You will now see the oyster veneer skin laminated to the core (which was made weeks prior) in the mold which was made especially for this shape.  The underside skin of spalted scrub oak veneer is being laminated at the same time but we didn't film it.  The adhesive, urea resin, is somewhat toxic in the resinous state but is quite inert once it has cured.  It gets very hard, not unlike epoxy, and adheres very well to wood.  A piece of high pressure laminate (Formica) is used as a hard flat face to push the veneer down flat.

One thing that is not noticeable with the mold but adds a nice subtle aspect, is that it is not only a volute like curve , but also has a mild helical turn so that it flairs open slightly at the front.  Just a detail that adds a bit more movement to the piece. 

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The_Oyster_veneer_in_the_mould_Part_4.mp4 (17.74 MB)

Oyster Veneering was a technique used to embelish exquisite furnishings in the 17th Century. The name was given due to the resemblance of cross cut wafers to a whole oyster shell. It is a labor intensive procedure even with our modern methods but the finished product is well worth the time and effort.

In this video, you will see the process I use in the fabrication of the oyster pieces being joined together to create the veneer. The wafers start off at 3/16" thick and sanded to 1/16" once the wafer oysters are all joined together.

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part3_the-oystered-veneer-of-the-game-table_20111003.mp4 (17.26 MB)

N.B. No live oysters we eaten or harmed in anyway during the making of this film.