Woodworker: Judith Ames

How it Works

• Ames glues together two dozen strips of cherry veneer to create the curved legs for a table. After laying the pieces out in the order in which they were cut from the tree, she spreads a thin coating of glue on each piece of veneer.

• The pieces are then laid one on top of the other, again in the order in which they were cut from the tree. They are placed in a mold to set up for six or more hours. The finished product is an elegantly curved table leg that is also extremely strong.

• Ames sketches out her leaf design for a veneer inlay on a piece of paper, then traces the pattern on two pieces of veneer that she has taped together. She matches the grain of the veneer with the shape of the leaf, then carefully cuts out the inlay with a scroll saw.

• Ames works with tolerances as tight as a thousandth of an inch to create veneer leaves with the natural wrinkled appearance of a real leaf.

• After gluing the various pieces of the leaf together, Ames traces the leaf on the tabletop. She uses a router to carve out the largest part of the cavity for her veneer inlay, and then switches to delicate instruments (including a dental tool) to carve the intricate edges.