Pro Woodworking Tips.com-Mirror Trick

Veneering

Mirror Trick...

When trying to make a radial pattern, or circle, oval, or half circle, a hinged mirror can be your best asset. This will permit you to quickly determine the most attractive pattern, simply by moving the mirror to different locations on the veneer.

The first thing to consider is how many pieces of veneer you have to work with. If you have ten pieces, a design requiring fifteen pieces, won't work. With an assortment of plexiglass angles, you will be able to control the angle of the mirror, and thereby control the amount of pieces of veneer required. Notice the numbers on the templates. The higher number represent the number of pieces required to make a complete circle. The lower number represents how many pieces you'll need if you double the tempate size. (simply draw the template size on the veneer, then move it over to your line, and draw another line).

The following photos show the possibities, displaying beautiful patterns, on the same piece of veneer, just by moving the mirror. The tighter you close the mirror, the more pieces of veneer will be needed. You can lay the transparent template on the veneer, and close the mirror to the template. The resulting image will not be an exact image of the pattern when completed, because the grain changes slightly between pieces of veneer.

You'll need to keep this in mind when taping the pieces, because if you start with piece number one, then use two, then three, and so on, the final piece of the pattern will be considerably different, than the first. It' better to go piece one, piece three, piece five, piece seven, working in a clock wise direction, use the even number pieces in a counter clock wise sequence. Starting with piece one, piece two, piece four, piece six, etc...

Also, it's easier to make four quaters, then two halves and join them, than trying to complete the circle all at once. That is a good way to end up with a cone!