There’s certainly nothing new about using mirrors to check veneer matches but this week, when I needed to do some matching I had an idea that some of you may want to try. I hate having glass around all the hard steel tools and I hate even more the idea of suffering seven years bad luck for breaking mirrors. (At my age that could be a large percentage of what I’ve got left…...)
So here’s the plan. I decided to try acrylic mirror stock and make half cuts in it to eliminate the need to tape, prop, or just hold the two mirrors while looking at the match. They are way harder to break, can be thrown in a veneer drawer, and I’m not even sure they qualify for a full seven years if you do break them. The pieces are one foot square and cost about $20 ($10 each) here in pricy old Canada. The piece of paper defines the size of one quarter of the veneer area.
Thanks for looking in
Paul
-- Paul M ..............the early bird may get the worm but it’s the second mouse that gets the cheese! http://thecanadianschooloffrenchmarquetry.com/
15 comments so far
Jim Jakosh
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#1 posted 06-11-2014 01:35 AM
Neat idea, Paul!! I have some of that acrylic mirror around, too!!.............Jim
-- Jim Jakosh.....Practical Wood Products...........Learn something new every day!! Variety is the Spice of Life!!
Napaman
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#2 posted 06-11-2014 01:51 AM
Great idea. ..lol on the 7 yrs comment…7 yrs would be painful at any age…even those of us just getting to the hilltop…
-- Matt--Proud LJ since 2007
sandhill
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#3 posted 06-11-2014 02:23 AM
Great tip Paul I will remember that. I see you found the brother to the veneer I found.
stefang
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#4 posted 06-11-2014 08:32 AM
Great idea Paul, something new to try to find here.
-- Mike, an American living in Norway.
Philip
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#5 posted 06-11-2014 04:12 PM
Looks like a winner Paul
-- I never finish anyth
helluvawreck
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#6 posted 06-11-2014 05:10 PM
Thanks for the tip, Paul.
helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com
-- helluvawreck aka Charles, http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com
tinnman65
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1444 posts in 4876 days
#7 posted 06-11-2014 09:46 PM
How much bad luck do you get for putting those cuts in it? Great idea Paul.
-- Paul--- Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. — Scott Adams
sras
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#8 posted 06-12-2014 02:39 AM
Great idea! Here’s to 7 years being a very small percentage ;)
-- Steve - Impatience is Expensive
Roger
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#9 posted 06-13-2014 11:57 AM
Appreciate your tips and techniques Paul
-- Roger from KY. Work/Play/Travel Safe. Keep your dust collector fed. [email protected]
Druid
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#10 posted 06-15-2014 06:20 AM
Simply superb, and superbly simple. Great idea.
-- John, British Columbia, Canada
mafe
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#11 posted 06-16-2014 09:04 PM
GR8 Idea, lovely Wood!
Best thoughts,
Mads
-- MAD F, the fanatical rhykenologist and vintage architect.
LueyD
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#12 posted 06-19-2014 03:37 PM
Great idea love working with veneers and now I’ll try it with the mirrors
-- LueyD
a1Jim
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#13 posted 06-19-2014 03:55 PM
Super Idea Paul. I haven’t seen or used acrylic mirror ,how did you cut it ?
-- https://www.artisticwoodstudio.com/videos
shipwright
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#14 posted 06-19-2014 04:06 PM
Carefully Jim.
Actually if you are OK with some minor cosmetic chipping you can use almost any table saw or bandsaw. There are special blades and drill bits but if you are careful you can get by fine without them. When we had the Harbour Ferries with all those acrylic windows, I cut an awful lot of it and just used the blades that were in my saws at the time.
A scraper will clean up the edges beautifully.
-- Paul M ..............the early bird may get the worm but it’s the second mouse that gets the cheese! http://thecanadianschooloffrenchmarquetry.com/
a1Jim
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118321 posts in 5039 days
#15 posted 06-19-2014 04:08 PM
Thanks Paul
-- https://www.artisticwoodstudio.com/videos
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