This is a project that Francois Audeon kindly let us host.
Finished Ring
![Project: Turning a Wood Ring with Veneer Inlay Woodturning Online 2 Wood Ring with Veneer Inlay](https://woodturningonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/ring.jpg)
This is the finished ring. It is made out of boxwood and mahogany veneer. It’s a U.S. size of approximately 10 1/2 with an internal diameter of 20,8 mm.
![Project: Turning a Wood Ring with Veneer Inlay Woodturning Online 3 Sawing the boxwood on the bandsaw](https://woodturningonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Sawing.jpg)
![Project: Turning a Wood Ring with Veneer Inlay Woodturning Online 4 Rough cutting the wood blank on the bandsaw before turning](https://woodturningonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/sawing2.jpg)
The basis of the ring is cut on the bandsaw out of a piece of boxwood.
![Project: Turning a Wood Ring with Veneer Inlay Woodturning Online 5 This piece of boxwood is the basis for the ring](https://woodturningonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/martyr.jpg)
![Project: Turning a Wood Ring with Veneer Inlay Woodturning Online 6 A small piece of wood is added to make a glue block](https://woodturningonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/glueing.jpg)
The blank is then glued with CA glue on a piece of wood turned to fit the jaws of the chuck. The wood is glued in a faceplate turning orientations (like a bowl). This gives the strongest grain orientation for a ring.
![Project: Turning a Wood Ring with Veneer Inlay Woodturning Online 7 Roughing the wood ring blank](https://woodturningonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/roughing.jpg)
The assembly is then mounted in the chuck and roughed out using the bedane; hold with the bevel down, this tool acts as a straight scraper.
![Project: Turning a Wood Ring with Veneer Inlay Woodturning Online 8 Tracing the outer diameter](https://woodturningonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/trueing.jpg)
The internal diameter of the ring is marked on the spinning lathe.
![Project: Turning a Wood Ring with Veneer Inlay Woodturning Online 9 Cleaning up the outside diameter](https://woodturningonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/recess.jpg)
The external shape is cut with the bedane, now hold with the bevel in upward position; one could also use a skew chisel or a spinning gouge.
![Project: Turning a Wood Ring with Veneer Inlay Woodturning Online 10 Turning a recess to hold the vineer](https://woodturningonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/recess.jpg)
The next step consists of creating the recess in which the veneer stripe will be glued; this operation is made using a narrow tool like a parting tool.
![Project: Turning a Wood Ring with Veneer Inlay Woodturning Online 11 Hollowing out the inside of the ring](https://woodturningonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/hollowing.jpg)
The ring is then hollowed with the bedane in a downward position. In this specific case, the position is relatively higher than the median axis to avoid that the bottom of the bedane hits the work.
![Project: Turning a Wood Ring with Veneer Inlay Woodturning Online 12 Measuring the inside of the turned ring](https://woodturningonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/measuring.jpg)
The diameter is periodically checked with a caliper until the exact diameter is reached (here 20,8 mm).
![Project: Turning a Wood Ring with Veneer Inlay Woodturning Online 13 Measuring the vineer to go into the recess](https://woodturningonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/measuring-veneer.jpg)
The width of the veneer stripe is determined by the tool used to create the recess.
![Project: Turning a Wood Ring with Veneer Inlay Woodturning Online 14 Cutting the vineer](https://woodturningonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/cuttin-veneer.jpg)
The veneer is cut with a cutter.
![Project: Turning a Wood Ring with Veneer Inlay Woodturning Online 15 Heating the vineer bending jig](https://woodturningonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/heating.jpg)
![Project: Turning a Wood Ring with Veneer Inlay Woodturning Online 16 Shaping the vineer with heat on a bending jig](https://woodturningonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/shaping-veneer.jpg)
To give the veneer a rounded shape, without splitting or cracking it, I use a homemade “bending iron”, actually a copper tube heated with an air gun on which I shape the dampen veneer stripe.
![Project: Turning a Wood Ring with Veneer Inlay Woodturning Online 17 Glueing the vineer into the recess](https://woodturningonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/glueing-1.jpg)
![Project: Turning a Wood Ring with Veneer Inlay Woodturning Online 18 Glueing the vineer into the recess](https://woodturningonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/glueing2.jpg)
The veneer is glued in the recess using CA glue. The glue will set on your skin in a few seconds, so I wear gloves and I use a small stripe of the adhesive tape to keep the veneer in place while the glue sets. However, I mainly use the non-adhesive side of the tape to press the veneer with the finger while the glue dries (this avoids the adhesive side sticking to the wood)
Since the grain of the wood is perpendicular to the bed of the lathe, you have two weaker spots where the grain is shorter. You should start the veneer joint at 90 degrees where the grain is the longest; as the grain of the veneer is continuous it will reinforce the weak spots. Also, I’m quite generous with the glue, which also helps to add more strength.
I’ve tried splitting a finished ring between my hand – like you would do for a nut – and couldn’t break it. Also, I’ve plunged one for 3 weeks in water to see if the glue would resist, and I didn’t observe any issues.
![Project: Turning a Wood Ring with Veneer Inlay Woodturning Online 19 Removing the excess glue from the wood ring](https://woodturningonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/removing-excess-glue.jpg)
Excess glue is removed with the bedane. The veneer is only about 0,6 mm thick, so one must take a very thin cut to avoid cutting through it!
![Project: Turning a Wood Ring with Veneer Inlay Woodturning Online 20 Parting the wood ring off the lathe](https://woodturningonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/parting.jpg)
The ring is parted off the glue block using a parting tool.
![Project: Turning a Wood Ring with Veneer Inlay Woodturning Online 21 Make your own sander on the lathe](https://woodturningonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/sander.jpg)
Make your own sander; a piece of sandpaper has been glued to a dowel in a block using CA.
![Project: Turning a Wood Ring with Veneer Inlay Woodturning Online 22 Sanding the inside of the turned ring](https://woodturningonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/sanding-inside.jpg)
The inside of the ring is sanded on the cylinder.
![Project: Turning a Wood Ring with Veneer Inlay Woodturning Online 23 Making a jam chuck to hold the wood ring on the lathe](https://woodturningonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/jam-chuck.jpg)
Making a chuck on which the ring will be mounted during sanding and finishing.
![Project: Turning a Wood Ring with Veneer Inlay Woodturning Online 22 Sanding the inside of the turned ring](https://woodturningonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/sanding-inside.jpg)
Sanding starts with 180 grit and goes down to 400 grit.
![Project: Turning a Wood Ring with Veneer Inlay Woodturning Online 25 Applying sanding sealer to the wood turned ring](https://woodturningonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/sand-sealing.jpg)
Applying cellulose sanding sealer with a piece of paper towel.
![Project: Turning a Wood Ring with Veneer Inlay Woodturning Online 26 Polishing the wood turned ring](https://woodturningonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/polishing.jpg)
Polishing the ring using shavings.
![Project: Turning a Wood Ring with Veneer Inlay Woodturning Online 27 Waxing the ring](https://woodturningonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/wax.jpg)
Applying pure Carnauba wax on the spinning lathe.
![Project: Turning a Wood Ring with Veneer Inlay Woodturning Online 28 Polishing the wax on the wood turned ring](https://woodturningonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/polishing-wax.jpg)
Last step! Polishing with a woolen cloth.
We hoped you liked it! Let us know.