Veneering Techniques.

[Retired]

Hi,

Many thanks Paul and Gary for your kind words.

The moulding around each opening Gary was originally painted a very light colour but I plan to paint them using Auto acrylic satin black lacquer I'll also paint the long front foot using the same paint; I've used this paint before and it adds a richness to such a restoration with little effort.

I'm yet undecided whether to finish the shellac in a mirror gloss or to hand rub it to give a matt finish; Burr walnut is usually brought to a high gloss but I might experiment a bit more.

I've coated the mouldings and foot with shellac as this is brilliant for sealing surfaces and providing an excellent base for paint.

Kind regards, Col.

[Retired]

Hi,

I've been undecided regarding how to finish this cabinet whether to give it a hand rubbed matt or high gloss finish. Yesterday I went into the workshop with the intention of adding more shellac but as I looked at the cabinet I thought why not try the hand rubbed finish because if it didn't look right I could always bring it back to a high gloss?

To do the best job the shellac really needed leaving well alone for about a week to fully harden; until hard it was highly likely rubbing with the finest grade wire wool (0000) would impart deep scratches which would be extremely difficult to remove. I've successfully brought shellac to a matt finish previously using wire wool lubricated with liquid paraffin but after all the hassles this cabinet has thrown at me I just knew it would be a mistake to take the risk.

As I'm treating this cabinet as an experiment I thought I would attempt flatting using 1200g abrasive paper lubricated with talcum powder; 1200g is very fine so wouldn't cause too much damage if it failed so I set to. It took a good hour to flat the shellac leaving me with aching arms but at least the shellac was now dead smooth with only a few tiny shiny spots the abrasive paper hadn't touched but it was acceptable. Now I had another problem; I really needed to see if flatting like this was successful and I would only know by applying liquid paraffin to check if this brought the expected glow and restored the colour but I also now needed to apply masking in order to spray the foot and mouldings; would masking tape adhere to a surface treated with liquid paraffin also there was a great risk liquid paraffin would contaminate the areas to be sprayed? At this point the cabinet looked very dull indeed.

I decided to mask so I took my time to make a good job of the masking then I sprayed on two good coats of gloss black auto lacquer from an aerosol. Once this had flashed off I applied two good coats of satin black auto lacquer from an aerosol. The paint was left for half an hour then the masking was very carefully removed taking care not to damage the shellac. I was short of black paint only having a drop left in the aerosols so the gloss was used as an undercoat and it worked out OK; I must remember to buy more paint.

Now for the final touch; I started to wipe on liquid paraffin using a soft cloth but what is happening? The shellac now showed rough patches and on close examination these were marks left by the masking tape; drat it the cabinet is still giving me grief won't it ever let up? Nothing for it but once again I was using 1200g abrasive paper this time to remove the tape marks. I had tried wiping with white spirit but this was unsuccessful. What a thing to happen at this late stage and I was now worried about cutting through to bare veneer so this flatting took a while. At last I wiped on the liquid paraffin rubbing it well in then the cabinet was given a vigorous buffing with a clean soft cloth to reveal its beauty.

Looking at the cabinet I thought I had made the correct choice in the matt finish; the cabinet looks like its been lovingly cared for over the last half century rather than it looking like it's just come out of the factory all shiny and brand new. By now I had lost decent light so ended up carrying the cabinet into the hall to take pictures.

           
Final assembly needed to finish the job off.

The job isn't quite finished yet because it needs the "works" installing and I'll add pictures shortly completing this project.

This project has been a difficult one for me and the cabinet hasn't been at all friendly in fact at times its been most hostile causing lots of problems driving home the message that I still have a great deal to learn but however bad things became I was able to go back a step to retrieve the job. Using hot hide glue allows mistakes to be rectified; shellac is also very forgiving and I just knew if I stuck with it the project would eventually come together as expected. I've experimented with this cabinet and gathered more skill and experience; I don't have all the answers and possibly never will but what I do have is confidence because using these old techniques its hard to completely fail. I hope my story encourages others to have a go at this fascinating branch of woodworking; I've had many happy hours of enjoyment for little monetary outlay and now have a nice radio to show for my efforts. The hardest part is making a start.

Kind regards, Col.

[Yorkie]

An amazing transformation Colin!

When it has the 'works' back in, and the dial and speaker fret in place it's going to look stunning.

Barkers were of course an upmarket furniture store and the radios were made on their behalf by radio firms, intended to compliment their range of living room furniture. How ironic that whereas before, the Barker 88 just looked like a typical woodie radio of the era, with a rather nice dial, only now - after Colin’s hard work and overcoming the tussles with taming the burr walnut - does it look like a top quality piece of furniture of the immediate post-war era! It’s evident from the pictures that Colin has posted to show his step by step progress, that a great deal of time and effort has been expended to achieve the wonderful finish. Colin’s skill and patience has transformed the cabinet from a 'Cinderella' into a princess of a cabinet, fit for the Ball!!

In the immediate post-war years when the Barker 88 was manufactured, rationing was still in being and would be for some years to come, so materials, including veneer and plywood, were in short supply. Apart from that, as Britain was bankrupt from the war years, the priority was in exporting - not satisfying the needs of British customers ('Export or Die'). In 1945 British set-makers were authorised by the Board of Trade to produce up to 400,000 sets, but mostly for export. I'd have thought that components and chassis would be in short supply, but in fact chassis started rolling off the production line soon after VE Day, but with no prospect of any timber for cabinets. I guess that's why the original veneer on the Barker 88 was nothing special. It is now!.

[Retired]

Hi,

Many thanks David for your generosity in kindly giving me this set and also for your continued support. The Barker is finally finished as I've just put it all back together and taken more pictures. It sure looks a lot different to the set you gave me David and it's only taken about three weeks in total during which time I thought the world and the set was against me completing this project.

I've suffered terrible weather preventing me from working on the set some days because it was too depressing; family illness which of course takes precedence and is now thankfully history; various interruptions and the set itself constantly at war with me; I can't even add this post without more upset; the virus in the computer completely took over Google Chrome so in effect broke the Internet connection; I've just had to run the Virgin Media CD to connect to the Internet but now I'm using Virgin as my browser; nothing and I mean nothing is going to prevent me posting the final part of this restoration because I won't give in.

All my restoration projects throw up lots of problems and this Barker really made me work to gain success but what joy it gives when after a prolonged fight a restoration turns out like this one. I only ever intended this project to be an experiment and learning curve because I didn't even know if I could lay Burr Walnut around around a curve in fact I had doubts about laying this on a flat panel using the hot hide glue with hammer method. I've not found any details on the web showing it being done this way neither did I find any videos on "You tube".

Just because I couldn't find any information didn't mean it couldn't be done but for me there was only one way to find out and this was to have a go. The materials didn't cost a great deal and if the Burr Walnut was destroyed I would only lose £29. The alcohol; veneering tape and other items bought will last for many such restorations so for such small outlay I've had a great deal of fun and frustration.

Normally I would say if I can do a project such as this then anyone can because in real terms I'm still very much a novice. In my favour I've had some previous practice both with veneering and French polishing allowing me to gain valuable knowledge and experience; I even successfully veneered the curve on the Ekco T311 TV I restored but this was whilst using more controllable veneer. I doubt a complete novice would succeed if attempting to veneer for the first time using Burr Walnut but if like me the novice starts on easier projects then it doesn't take long to become more proficient with the techniques involved; I learn from each project as I have from this one.

For me the way to learn is to simply get stuck in and make all the silly mistakes; there is nothing to be scared about after all this project only involved bits of veneer and sloshing some shellac on with a brush but the finish is in the detail and although I say at times I could have destroyed this cabinet I have over the years gained a lot of restraint and patience. I certainly wasn't born with restraint or patience as both have been hard won.

I've tried to add a lot of detail and information as this project progressed; one thng I've tried to avoid is to make it look easy only showing when things were going right but I've added the problems I've faced and the solutions I came up with along the way. Every project is different but given the number of problems encountered I think it fair to say most veneering projects would be easier than this one.

I've now achieved what I set out to do and even though this was only an experiment I've ended up with a rather nice set to add to my collection but the main gain has been in knowledge and experience; this has been another stepping stone for me and as yet I'm undecided regarding my next project; I still wish to make the inlay fan motif just to see if I can do it and I'll add the story as it unfolds.

Today I've painted the inside and the back panel using "Black Magic" paint; this paint dries to a matt finish and was a pleasure to use; the pictures of the back panel show the original finish of the panel but with a single coat of this paint what a difference?

       
Inside painted and original back finsh.

I tried buffing the Bakelite knobs in my hands whilst standing in the workshop but it was very tedious so I put my Eskimo gear on and went into the garage; it only took a few minutes to chuck a short 1/4" diameter rod in the wood-turning lathe then spin the knobs at speed bringing up a lovely shine.

The liquid paraffin applied to the cabinet has now dried back giving a matt finish but in a few days I might go over with some furniture wax to bring back the satin glow. I think it looks well as it is as it doesn't look factory fresh.

For anyone interested in veneering for the first time please don't be put off by the problems I've descibed; select a simple cabinet and use plain but decent veneer which will behave something like "Sapele" which is very easy to match the grain and to lay; once the basics are picked up then more ambitious projects can be tackled. There is little to lose but look at this Barker for a result in spite of most things going wrong; I'm no one special and I don't have any special skills; I think the mistakes I made have proved this as I now stand back and look at this set I say to myself "How the heck did I do this". Believe me with only a bit of practice you too could do such work.

Thanks everyone for your kind praise and support during this restoration; I've enjoyed it.

Kind regards, Col.

               

The original Barker and how it now is.

[pwdrive]

That looks very posh now Col, well done.

Lawrence.

[Retired]

Hi,

Thank you Lawrence; yes it is rather better than when I started the work but now I'm unable to display it well because of lack of space so it will most likely join the other restorations in our spare bedroom which is a shame.

Big Al very kindly sent me a link to one of these sets currently on eBay auction and the pictures clearly show what the correct back panel should look like; the picture is shown below; I like the back panel David designed and made so this will be retained. Thanks for the link Alan.

I finally broke free from my computer this afternoon and spent an enjoyable hour in the workshop trying "hot sand shading" for the very first time. I previously mentioned trying to make a veneer fan inlay motif and I've now made a start.

Its possible I've used too much depth of sand; it doesn't need a beach heating up but this is how I learn; just jump in and have a go. A bit of practice will produce better more even results in shading but now I've mastered the basic technique as seen in the pictures.

The workshop hadn't had time to warm up so I called it a do for today but making one of these motifs is very interesting indeed and once again I'm adding to my veneering experiences.

Its good these threads are being left open as much of the same kind of information can then be kept in one place.

Kind regards, Col.

           

[Radio Fixer]

Barker looks great Colin. Transformed from a mundane set to something really special.

Think you under estimate your abilities. For someone new to veneering, and without your mechanical talents, I reckon its quite a learning curve. I say you can buy knowledge, plenty of "how to" around but experience can only be gained the hard way. Not trying to put folks off from having a go ...

Gary

[camallison]

From another Colin - I would agree that, looking at this transformation, you have indeed done a job worthy of being termed "professional" Colin. No matter how many false starts or one step forward, two back ..... the end result is wonderful.

To put it into perspective, I have built many china cabinets and other furniture from reclaimed oak pews. NEVER have I attempted any veneering but, encouraged by your final result, I am now willing to make a start. Thank you Colin for the encouragement.

t'other Colin

[Retired]

Hi,

Many thanks Gary; I doubt I'll be parting with this Barker now it's looking so much better.

I do indeed have mechanical talents Gary being a mechanical engineer and the most useful talent I possess is being able to use both hands in harmony with my head. As an apprentice mechanical engineer it was beaten into me to think for myself after all I was being trained to be an engineer and not a "fitter"; this has remained with me for the last 50 years.

Hopefully what I've demonstrated with this Barker restoration and indeed with my other threads is that even with lack of skill on a particular subject determination will win through in the end. Even with my mechanical skills Gary I fell into a number of black holes during this restoration that any novice would fall into; I'm used to solving problems so I simply treat a problem as a challenge rather than an annoyance. I didn't know the veneer was going to grow so much in size once wetted; I didn't know I would suffer so much trouble due to the two front openings and what a blunder to end up with the electric iron welded to the front of the cabinet; this restoration has been problem after problem turning me back into a novice once again as I was on a very steep learning curve.

I have plenty of skills and experience to draw upon if I'm metal working but any project involving timber is totally different and the skills are not universally transferable; metal doesn't have a grain like timber and it is very predictable; metal cuts much more cleanly without lots of splintering or tear out; if metal is heated to cherry red it can be easily formed using a hammer and retains its new shape. I do have lots of hands on using power tools and machinery feeling very much at home with both but this Burr Walnut was a real challenge behaving most strangely; it grew a great deal when wetted but then shrank as it dried; pre-cutting then wetting made it no longer fit; it curled and buckled as it dried in fact it was a pain to work with; I was only experiencing what any novice will experience for the first time whilst trying to lay this Burr.

I couldn't gain any knowledge up front whilst browsing the Internet or "You tube" so the only way to gain knowledge was to have a go. I do have a lot of confidence in my abilities and I'm a quick learner. I wouldn't expect any novice to jump straight in and try laying Burr veneer without some practice of laying better behaved veneer but the basic skills to veneering are quickly grasped with a little practice. Plain veneer is cheap enough to practice with; hide glue is also cheap and the tools/equipment won't break the bank.

I've done my best to explain what I went through during this project and a novice to using Burr veneer now has the benefit of my experience up front so knows what to expect and more importantly how to avoid the mistakes I made. I don't think you will have deterred anyone from having a go Gary but I do agree veneering is very difficult at first but then so is riding a cycle.

Thank you Colin for your kind words. I'm pleased another wood worker has joined us and hopefully you will be posting some of your work? I too enjoy working with solid timber and have made a lot of free standing and fitted furniture saving us a fortune over the years. Veneering though is a lot different but it is also very useful in that very expensive decorative timbers can be cut into veneer and applied to a cheap substrate such as MDF resulting in a stable piece of furniture or cabinet; to use such decorative timber in the solid would be hugely expensive and the furniture or cabinet would most likely be very unstable. I used to regard veneered items as cheap but I'm learning better as I dig deeper into veneering.

I think once you have a go at veneering Colin you will soon pick up the techniques involved and it will open up a whole new world to you as it has done to me. Making furniture from reclaimed oak pews will be most satisfying for you and the oak will be very stable; what finish do you apply to the oak Colin because oak is not an easy timber to finish due to its very open grain? Last year I used new American white oak as a frame for my computer desk and as an experiment I used Formica for the panels; this sounds like a ghastly combination especially for a show piece but it worked out very well indeed and the desk is a joy to own. Have you any pictures of your work Colin because I feel it important to share this kind of information before all the skills are lost.

http://golbornevintageradio.org/forum/sh...p?tid=2204

I've rambled enough but believe me when I say the hardest part in veneering is making a start; this Barker was a downright pain to veneer but in spite of my ignorance it didn't beat me.

Kind regards, Col.

[Aerodyne]

A remarkable change to the appearance of the Barker, Col. You've transformed the set from mundane to very special. No wonder you don't want to part with it. Quite extraordinary - I particularly like the fact that you've darkened the edges of the reveals rather than leaving them cream (or white). A beautiful piece of work.
Tony