So I don’t have access to store-bought veneer (no stores) and I don’t have a bandsaw, so it looks like I’m on my own for veneer. And since I needed it for this box lid, why not start now? I was feeling pretty confident going into this endeavor with my new ryoba. And it didn’t let me down.

I didn’t measure or mark anything. A fellow LumberJock told me it should be 1/16″ or thinner. So I just put the saw a smidge away from the edge of the board and tried to keep my line even horizontally and vertically. I also don’t have a real vise, so I just laid the board up against the “bench” and sawed away!

Hand-Cut Veneer 1

After resawing the veneer off of my board, it looked pretty good - mostly even thickness, and it was right around 1/16″ thick at its thickest point.

Hand-Cut Veneer 2

I sanded it down a little (tricky to hold on to such a thin little piece!) and then slapped it good-side-up onto my plywood panel.

Hand-Cut Veneer 3

And there we go! The veneer might be a tiny bit short, but I’m starting to lower my standards a bit and just want to get this thing done. I missed my Valentine’s Day deadline and just missed my wife’s birthday - I don’t want to let Mother’s Day go by before finishing! The other thing I should have done was to sandwich the plywood/veneer glueup in between a couple pieces of wood, for a more even clamp. When it was all dry, I saw that the veneer had lifted up very slightly on one edge. Shouldn’t affect the end product, though, as the top of the veneer is what I’m making flush with the top of the lid. So here’s what it looks like (none of the components are glued yet):

Hand-Cut Veneer 4

Thanks to everyone who gave me such great advice on how to do the lid!