On 1 May 2007 10:35:31 -0700, Andy Dingley wrote:

I buy plenty from Dick (and Dieter Schmidt) already. Why is it that
the best place to buy Japanese stationery from the UK is to get it
mail-order from a German woodworking toolshop?

Ah, Dieter's the next bookmark on my list...
Here's another one, may be useful to you for supplies, period hardware, odd
stuff:
http://www.kleelux.de


The French veneer hammer they list is OK, but a crazy price. The
German one has an iron working face and I've no idea how you use such
a thing. Certainly I've never had the slightest success with that
style. The iron face is prone to marking the veneer surface and the
lower conductivity doesn't give the same chilling effect as brass.

And iron could be nasty on oak veneer...

The veneer saw they sell is a Kunz, a brand which is only one notch up
from Anant. You can certainly buy one of these, but you'll still have
to sharpen the edge on it yourself. Personally I prefer the handle
shape of the French style one Axminster sell. I've never got on with
the Japanese pattern one from Dick as it's too curved for veneer,
although it's a handy little saw for some jobs (great for model
boatmaking, according to my Dad).

I think I have a Kunz, or it may be the one with the cherries. It was on sale at
a ironmonger's closeout, and was much less that Dick's price, even without the
closeout discount -- I think I may have paid a quid or so. And it is indeed
blunt. No matter, I do very little veneering; and I'd let the cabinetmakers down
the street do any I'd need. I keep their power tools working, they do my
woodwork if it's something that needs experience. They'd be just as liable to
use a sharp chisel than a veneer saw -- "easier to keep sharp, easier to find,
quicker anyway" would probably be their reasons. (But they do have a long
clamp/power saw thing for ripping veneer.)


Thomas Prufer