Unfortunately many trees produce veneer with blemishes such as burr holes, knot holes or splits. It is most important that you remove any such blemish from the veneer before you lay it on the groundwork.

To start with, take a piece of veneer of a matching grain and cut it roughly to size. In order to line up the grain of the work piece with the patch, cut a 'window' in the main piece, line up the patch through the window and then fix it in position with masking tape. Next, hold a sharp, pointed blade at a slight angle, and cut through both pieces (fig. I). Reverse the blade angle for opposite cuts in order to ensure a snug fit. Insert the patch from the rear and hold it in position with a piece of brown gummed paper stuck over the top surface. Rub down the patch with the pein of a clean, smooth, cross pein hammer to make it a tight fit. Rather than making the patch an even shape you should try and make it match the grain pattern in order to hide it as much as possible.

You can patch sawn veneers in the same way except that you must use a jig saw, fitted with the finest toothed blade possible.

Fig I. The best way to deal with surface faults in the veneer is to cut an irregularly shaped hole and a veneer patch to match. Tilt the blade slightly when you cut.