Paul Kierstead wrote in message rs.com...
In article ,
"RBK" wrote:

I'm taking a one day course on the 20th. If your interested I could let y
ou know what I learned.


Sure would love to hear it! Particularly any "tricks and tips" you
picked up. I actually gave it a swing yesterday....piece of wood for the
hammer, hot-pot for the glue pot. First one was awful. Second one was
better. Will be posting more on all that I guess. But would to hear your
experiences.

Well I took the class. I am going to give a very short description of
what I found out because the instructor will be giving the details in
a Fine Woodworking Master Class to be published in the next issue or
so.

We spent some time discussing the various options for materials while
we waited for the glue to heat up. We used hide glue on mahogany
veneer applied to MDF. We practiced cutting the veneer and then
joining pieces using a couple of different methods. The following is a
summary of the major points

Hide Glue - You want to use this if your project will allow. It gives
you a reasonable working time and is reversible and repairable. The
are several different kinds of hide glue. The stuff sold in many
stores is a pearl type which takes forever to dissolve and heat and
probably has unknown characteristics. The characteristics of the hide
can be controlled when they make it. Get a 192 type ground hide glue
if you can find it. Places that specialize in materials for making
guitars will be your best source.

Veneer Saw - Used to trim the veneer. They cost about $20 - $30 and
will probably need a little tuning up before use. Remove any burrs on
the base ect. When you cut with the saw you will probably use some
kind of straightedge. A 2X4 with a jointed edge will give you a large
flat surface that the back of the
veneer saw can index on to give you a good straight 90 degree cut.

Veneer Hammer - Look like a window squeegee. Used to press and scrap
the veneer to get the glue flat, air bubbles out and the veneer edges
tightly joined (if you are matching seams). You can buy one or you can
look at a picture of one get yourself a piece of hardwood a large
dowel for the handle(sometime omitted) and a small piece of 1/8 - 1/4
inch brass to inlay and epoxy on the edge to a grove cut in the
hardwood edge.

Glue pot - Heats the hide glue and keeps it a proper temperature. You
can use double boilers or any thing else you can dream up to
accomplish the same but it's not a good idea to have the glue overheat
(or not be hot enough) so use a thermometer if you don't use a glue
pot, be careful.

Hand plane with a serrated blade or rough sandpaper - Used to prepare
the base material before gluing. They make a specialty hand plane if
you can find one but sandpaper will work fine. Rough up the surface
and clean the sandpaper dust off.

Masking tape and veneer tape - Use to tape together any joined pieces
prior to applying the veneer to the base. This should be covered in
the FWW article

Card Scraper - Used to scrape clean the veneer top after the glue has
set.

Common house iron - Not a good idea to use your spouse's good one. Get
a used one. Used with a wet rag between the iron and veneer to reheat
and loosen veneer to correct any voids, glue pocket etc. In fact to
whole piece of veneer can be removed if necessary. Good idea to
practice this before you really do it to a good piece.

Basic rules

1. Remember to apply glue to the base and to both side of the veneer.
The top will have the glue "Squeezed" off when using the veneer
hammer. By applying to both side of the veneer you will minimize any
curling effect caused if you applied glue to one side only.

2. Be sure to keep working the veneer hammer to flatten any glue
pocket and air bubbles. You will know when the glue starts to set up
as the veneer piece will stop moving on the base and the glue on top
will start to ball up and look like it came out of your nose.

3. The edges are the hardest part. Make sure all the edges are
"squeezed" flat and are completely glued all around. Be careful as it
is easy to crack the edge of any vaneer overlaping the base.