Source for Blue Veneer

[scamp]

Hi All

I am trying to pull together material for my next build.
I would like the guitar to have a rather thick blue line in the purfling and binding.
As a result, I'm trying to make my own purfling/binding using veneers as I can't find exactly what I want already made.
I would like the blue line to be about 0.9 mm so I need a blue veneer sheet with this thickness.
I can find 0.3 mm and 0.5 mm thickness from LMI but not 0.9 mm.
Does anyone know a good place to buy died veneer that might have what I'm looking for?

Thanks

[MaineGeezer]

Have you thought about dying your own? I suspect it's likely to be the only way to get the width you want, unless you can build up the 0.9mm width from thinner strips in such a way the seams don't show.

[scamp]

I hadn’t considered dying the wood myself. I don’t have any experience in this area but that hasn’t stopped me before. Certainly worth an investigation. Thanks for the idea. I did think about potential stacking a .3 mm and a .6 mm but am concerned about seeing the glue seam. I wonder if anyone out there has any experience doing this and if it might work. I was also thinking of maybe putting a thin ( maybe .3 mm) black layer between two .3 or .6 blue layers to get the effect of a thicker blue line. Would be interested in any opinions from someone with more experience than me.

[Stray Feathers]

I have not chimed in because I think you are in the US? And I only can offer a couple of not-perfect suggestions that are in Canada. JAPARTS in Vancouver sells blue purfling that is .5 mm wide but that may be the same as what LMII sells - made by Domo in Japan. You could put two together for 1.0 mm and they might be easier to bend individually.

http://www.japarts.ca/DoMo/DoMo-Purfling-Wood.asp it's number 758D

And Timeless Instruments in Saskatchewan sells white-blue-white purfling, which is not what you are looking for but perhaps something to consider. The blue line is inly .020 I think.

https://www.timelessinstruments.com/con ... ling-.html

Also Gurian Instruments will custom manufacture for you so if it is really important it may be worth your while. Bruce W.

[scamp]

Thanks for the suggestions. I am in the USA but I might be able to use a Canadian source. I will investigate. Just wondering if you have any experience stacking the same color veneers to increase the width of the purfling? I’m concerned it will look funny if you can see a glue line.

[rcnewcomb]

You can also look at Gurian Instruments. They have items for instrument and furniture making.

Screenshot 2023-08-05 at 6.27.51 AM.png

[Stray Feathers]

Re: stacking purflings, I have no experience with coloured purflings. But I have used two black purflings back-to-back in rosettes. I use a black wood glue called Raven for this. And I was surprised to discover that some commercial purflings are made this way (I have had some delaminate on me . . .). So it can work for black but I don't know about blue. The black glue might be fine. Or maybe someone has more experience than me with CA for this purpose. Or maybe you can dye white glue with Mixol pigment or something? Bruce W.

[scamp]

Bruce. Thanks for the feedback. I can definitely see how stacking black veneers using a black glue would work. I might be able to die some kind of glue blue but I am concerned that it won’t be the right shade of blue vs the blue wood and hence a visible line. With black veneer it seems easier to match.

That said, I think I may try some experiments using blue veneer and different glues and see how they look. There is a clear non foaming Gorilla glue that might work since it’s clear. Plus it is more resistant to high temperatures during bending. Also might try two blue veneer layers with a fine black layer separator and see how that looks.

Thanks again and interested in any additional input anyone has to offer.

[scamp]

Found the following source for veneers that others might find helpful so I thought I would pass it along.
https://www.dyed-veneer.com/