Replies

1. 
   RMillard | Dec 12, 2003 03:22am | #1

   I build quite a bit of federal furniture. I try to avoid the use of plywood in my work, and I consider MDF to be an abomination ( way too heavy and dusty). Depending on the width, I use solid wood or a panel glued up from narrow strips of wood. For aprons and drawer fronts up to 8 inches or so wide, I use solid wood, preferably quarter sawn, with mahogany, poplar and pine being my usual choices. I would avoid Yellow Pine, because of the disparity in density between spring and summer wood, as this may telegraph through the veneer. I have no actual experience to back up that position., it is just what think could happen. When veneering drawer fronts that are not quarter sawn, I make sure place the veneer on the side of the board that would have faced the inside of the tree. This will counteract the natural tendency the wood to warp.

   For wider panels, I make a core out of pine or poplar that is made from pieces more or less square in cross section . When gluing up, I take care to orient the pieces so that the grain is as close to a quarter sawn configuration as possible. With these wider panels, I veneer both sides, to prevent warping. You must do both sides in the same session , because once a piece warps from being veneered on only one side and the glue dries no amount of coaxing will ever get the panel flat ( you may wonder how I know that). For a wide top I made for a William and Mary Lowboy, and a federal sideboard, I also cross banded it, in effect creating a piece of shop made plywood, which intellectually makes little sense, since I could have bought lumber core plywood.

   I’m also dedicated to hammer veneering. It is a quick low tech way to veneer almost anything . If you have any question on hammer veneering , just ask, and I can provide quite a disertation on that subject.

                                                 Rob Millard

1. 
   jmdmdfw | Dec 15, 2003 07:06pm | #2

   Thanks a million.  Do you have any thoughts on so called "dry"  glueing?

1. 
   RMillard | Dec 16, 2003 02:07am | #3

   You are welcome. I assume that you are referring to the method where PVA glues are applied and when dry, reactivated with a hot iron. I have not used the method, so I can’t say how it would work, but I can say, I don’t think much of the idea.

   Rob Millard

2. 
   aksophie | Dec 16, 2003 05:15am | #4

   Regarding "dry veneering" ---- if, as Rob guesses, you mean the iron on PVA method --- I have done this type of veneering and had both good and poor results. The good times have occurred when either I've simply been doing edge banding where the veneer is kept wider than the substrate and later trimmed, or when using paper backed veneer in cabinet work. For both these applications, the method is OK. There is little preparation required, tools are easily at hand, and it is fast. The veneer also stays attached, if you're wondering.

   The poor results have been using flitches of veneer. The last time I tried it I was putting on quarter sawn ash over plywood. The cabinet was a complicated construction that didn't lend itself to being veneered prior to assembly. The problem was that the heat of the iron caused the veneer to expand (the flitch was 6" wide) while "setting" the glue. Then after it cooled, it shrank thus opening up a gap between veneer pieces. I tried every variation of the technique that I could conjur up, but always got the same result. I was wishing then that I was prepared for hammer veneering, but I wasn't. Anyway, I would not attempt this technique on the piece that you are proposing. Besides simply not giving good results, it also feels like the method isn't "right." I mean, after all, it you are building a Federal reproduction with veneer over solid lumber, you really ought to apply the veneer the way craftsmen did during the Federal furniture hayday.

1. 
   jmdmdfw | Dec 17, 2003 07:04pm | #5

   Thanks.