Hi,
Many thanks David; I enjoy adding my stories covering new techniques I keep learning; I'm still very much a novice when it comes to French polishing and veneering but at least I'm practicing and making many mistakes so hopefully my notes will prevent other members duplicating my mistakes.
I'm currently tackling re-veneering a "woody"; this is going to be a long rambling tale but what the heck it's winter and I can't pick and choose my projects although this might prove interesting to others wishing to have a go at veneering. I'll try to add as much detail as possible but actually doing the work is much quicker than writing about it. Here goes.
With my workshop now converted from electronics to woodworking I wanted to do a project in comfort. The workshop now has good lighting; central heating and a decent music system.
I had started to install a clutch into my Jubilee lathe but as usual the weather is dire preventing me from running between workshop and garage and it's also too cold to tinker around in the garage so I've put the clutch project to one side.
I still wanted to tackle a project just for something interesting to do and as I still have a number of un-restored radios now was a good time to restore one of them. It would be luxury to work in comfort and with plenty of bench space because previously I've done veneering in our kitchen which is far from ideal.
David (Yorkie) very generously gave me as a gift this Barker 88 "woody" quite a while ago and I thought this would make an ideal project? David had got the set working but I am more interested in the cabinet. With the set on the bench it was a simple job to remove the chassis and other items leaving a bare cabinet. I noticed there were two empty valve sockets one of these being the magic eye and the other an empty socket on the chassis; no problem though as the set won't be played often once completed.
Barker 88.
Looking at the cabinet it's appearance was extremely bland totally lacking in character; if it had any decent veneer this was buried in a dark brown finish and the light coloured paint around the mouldings although standard did little to help it's appearance. David had kindly warned me the veneer to the front top curve was worn thin and David knew of my intention to experiment with veneering so the thin veneer wasn't a problem. Had the cabinet been constructed of plain flat panels I would not have bothered adding the work in progress but this cabinet has a curved section across the front top which should complicate veneering a great deal; the cabinet also has two large front openings so this should be fun.
I don't like using chemical stripper so opted to use cabinet scraper and abrasive paper to remove the finish. I was surprised by how much finish was on the cabinet it being quite thick. The finish was smooth but not highly glossy and the cabinet is in good condition. It took three sessions to remove the finish using the cabinet scraper which I sharpened a number of times as the job progressed; this was followed by a good going over using coarse abrasive paper with a backing block but going across the grain as I wanted to provide a good key for the new veneer.
Stripping original finish.
I would like to stress that I'm no expert when it comes to veneering and it took me ages to get into the mood and to gather all the equipment before I started. During converting the workshop tools and materials had been scattered around the various rooms and in the garage so a lot of time was wasted trying to locate my veneering items; the cast iron double glue pot proved very elusive and was eventually found in the very corner of a wall cupboard in the garage; the hide glue played hide and seek very well indeed especially considering that I had been looking for a biscuit tin when in fact I had previously transferred the glue pearls into a large plastic tub completely forgetting I had done so. Just gathering these items took a few days but eventually everything fell into place.
Plenty of bench space.
During this time I was trying to decide on what veneers to use? I still had some Sapele Pommelle veneer left over from my Ekco TV restoration and at first considered using this to cover the front and top panels of the cabinet. There was just enough Pommelle and having it to hand would save the cost of buying new veneer? I have a stock of assorted veneer and pulled out some being very dark in colour with a striking grain; this would be ideal for both side panels. Looking closely at the Pommelle though I thought it might be over powering given the plain shape of the cabinet and the more I thought about it I decided against using it.
For many years I've very much admired Burr Walnut for it's beauty but being a novice to veneering I could never justify the expense of experimenting using it. Thinking about this I started to browse eBay and to buy a single sheet of Burr Walnut to cover the top and front panels would cost in excess of £50; ouch!! More browsing though revealed four smaller consecutive pieces of European Burr Walnut which could be laid "quartered". At £29 inclusive I bought the four pieces. Whilst on eBay I also bought a circle cutter and a monster roll of proper veneering tape. The cutter is a Jakar Compass Circle Cutter with six blades and two leads at £3.72 inc P&P. The tape is Veneer Tape Large Roll 20mm x 400m, £7.50 plus £2 P&P.
I had been surfing the web and found beautiful Burr Walnut as used in Rolls Royce cars but I've a long way to go yet before being let loose with such wonderful material although I hope to eventually gain enough experience allowing me to have a go with some but not yet.
The Burr Walnut arrived and it is badly buckled and rippled; this isn't a fault because this is how Burr Walnut behaves and it requires flattening before use; it is also very fragile demanding utmost care in its handling so at the moment it is stored safely in the front bedroom. The tape and circle cutter are also now with me; all three items from different eBay suppliers arrived rapidly and within an hour of each other; I thought it was Christmas. I have further ambitions regarding making veneer inlay motifs hence I bought the circle cutter but firstly I need to veneer this cabinet.
Ready for veneering.
Yesterday afternoon I finally had everything together and I was in the mood to make a start. Simple decisions can sometimes take ages and so it was with the veneer for the side panels; under no circumstances must veneer ever be laid on top of another veneer with the grain running the same way or splits will appear ruining the work. The outer veneer grain on the sides ran vertically so if I wanted the new veneer grain to run in the same direction I would firstly have to cross veneer. This isn't a problem and cheap veneer is available for this purpose (backing veneer). I have some suitable backing veneer and had already pulled enough out but then Gary (Radio Fixer) kindly sent me a picture of one of his beautifully restored sets and I noticed the side veneer grain on this set ran horizontally and it looked most pleasing; This solved one small problem and saved me some work; I'll run the grain horizontally.
Book matched veneer.
As the veneer would need fitting in two pieces to each side an accurate joint would be required. I could cut these joints during laying the veneer but I had also seen a video on You Tube showing a guy using a long wooden straightedge with abrasive paper secured using double sided adhesive tape so I thought I'd give this a try out. In order to bring the veneer roughly down to size it would need marking and now the fun began. This cabinet has a sloping front and as it has a long batten to the front acting as a foot the bottom of the cabinet sides were also sloping so how could I align the veneer for it to look right?
Trying to handle overlong narrow pieces of veneer is difficult and I had two for each side to play with. If I placed two pieces on the upper cabinet side with the cabinet placed on its side on the bench I could no longer see the cabinet side panel? If I placed the veneer on the bench and seated the cabinet on it I still could not determine the best position for the new veneer? Already I was into some head scratching because I knew if I got this wrong the cabinet would appear "odd".
I went into the garage and collected a large sheet of picture glass; this was only an idea at this point but worth trying and I wasn't in a hurry. The sharp edges of the glass were removed using abrasive paper and wooden backing block taking care not to cut myself. This glass is very thin and fragile so I was very gentle with it; the glass was placed onto a clean piece of MDF then the cabinet was placed side down aligning it carefully and it was drawn around using a fine black marker pen giving the outline onto the glass.
Best veneer alignment.
The two pairs of veneer were taped and each pair was laid in turn on the MDF and the glass could now be used as a clear template; it worked a treat and it was very easy to obtain best grain alignment; one important point here is that each pair of veneers now became "handed" the better face and pattern would be on the outside so using a pencil the veneers were numbered on the inside (glue side). The veneers were marked for position and now the glass could be removed allowing the cabinet to be aligned and drawn around using a pencil with the pencil held vertical this gave an extra margin around the veneer; better slightly too big than too small at this stage and I was taking a lot of time over this. My plan is to learn from this project and I can then progress onto better projects this being merely a stepping stone so to speak. Speed will come later all being well but if not I'm still enjoying myself.
One thing I must buy is a hand veneer saw but for now I have to make do with a craft knife. Veneer is very brittle; it is easily cut using a sharp craft knife but a lot of care is needed to prevent breaking away outer strips of veneer whilst cutting across the grain as the knife breaks out from the end of the cut; to prevent this breakout the knife must be reversed so that the cut is always made into the veneer and not out of the veneer; the knife will also cut fingers if allowed to slip. Cutting with the grain also has it's own problems because the knife if not kept in proper control will try to follow the grain. Three light cuts work much better than trying to cut through the veneer in one pass. The new veneer was cut to the marked lines.
A quantity of Hide Glue pearls had previously been placed in a clean margarine container and covered with clean cold water then the lid added. The hide glue was ready and some was transferred to the cast iron glue pot which was in turn placed on a single electric hot plate and the plate switched on.
Hide glue.
Whilst the glue was heating I set about making ready the veneer; the joints were not perfect and I could have cut perfect joints during lay up but now I used the abrasive paper as I would use a plane; the veneers were placed on the MDF but slightly overhanging one on top of the other; on top a wooden batten was placed allowing them to be securely held; the abrasive paper had been attached to a thicker length of wood allowing the paper to bear onto the veneer edges; the abrasive paper was worked to and fro until dust could be seen all along the edge; dusting off then placing the two pieces of veneer together resulted in a perfect joint;
Sanding accurate joints.
Clean warm water was added to a bucket and a clean rag was soaked; the electric iron was plugged in and switched on at its highest setting. By now there was a strange smell when I should be smelling the hide glue? I can be so stupid at times; I had forgotten to add water into the outer glue pot;
The veneer pieces were dunked into the bucked and using the wet rag they were well wetted; then in turn they were placed on the MDF board and run over with the hot iron producing cracking and hissing noises; care was taken to keep the veneer wetted.
One cabinet end was then wetted and noting it's number I selected the correct pair of veneers; the cabinet was given a generous coat of hot hide glue and the first veneer accurately placed going over with the veneering hammer; the second veneer was quickly aligned and again attached using the veneering hammer. The veneer was overhanging about 1/4" so the hammer was always used diagonally near the edges to avoid damage. Excess glue was removed with a wet rag then a dry rag was used to remove excess moisture; to finish this side veneer tape was added to prevent the joint opening as the veneer dried out; the other side was done exactly the same. It is incredibly easy to get veneers mixed up or to apply glue to the wrong side; this was one of my first hard leant lessons when I first started veneering.
For once I had been working in total comfort; feeling warm with sleeves rolled up; plenty of bench space and favourite music playing it was bliss. Pity this didn't last because now the workshop is out of bounds once again; the central heating boiler is out of action so apart from the front room with its gas fire the rest of the bungalow is perishing and I'm in the hall wrapped up like an Eskimo typing these notes. Yesterday I had a glimpse of paradise today I'm back in reality. I can only dream of doing my best work because the world is stacked against me and I'm not kidding. I don't even know what kind of job I've made of veneering the cabinet sides but hopefully the British Gas engineer will arrive this afternoon armed with a sledge hammer to sort this wayward boiler out then later in the week when I stop sulking I'll have another go at this cabinet.
Kind regards, Col.
Many thanks David; I enjoy adding my stories covering new techniques I keep learning; I'm still very much a novice when it comes to French polishing and veneering but at least I'm practicing and making many mistakes so hopefully my notes will prevent other members duplicating my mistakes.
I'm currently tackling re-veneering a "woody"; this is going to be a long rambling tale but what the heck it's winter and I can't pick and choose my projects although this might prove interesting to others wishing to have a go at veneering. I'll try to add as much detail as possible but actually doing the work is much quicker than writing about it. Here goes.
With my workshop now converted from electronics to woodworking I wanted to do a project in comfort. The workshop now has good lighting; central heating and a decent music system.
I had started to install a clutch into my Jubilee lathe but as usual the weather is dire preventing me from running between workshop and garage and it's also too cold to tinker around in the garage so I've put the clutch project to one side.
I still wanted to tackle a project just for something interesting to do and as I still have a number of un-restored radios now was a good time to restore one of them. It would be luxury to work in comfort and with plenty of bench space because previously I've done veneering in our kitchen which is far from ideal.
David (Yorkie) very generously gave me as a gift this Barker 88 "woody" quite a while ago and I thought this would make an ideal project? David had got the set working but I am more interested in the cabinet. With the set on the bench it was a simple job to remove the chassis and other items leaving a bare cabinet. I noticed there were two empty valve sockets one of these being the magic eye and the other an empty socket on the chassis; no problem though as the set won't be played often once completed.
Barker 88.
Looking at the cabinet it's appearance was extremely bland totally lacking in character; if it had any decent veneer this was buried in a dark brown finish and the light coloured paint around the mouldings although standard did little to help it's appearance. David had kindly warned me the veneer to the front top curve was worn thin and David knew of my intention to experiment with veneering so the thin veneer wasn't a problem. Had the cabinet been constructed of plain flat panels I would not have bothered adding the work in progress but this cabinet has a curved section across the front top which should complicate veneering a great deal; the cabinet also has two large front openings so this should be fun.
I don't like using chemical stripper so opted to use cabinet scraper and abrasive paper to remove the finish. I was surprised by how much finish was on the cabinet it being quite thick. The finish was smooth but not highly glossy and the cabinet is in good condition. It took three sessions to remove the finish using the cabinet scraper which I sharpened a number of times as the job progressed; this was followed by a good going over using coarse abrasive paper with a backing block but going across the grain as I wanted to provide a good key for the new veneer.
Stripping original finish.
I would like to stress that I'm no expert when it comes to veneering and it took me ages to get into the mood and to gather all the equipment before I started. During converting the workshop tools and materials had been scattered around the various rooms and in the garage so a lot of time was wasted trying to locate my veneering items; the cast iron double glue pot proved very elusive and was eventually found in the very corner of a wall cupboard in the garage; the hide glue played hide and seek very well indeed especially considering that I had been looking for a biscuit tin when in fact I had previously transferred the glue pearls into a large plastic tub completely forgetting I had done so. Just gathering these items took a few days but eventually everything fell into place.
Plenty of bench space.
During this time I was trying to decide on what veneers to use? I still had some Sapele Pommelle veneer left over from my Ekco TV restoration and at first considered using this to cover the front and top panels of the cabinet. There was just enough Pommelle and having it to hand would save the cost of buying new veneer? I have a stock of assorted veneer and pulled out some being very dark in colour with a striking grain; this would be ideal for both side panels. Looking closely at the Pommelle though I thought it might be over powering given the plain shape of the cabinet and the more I thought about it I decided against using it.
For many years I've very much admired Burr Walnut for it's beauty but being a novice to veneering I could never justify the expense of experimenting using it. Thinking about this I started to browse eBay and to buy a single sheet of Burr Walnut to cover the top and front panels would cost in excess of £50; ouch!! More browsing though revealed four smaller consecutive pieces of European Burr Walnut which could be laid "quartered". At £29 inclusive I bought the four pieces. Whilst on eBay I also bought a circle cutter and a monster roll of proper veneering tape. The cutter is a Jakar Compass Circle Cutter with six blades and two leads at £3.72 inc P&P. The tape is Veneer Tape Large Roll 20mm x 400m, £7.50 plus £2 P&P.
I had been surfing the web and found beautiful Burr Walnut as used in Rolls Royce cars but I've a long way to go yet before being let loose with such wonderful material although I hope to eventually gain enough experience allowing me to have a go with some but not yet.
The Burr Walnut arrived and it is badly buckled and rippled; this isn't a fault because this is how Burr Walnut behaves and it requires flattening before use; it is also very fragile demanding utmost care in its handling so at the moment it is stored safely in the front bedroom. The tape and circle cutter are also now with me; all three items from different eBay suppliers arrived rapidly and within an hour of each other; I thought it was Christmas. I have further ambitions regarding making veneer inlay motifs hence I bought the circle cutter but firstly I need to veneer this cabinet.
Ready for veneering.
Yesterday afternoon I finally had everything together and I was in the mood to make a start. Simple decisions can sometimes take ages and so it was with the veneer for the side panels; under no circumstances must veneer ever be laid on top of another veneer with the grain running the same way or splits will appear ruining the work. The outer veneer grain on the sides ran vertically so if I wanted the new veneer grain to run in the same direction I would firstly have to cross veneer. This isn't a problem and cheap veneer is available for this purpose (backing veneer). I have some suitable backing veneer and had already pulled enough out but then Gary (Radio Fixer) kindly sent me a picture of one of his beautifully restored sets and I noticed the side veneer grain on this set ran horizontally and it looked most pleasing; This solved one small problem and saved me some work; I'll run the grain horizontally.
Book matched veneer.
As the veneer would need fitting in two pieces to each side an accurate joint would be required. I could cut these joints during laying the veneer but I had also seen a video on You Tube showing a guy using a long wooden straightedge with abrasive paper secured using double sided adhesive tape so I thought I'd give this a try out. In order to bring the veneer roughly down to size it would need marking and now the fun began. This cabinet has a sloping front and as it has a long batten to the front acting as a foot the bottom of the cabinet sides were also sloping so how could I align the veneer for it to look right?
Trying to handle overlong narrow pieces of veneer is difficult and I had two for each side to play with. If I placed two pieces on the upper cabinet side with the cabinet placed on its side on the bench I could no longer see the cabinet side panel? If I placed the veneer on the bench and seated the cabinet on it I still could not determine the best position for the new veneer? Already I was into some head scratching because I knew if I got this wrong the cabinet would appear "odd".
I went into the garage and collected a large sheet of picture glass; this was only an idea at this point but worth trying and I wasn't in a hurry. The sharp edges of the glass were removed using abrasive paper and wooden backing block taking care not to cut myself. This glass is very thin and fragile so I was very gentle with it; the glass was placed onto a clean piece of MDF then the cabinet was placed side down aligning it carefully and it was drawn around using a fine black marker pen giving the outline onto the glass.
Best veneer alignment.
The two pairs of veneer were taped and each pair was laid in turn on the MDF and the glass could now be used as a clear template; it worked a treat and it was very easy to obtain best grain alignment; one important point here is that each pair of veneers now became "handed" the better face and pattern would be on the outside so using a pencil the veneers were numbered on the inside (glue side). The veneers were marked for position and now the glass could be removed allowing the cabinet to be aligned and drawn around using a pencil with the pencil held vertical this gave an extra margin around the veneer; better slightly too big than too small at this stage and I was taking a lot of time over this. My plan is to learn from this project and I can then progress onto better projects this being merely a stepping stone so to speak. Speed will come later all being well but if not I'm still enjoying myself.
One thing I must buy is a hand veneer saw but for now I have to make do with a craft knife. Veneer is very brittle; it is easily cut using a sharp craft knife but a lot of care is needed to prevent breaking away outer strips of veneer whilst cutting across the grain as the knife breaks out from the end of the cut; to prevent this breakout the knife must be reversed so that the cut is always made into the veneer and not out of the veneer; the knife will also cut fingers if allowed to slip. Cutting with the grain also has it's own problems because the knife if not kept in proper control will try to follow the grain. Three light cuts work much better than trying to cut through the veneer in one pass. The new veneer was cut to the marked lines.
A quantity of Hide Glue pearls had previously been placed in a clean margarine container and covered with clean cold water then the lid added. The hide glue was ready and some was transferred to the cast iron glue pot which was in turn placed on a single electric hot plate and the plate switched on.
Hide glue.
Whilst the glue was heating I set about making ready the veneer; the joints were not perfect and I could have cut perfect joints during lay up but now I used the abrasive paper as I would use a plane; the veneers were placed on the MDF but slightly overhanging one on top of the other; on top a wooden batten was placed allowing them to be securely held; the abrasive paper had been attached to a thicker length of wood allowing the paper to bear onto the veneer edges; the abrasive paper was worked to and fro until dust could be seen all along the edge; dusting off then placing the two pieces of veneer together resulted in a perfect joint;
Sanding accurate joints.
Clean warm water was added to a bucket and a clean rag was soaked; the electric iron was plugged in and switched on at its highest setting. By now there was a strange smell when I should be smelling the hide glue? I can be so stupid at times; I had forgotten to add water into the outer glue pot;
The veneer pieces were dunked into the bucked and using the wet rag they were well wetted; then in turn they were placed on the MDF board and run over with the hot iron producing cracking and hissing noises; care was taken to keep the veneer wetted.
One cabinet end was then wetted and noting it's number I selected the correct pair of veneers; the cabinet was given a generous coat of hot hide glue and the first veneer accurately placed going over with the veneering hammer; the second veneer was quickly aligned and again attached using the veneering hammer. The veneer was overhanging about 1/4" so the hammer was always used diagonally near the edges to avoid damage. Excess glue was removed with a wet rag then a dry rag was used to remove excess moisture; to finish this side veneer tape was added to prevent the joint opening as the veneer dried out; the other side was done exactly the same. It is incredibly easy to get veneers mixed up or to apply glue to the wrong side; this was one of my first hard leant lessons when I first started veneering.
For once I had been working in total comfort; feeling warm with sleeves rolled up; plenty of bench space and favourite music playing it was bliss. Pity this didn't last because now the workshop is out of bounds once again; the central heating boiler is out of action so apart from the front room with its gas fire the rest of the bungalow is perishing and I'm in the hall wrapped up like an Eskimo typing these notes. Yesterday I had a glimpse of paradise today I'm back in reality. I can only dream of doing my best work because the world is stacked against me and I'm not kidding. I don't even know what kind of job I've made of veneering the cabinet sides but hopefully the British Gas engineer will arrive this afternoon armed with a sledge hammer to sort this wayward boiler out then later in the week when I stop sulking I'll have another go at this cabinet.
Kind regards, Col.
Happiness is a wreck of a cabinet to restore.
