oyster veneers

This time next week I will be heading up to the private view at The Celebration of Craftsmanship and Design exhibition at Cheltinham. This year I will be showing two pieces, one is a Japanise inspired jewlery box, the other a low round coffee table that I've named the Stump table.

Representing a section through a tree the table is made up of solid Cooper built Walnut sides, shaped round using first a belt sander, then turning to a spokeshave for the final fine adjustment. Once flat, the sides were evenly divided into strip sections of about 30mm. Useing these strips as guides I carved 6mm deep flutes leaving scoops in the finished carving which would give a texture representing tree bark.

For the top I had decided to use Walnut oysters. Cut like salami slices from a Walnut branch and then carefully dried Oysters were used widely in furniture in the middle of the 17th century. Some very fine examples of this style of veneer can be seen in Duch furniture of this period. Considering the unsophisticated tools and glues available to the craftsman of the time the standard of work is truly awe inspiring.

Success with Oyster work starts right at the beginning with the drying process. The best results are achived simply by tying a bundle of say ten Oysters cut at 3mm together and leaving them is a cool dry place in the workshop for about five years. If you need your Oysters a little bit sooner you can experiment with drying them in a Microwave cooker. This can be a bit hit or miss, and with both methods it has to be appreciated that you are working with a very unstable thin layer of end grain, which will never stop moving. 

This movement will have to be taken into account when cutting the Oysters into the ground work, glueing in place (I used a Glue from the Titebond range, they have great elasticity), and finally deciding on the  finish to be used ( oil is good, it enriches the wood and won't craze if movement occurs.

It's a pity that Oyster veneers are not used more often. Ok they can be a bit on the tricky side to use, but it's this and the interesting results that can be achived that make them worth the effort.