09-02-2013, 12:02 PM
Hi,
Have you got your hankies ready because this is a two hankie story.
My nerves are settling down after one almighty fight whilst trying to lay the Burr Walnut yesterday afternoon.
As soon as I wetted the first piece of veneer I knew I was in for a lot of grief and I wasn't going to be disappointed; it immediately buckled and almost walked from the bench. Using a small sponge I gave it a good soaking with warm water then bullied it to make it lay flat by repeated soakings and hot ironing; thankfully at last it behaved and the other three pieces were treated in like manner.
This is a problem?
I thought this isn't going to be too bad after all? Boy I was to be proved wrong big style. I had cut out the openings as required leaving them small for safety. The cabinet was wetted then given a heavy coat of hot hide glue using a paint brush; the first piece of veneer was offered up and aligned but what's happened? I only allowed 1/4" oversize but suddenly this was now something like 3/4" and the cut-out was now displaced? The veneer had grown considerably with the wetting and ironing throwing all my careful measurements and cutting completely off centre. Oh boy was I to suffer. I wetted the veneer and ironed to soften the glue then moved the veneer allowing it to cover the edge of the opening; I had used the hammer and secured the veneer to the top panel; then attached the cloth and battens which actually worked allowing the veneer to be formed around the curve; now I had to release the veneer to move it over.
Things started to get out of hand; I wanted to avoid cutting a vertical joint over the curve but now I could not avoid it; the second piece was laid overlapping the first and the joint was cut under panic. Again I had to release the veneer to gain access to the strip which was trapped beneath. The perfect joint had now been lost. I was amazed just how much in size this veneer had grown and it was sure to cause me lots of problems.
I was pleased to have got both large pieces finally laid and started to think perhaps I'll get away with this after all? Because the veneer was now being laid on a straight flat surface to the bottom of the cabinet the first bottom piece behaved even though joints needed to be cut to make it fit and it had to be adjusted to align the cut-outs. I now made one heck of a mistake; as hide glue loses a lot of its strength if over heated I turned down the heat on the iron; up until now I had been doing OK with the iron and didn't think I would have a problem? Immediately the cooler iron came into contact with the veneer it welded itself to the veneer; it behaved as if Impact/contact adhesive had been applied and now I had an iron firmly attached to the cabinet front.
I could have cried at this point after all the work and many hours already put in; without spare veneer what could I do? In desperation I quickly grabbed a wooden handled very thin gauge scraper and forced the scraper blade between iron and veneer ignoring the protests it was kicking up; at this point there was absolutely nothing to lose. Amazingly this released the iron without any serious damage to the veneer. With the heat turned up again on the iron fresh glue was brushed in and with the veneer wetted the iron was applied; having had the iron stick once it was really good of it to stick again; what the heck is happening to me; at least I now knew how to release the iron. The iron was hot but not as hot as me as by now the big key in my back had wound my mainspring up to maximum and this veneering job was quickly turning into a disaster. Not one to give up easily I let the iron cool enough to allow the glue to be removed from its sole using 240g abrasive paper whilst it tried to burn my fingers.
Trying for the third time the veneer was wetted but this time it behaved and was laid allowing the joints to be cut. Excess glue was removed from the face of the veneer with a wet cloth then a dry cloth was used to remove excess moisture followed by taping the joints.
It's hard to describe just how badly this veneering had gone and I was sure Gary was correct in advising a lot of caution especially as I couldn't find any information on the web explaining how to lay Burr Walnut using the hammer method; it almost beat me but the cabinet now had it's new veneer in place; it looked untidy due to all the overhanging veneer but with luck once the veneer was trimmed and filler added with some colour touching up perhaps this will turn out OK in the end. The cabinet was left on the bench and after tidying up I settled down to watch a downloaded movie with Bron. As the workshop would quickly cool down I decided to bring the cabinet into the hall where it is warm to allow it to dry.
Drying out.
Once the movie had finished I popped into the hall to see if the cabinet was drying and at this point I could have cheerfully jumped up and down on the cabinet to destroy it and put it out of my misery once and for all. A large section of veneer to the front had released and curled up looking as if there was absolutely no hope now of retrieving this job at all. My heart was in my boots; frustration at maximum; fed up; and full of despair this was the lowest point yet. What a contrast to the way I expected this job to go; OK I was on a steep learning curve but I thought after all the problems during lay up surely the veneer would behave and settle whilst it dried out but here it was again laughing at me and returning me to absolute novice status.
How bad can it get?
I couldn't have felt any worse as I went to bed and lay awake for hours thinking about how much grief a bit of veneer can inflict upon a novice. At midnight I was fighting the urge to get up and go into the workshop but eventually I fell asleep.
This morning all the doom and gloom had left me and I was in the workshop very early; the heat was on and the music playing I was up for the fight once more. If this veneer wanted a fight now it had one. Using a sponge; warm water was applied to the offending piece of veneer as I intended to completely remove it; this time I had cut out some grease proof paper and positioned this between the hot iron and wet veneer; the veneer did not want to release from the top of the cabinet but I noticed as I applied the iron to the wetted buckled section it began to relax? More wetting and ironing followed; perhaps the problem had been caused due to insufficient glue because I had to release this piece of veneer to re-position it and all the wetting and ironing could have considerably thinned the glue? Excess water was removed and plenty of fresh hide glue was applied then the veneer was attached with the hammer; excess glue was removed but now it was my turn to fight back; a strip of grease poof paper was quickly cut and a length of 2"x1" timber placed upon the paper now the entire sandwich was securely clamped with as much pressure as the clamps could stand; now we'll see what happens tomorrow once the clamps are released?
I love a challenge and this job is certainly putting me to a lot of hassle and frustration. To have applied the veneer at all was proof enough to me that it can be done and I had a brief glimpse of success when I placed the wet cabinet in the hall as the veneer looked beautiful. All the problems I encountered were of my own making; I'm inexperienced in laying Burr veneer and couldn't find any information or tips on how to proceed so taking this into account I'm happy; I've learnt a great deal and even if I do eventually end up removing this veneer from the cabinet I know in future when I do a similar job I'll succeed.
Clamped.
The buckling of the veneer can be overcome by soaking the veneer in clean warm water and hot ironing repeating until the veneer is supple and flat; excess water must be removed from the glue side before laying; keep the iron hot and clean; if in doubt use grease proof paper to prevent the iron sticking and securely tape or clamp suspect areas which might release whilst drying. Rough cut veneer to size but only cut to actual size once the veneer is fully wetted and ironed flat; don't allow the veneer to dry before laying or it will buckle once again. Don't use an engineers steel rule as a cutting guide; it turns the rule black together with fingers and will stain the veneer.
The cloth and battens worked but later I found the veneer will go around a curve with gentle ironing but it's possible looking back if grease proof paper was placed under he cloth then the cloth could be tensioned and secured with clamps until the glue sets up; as the cloth dries out it will shrink keeping everything in place?
The one thing without doubt causing the most trouble were two holes to the front of the cabinet. The edges of these holes are a very simple rounded over profile making taking accurate measurements incredibly difficult and eventually causing lots of problems. Had the panel been without holes then quartering the veneer aligning the pattern would have been a great deal easier but as the centre of the pattern fell within a hole preventing true alignment another technique would be needed?
If I end up starting from scratch once again with new veneer I'll find a better method of transferring accurate measurements from the cabinet to the wet veneer allowing the veneer to be very accurately cut before laying. Perhaps tracing paper could be used. I was worried about not allowing enough for later trimming hence the pieces became much too large after wetting and ironing but for a first attempt I've now obtained most of the solutions to the problems and hopefully these notes even if long winded give a clear indication what to do and above all what not to do if attempting to lay Burr veneer using the hammer method.
As a novice and assuming you have finally laid the Burr veneer thinking all is now well how would you feel if confronted as I was with a large section of newly laid veneer releasing and curling so badly? It's a good job that I've got plenty of patience or perhaps I would have been doing a clog dance on this cabinet today before disposing of it at our local tip.
Tomorrow I'll take a deep breath and remove the clamps; whatever the result I'm far from quitting.
Kind regards, Col.
Have you got your hankies ready because this is a two hankie story.
My nerves are settling down after one almighty fight whilst trying to lay the Burr Walnut yesterday afternoon.
As soon as I wetted the first piece of veneer I knew I was in for a lot of grief and I wasn't going to be disappointed; it immediately buckled and almost walked from the bench. Using a small sponge I gave it a good soaking with warm water then bullied it to make it lay flat by repeated soakings and hot ironing; thankfully at last it behaved and the other three pieces were treated in like manner.
This is a problem?
I thought this isn't going to be too bad after all? Boy I was to be proved wrong big style. I had cut out the openings as required leaving them small for safety. The cabinet was wetted then given a heavy coat of hot hide glue using a paint brush; the first piece of veneer was offered up and aligned but what's happened? I only allowed 1/4" oversize but suddenly this was now something like 3/4" and the cut-out was now displaced? The veneer had grown considerably with the wetting and ironing throwing all my careful measurements and cutting completely off centre. Oh boy was I to suffer. I wetted the veneer and ironed to soften the glue then moved the veneer allowing it to cover the edge of the opening; I had used the hammer and secured the veneer to the top panel; then attached the cloth and battens which actually worked allowing the veneer to be formed around the curve; now I had to release the veneer to move it over.
Things started to get out of hand; I wanted to avoid cutting a vertical joint over the curve but now I could not avoid it; the second piece was laid overlapping the first and the joint was cut under panic. Again I had to release the veneer to gain access to the strip which was trapped beneath. The perfect joint had now been lost. I was amazed just how much in size this veneer had grown and it was sure to cause me lots of problems.
I was pleased to have got both large pieces finally laid and started to think perhaps I'll get away with this after all? Because the veneer was now being laid on a straight flat surface to the bottom of the cabinet the first bottom piece behaved even though joints needed to be cut to make it fit and it had to be adjusted to align the cut-outs. I now made one heck of a mistake; as hide glue loses a lot of its strength if over heated I turned down the heat on the iron; up until now I had been doing OK with the iron and didn't think I would have a problem? Immediately the cooler iron came into contact with the veneer it welded itself to the veneer; it behaved as if Impact/contact adhesive had been applied and now I had an iron firmly attached to the cabinet front.
I could have cried at this point after all the work and many hours already put in; without spare veneer what could I do? In desperation I quickly grabbed a wooden handled very thin gauge scraper and forced the scraper blade between iron and veneer ignoring the protests it was kicking up; at this point there was absolutely nothing to lose. Amazingly this released the iron without any serious damage to the veneer. With the heat turned up again on the iron fresh glue was brushed in and with the veneer wetted the iron was applied; having had the iron stick once it was really good of it to stick again; what the heck is happening to me; at least I now knew how to release the iron. The iron was hot but not as hot as me as by now the big key in my back had wound my mainspring up to maximum and this veneering job was quickly turning into a disaster. Not one to give up easily I let the iron cool enough to allow the glue to be removed from its sole using 240g abrasive paper whilst it tried to burn my fingers.
Trying for the third time the veneer was wetted but this time it behaved and was laid allowing the joints to be cut. Excess glue was removed from the face of the veneer with a wet cloth then a dry cloth was used to remove excess moisture followed by taping the joints.
It's hard to describe just how badly this veneering had gone and I was sure Gary was correct in advising a lot of caution especially as I couldn't find any information on the web explaining how to lay Burr Walnut using the hammer method; it almost beat me but the cabinet now had it's new veneer in place; it looked untidy due to all the overhanging veneer but with luck once the veneer was trimmed and filler added with some colour touching up perhaps this will turn out OK in the end. The cabinet was left on the bench and after tidying up I settled down to watch a downloaded movie with Bron. As the workshop would quickly cool down I decided to bring the cabinet into the hall where it is warm to allow it to dry.
Drying out.
Once the movie had finished I popped into the hall to see if the cabinet was drying and at this point I could have cheerfully jumped up and down on the cabinet to destroy it and put it out of my misery once and for all. A large section of veneer to the front had released and curled up looking as if there was absolutely no hope now of retrieving this job at all. My heart was in my boots; frustration at maximum; fed up; and full of despair this was the lowest point yet. What a contrast to the way I expected this job to go; OK I was on a steep learning curve but I thought after all the problems during lay up surely the veneer would behave and settle whilst it dried out but here it was again laughing at me and returning me to absolute novice status.
How bad can it get?
I couldn't have felt any worse as I went to bed and lay awake for hours thinking about how much grief a bit of veneer can inflict upon a novice. At midnight I was fighting the urge to get up and go into the workshop but eventually I fell asleep.
This morning all the doom and gloom had left me and I was in the workshop very early; the heat was on and the music playing I was up for the fight once more. If this veneer wanted a fight now it had one. Using a sponge; warm water was applied to the offending piece of veneer as I intended to completely remove it; this time I had cut out some grease proof paper and positioned this between the hot iron and wet veneer; the veneer did not want to release from the top of the cabinet but I noticed as I applied the iron to the wetted buckled section it began to relax? More wetting and ironing followed; perhaps the problem had been caused due to insufficient glue because I had to release this piece of veneer to re-position it and all the wetting and ironing could have considerably thinned the glue? Excess water was removed and plenty of fresh hide glue was applied then the veneer was attached with the hammer; excess glue was removed but now it was my turn to fight back; a strip of grease poof paper was quickly cut and a length of 2"x1" timber placed upon the paper now the entire sandwich was securely clamped with as much pressure as the clamps could stand; now we'll see what happens tomorrow once the clamps are released?
I love a challenge and this job is certainly putting me to a lot of hassle and frustration. To have applied the veneer at all was proof enough to me that it can be done and I had a brief glimpse of success when I placed the wet cabinet in the hall as the veneer looked beautiful. All the problems I encountered were of my own making; I'm inexperienced in laying Burr veneer and couldn't find any information or tips on how to proceed so taking this into account I'm happy; I've learnt a great deal and even if I do eventually end up removing this veneer from the cabinet I know in future when I do a similar job I'll succeed.
Clamped.
The buckling of the veneer can be overcome by soaking the veneer in clean warm water and hot ironing repeating until the veneer is supple and flat; excess water must be removed from the glue side before laying; keep the iron hot and clean; if in doubt use grease proof paper to prevent the iron sticking and securely tape or clamp suspect areas which might release whilst drying. Rough cut veneer to size but only cut to actual size once the veneer is fully wetted and ironed flat; don't allow the veneer to dry before laying or it will buckle once again. Don't use an engineers steel rule as a cutting guide; it turns the rule black together with fingers and will stain the veneer.
The cloth and battens worked but later I found the veneer will go around a curve with gentle ironing but it's possible looking back if grease proof paper was placed under he cloth then the cloth could be tensioned and secured with clamps until the glue sets up; as the cloth dries out it will shrink keeping everything in place?
The one thing without doubt causing the most trouble were two holes to the front of the cabinet. The edges of these holes are a very simple rounded over profile making taking accurate measurements incredibly difficult and eventually causing lots of problems. Had the panel been without holes then quartering the veneer aligning the pattern would have been a great deal easier but as the centre of the pattern fell within a hole preventing true alignment another technique would be needed?
If I end up starting from scratch once again with new veneer I'll find a better method of transferring accurate measurements from the cabinet to the wet veneer allowing the veneer to be very accurately cut before laying. Perhaps tracing paper could be used. I was worried about not allowing enough for later trimming hence the pieces became much too large after wetting and ironing but for a first attempt I've now obtained most of the solutions to the problems and hopefully these notes even if long winded give a clear indication what to do and above all what not to do if attempting to lay Burr veneer using the hammer method.
As a novice and assuming you have finally laid the Burr veneer thinking all is now well how would you feel if confronted as I was with a large section of newly laid veneer releasing and curling so badly? It's a good job that I've got plenty of patience or perhaps I would have been doing a clog dance on this cabinet today before disposing of it at our local tip.
Tomorrow I'll take a deep breath and remove the clamps; whatever the result I'm far from quitting.
Kind regards, Col.
Happiness is a wreck of a cabinet to restore.
