Ok, time to decide on how you plan to attach the assembly to something to give it a life.

I use a vacuum bag for veneering. That typically means I need cauls, top and bottom to press on the panel. For the cauls I like 3/4" melamine. Dead flat and glue doesn't stick.

The panel is a piece of 1/4 BB plywood that gets the design on one side and a "balance" veneer on the other side to keep the ply count an odd number. This keeps the panel stable so it won't warp.

The design needs a tacky surface to place the parts down on. For this I find the vinyl shelf paper to be ideal. Sticky enough to keep everything in place but still will let go if something needs to be repositioned.

I'll peel away the shelf paper backing around the edges and use masking tape to secure this (sticky side up) to one of my cauls.
This piece extends about 1" past each side of the assembly to leave extra space.

Peel away the rest of the backing.

Next up is to place a straight edge for aligning the pieces as they are placed. The 24" steel flexible ruler I used here will stay in place as it overlaps onto the sticky surface by about 1/2"

I'll do the same with a short ruler at right angles.

Here I begin placing. The horizontal band pieces are laid out in order (A1, A2, A3...) using another piece as a spacer.
Remember that this is the side that will be glued to the plywood.

The small walnut squares are also placed with the grain running L/R.

The dark area between the assembled parts looks like a gap, but it really is just the burned edges.

This process continues. You can see the chatoyance showing up as the L/R look lighter than the Up/Down. Notice the black stripe in the strip all matches up.

After the first few rows, I pull the long ruler off to make room for the parts that extend outside of the "space". Here is where you have to remember to run the short strips beginning with 2A, 2B, 2C... so the #1's can be put in at this point.

On to the end

A few more of the gaps can be pieced in to be sure I have the required 9x5" area completely covered.


Bag it

No action pictures here. First off, I forgot, second, I tend to move fast for this since veneer can twist up and so unnatural things when exposed to moist glue 😱

Process is simple, I have my 1/4" plywood cut slightly oversized so I can square it up with the design later.

I'll spread glue on one side of the plywood with a 4" ink roller and place it onto the pattern, centering and squaring up. Running the design past the final edges gives a good visible reference for alignment.

This sits in place while I spread glue on the last face of the plywood before I add the balance veneer (Baltic birch in this instance).

A paper towel is placed to soak up any glue that seeps through the BB veneer and then the last caul is aligned and placed.

Into the bag with cardboard over the cauls (protects the bag from the sharp caul edges) and some mesh for airflow.

Two hours later, out of the bag and left to sit for another hour or so, then the cause are removed and the shelf paper carefully peeled off.

Four panels, two square and two rectangular.

I sand the surface smooth and try to remove and glue that squeezed through. The shelf paper makes a excellent seal against this so not much effort is neeeeded.
I use some clear pore filler to fill any gaps and make the surface smooth.

Sand the filler flat  then a pre-finish using some wiping varnish.

Let dry for a few days while I set up for the project that these panels will become a part.

One thing that I've yet to try is shading. A burnt "shadow" on the short edges would make for a better 3D look with the strips like they were passing under the cross pieces.


Made a tissue box over in the projects.

Thanks for following!