I am about to veneer a bricklaid poplar apron with mahogany veneer approximately 3/32 inch thick. I plan this to be my first hammer veneering experience. I believe I have read both pro and con relative to the practice of using a toothed blade in a plane or a toothed scraper prior to gluing. Since I do not have either a toothed plane blade or a toothed scraper I thought I would ask three questions. 1) Is there a real gain from toothing the veneer surface? 2) If so, should the apron surface also be toothed? 3)If toothing is valuable, could a toothed scraper be made from an old saw blade? Any hints, help, experience, or opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks – woodhors
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In general, I am opposed to toothing substrates, but for thick veneers, I think it has some advantages. Modern veneer is so thin that the glue can actually cause the veneer to ride up, as the excess glue is pushed out. Veneer as thick as you are going to use, is probably too thick to allow the excess glue to move as readily in front of the hammer. I think the grooves left by the toothing blade give the glue an easy path to escape.
I really don't know if both the veneer and the substrate should be toothed, but I'm inclined to think only one should be. I can't see why a fine tooth hack saw blade wouldn't work as a substitute for an actual toothing blade.
Rob Millard
http://www.americanfederalperiod.com
Thank you for your clear reply. I feel ready to do a few practice trials and then on to the real thing. Sorry it took a few days to thank you but my last few days were quite busy. I would also like to tell you how much I enjoyed your recent PW article. Like you, I am smitten with the style even if my skills fall far far short of yours. Thanks again - woodhors
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