photo below, the 4 white rings are 1/32".


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## smik (Aug 1, 2021)

Example combining veneer and cutting on cnc.


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## RichAldrich (Aug 2, 2021)

Wow!


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