The Technique of FURNITURE MAKING

Cleaning off patterned work

Complicated assemblies of different kinds of veneer or veneers with wild fluctuations in grain should be left for as long as possible under pressure. Even when released they should be kept between weighted boards whenever they are not being worked on, for it will take some time for veneers and panel to adjust themselves to the varying stresses, particularly with synthetic resin glues which delay but do not finally inhibit the absorption or evaporation of moisture in accordance with the prevailing atmospheric conditions. Thick saw-cut veneers can be levelled off with a finely adjusted smoothing-plane, and the Norris plane is admirable for this, but thin knife-cut veneers will have to be treated very much more gently with sharp scraper and abrasive paper. Resin glue assemblies are more laborious to clean off. for any glue that has penetrated to the surface will be glass hard, but they can be repeatedly swabbed with water which will not only lift the glued cover paper but will ease considerably the scraping of very hard woods if done while the surface is still wet. Tests should be made, however, for the colours of some veneers leach out and may discolour paler inlays. Even the final sanding may present difficulties, and in the finishing of the Bombay rosewood petals in the bird's-eye maple pilaster illustrated in 299 no water could be used, and it was found necessary to seal the maple with several coats of thin white polish (french polish) before the panel could be sanded, to keep both colour and dust from the very dark rosewood from spreading into the pale ivory-coloured maple grain. Water also must be used very sparingly on hide glue

assemblies; while raised or fluffy grain will have to be sealed or 'flashed' with dilute white polish, usually known as a 'wash coat', to raise and set the fibres in an upright position so that they are stiff enough to be cut off by the abrasive paper. Where the grain directions conflict, as between the individual pieces of veneer, the final sanding with 180 or 240 grit abrasive paper will have to be done with a circular movement, and an orbital pad sander is recommended for this.

Column veneering

A traditional and effective method of veneering small circular columns and half columns, which does away with the necessity for shaped cauls, is to glue the column with hide glue and allow to cool off, cut the veneer with a generous overlap in the width, pin one long edge (if necessary damping it so that it lies flat), wrap the veneer round the column and bind it with a 2 in (50 mm) continuous calico strip which has been well wetted so that the whole of the area is covered with the strip. The column is then gently heated over a flame or other source of heat until the glue runs, the webbing again wetted with warm water and then reheated to shrink it and force out the surplus glue. After

the glue has set the webbing is removed, the overlap joint cut through, the edges warmed, fresh glue inserted, hammered down and strapped with tape. Jointed up or fragile veneers which do not bend easily may have to be reinforced with a glued paper cover before wrapping, while intricate inlays and built-up patterns of small elements may have to be glued firmly to a supporting base of thin fabric which must be dampened slightly before bending and gluing in position. (Subsequent cracking,

crazing and lifting of highly figured or spiteful veneers [mahogany curls, rosewood, etc.] can often be prevented by the traditional method of backing the veneer with glued muslin prior to laying. See also Yorkite crossbanding veneer, page 307). Large columns of either coopered or laminated construction can be made in conveni­ent sections, each section hammer or caul veneered and then reassembled with either tongued and grooved or rubbed joints; but such work belongs more properly to specialized joinery and advanced techniques are employed for repetition work, although the occasional 'one off usually has to be made up by traditional methods improvised to suit. One thing is very certain, that no matter what new shape is evolved which would seem to call for revolutionary methods it has usually been done before by primitive but essentially practical methods. To state it fairly, the old cabinet­makers knew every worthwhile trick, and the study of antique furniture is the study of man's mastery over his material. The heavily shaped bombe commode with its flashing richness of intricate veneer-work may look almost

impossible, but it was done with primitive planes and scrapers, a pot of home-made glue and a lump of heated iron. No doubt the old craftsmen had more time in which to develop their skills and we are in too much of a hurry, but in the end they achieved more than we can usually show. The moral, therefore, must surely be 'make haste slowly'.

Diaper-work

Typical examples of these entrancing patterns of repeat squares, diamonds, lozenges and foliage in contrasting woods are shown in 300 and methods of construction in 301. The

301 Veneering: parquetry, etc. (2)

contrasts between the various woods should not be too abrupt except in very small sections, and strong figure markings rather than violent alterations in colour or tone, with a good play of light and shade as the direction changes from vertical to horizontal, should be used or the charm will be lost. A full-size plan should first be made on stiff drawing paper and the pieces fitted to it. Figure 301:1 shows the build up of a square pattern in which strips are cut across and along the grain of two separate sheets of veneer, the edges planed and taped together (301:2). Strips across the composite sheet can then be built up on the base-plan as shown (301:2A). In diamond-work the strips are cut at an angle (301:3) and assembled as in 301:4A. If boxwood lines are incorporated (300:4) they can be glued in between the strips and again across the composite strips, and bandings treated similarly. The first cutting of the strips must be very accurate and the widths identical using a sharp cutting-gauge, but the composite strips can be laid against a straight-edge and corrected if necessary. Transparent cellulose tape is invaluable for building up the strips as the joints can be watched for alignment at every stage. In 300:3 strips are cut the width of the separate diamonds and cut to the diamond shape against a template or in a jig; every square is then assembled with its banding and matched against its mates. The three-dimensional cube effect (300:5), which was always a great favourite, is

cut in a jig or from a template using strips of three contrasting woods of identical width, two strips along the grain and one at an angle of 30°. Figure 301:6 is, strictly speaking, marquetry - work, with separate sheets of veneer pinned together or interleaved with glued paper, marked with a template and cut with a saw and then fitted to the pattern, and eased with fine files where necessary. It takes much longer to assemble but is remarkably effective if the woods are well chosen. Figure 300:1 shows the chess or chequer-board pattern; 300:2 is a square pattern to give a diamond quarter effect; 300:3 has an inlay banding diagonally across the squares. Woods generally used for diaper-work were Macassar ebony, Rio and Bombay rosewoods, Cuba and Honduras mahoganies, satinwood, kingwood, tulipwood, walnut and box, etc., being woods with strong markings or stripes. Boxwood, holly and stained blackwood (pearwood) were used for lines and stringings with insets of bone, ivory, tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl, brass, pewter, etc.