Veneer Hammer

[scmhogg]

An article in a recent FWW extolled the benefits of Hammer Veneering. Since I already have an old cast iron double glue pot and a supply of hide glue, I decided to try it. I use an old steam iron, dry, upside down in a vise, as my heat source.

I made a jury rigged hammer from a brick/masonry chisel. I was really pleased at how easy it was. Now, mind you, I was only veneering pieces less than 18" X 18".

So. . . I decided to make a proper Veneer Hammer. I used a block of Blackwood for the head and Ash for the handle. Blackwood is as hard and dense as true Ebony. The Ash looks like a baseball bat. The blade is 1/8" brass bar stock.

I turned the Ash handle on the large side. I have big hands and the size makes it comfortable and easy to apply pressure. It is finished with a few coats of shellac.

The head is sanded smooth to 600 grit with several coats of Renaissance Wax. Blackwood is one of those nightmare woods to finish. I tried poly, which stayed tacky. I cleaned it off and put two coats of dewaxed shellac. Even the shellac didn't flow well. I put poly on top of the shellac and it was still tacky three days later. Hence the wax only finish.











Steve

[JR]

I'm gonna stop reading your posts, Steve. That thing is beautiful. I had to make one recently, and, well.... let's just say it looks different from yours.

Another beautiful tool from the Hogg Works!

JR

[cabinetman]

That's the purtiest veneer hammer I've ever seen. Bet you get some decent leverage with that puppy. Makes mine look like it came from Constantines.
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[Pappy]

And you plan to uise that and chance getting it dirty or, worse, scratched?

[jonmulzer]

That is absolutely gorgeous. You put more work into a tool you plan on using than some of us do for display pieces. That belongs in a display at the Smithsonian!

But, how do you use it?? What is hammer veneering if you don't mind me asking?

[cabinetman]

But, how do you use it?? What is hammer veneering if you don't mind me asking?

The veneer hammer and the edge is a method of veneering using animal glue (hyde/hide), heat, and pressure. After the surface and veneer have glue brushed on and positioned, an iron is used to re-heat the veneer, and the brass face of the hammer is used to force out any air to the edges, and push (not hammering) the veneer down .
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[jussi]

Gorgeous work Steve. I had no idea what it was used for so thanks for the Explanation Cabinetman.

[scmhogg]

Cab,

The method I read about, did not require an iron, unless you screwed up. They only used an iron to flatten slit bubbles.

The part that freaked me out, was putting a little hot hide glue on the top surface of the veneer. But, it worked fine as a lubricant, and acted as a filler too. I do cheat a little by pre-heating the substrate under a couple of 100w light bulbs, to give me more time. I also followed their suggestion of using a size on the substrate.

Steve

[cabinetman]

Cab,

The method I read about, did not require an iron, unless you screwed up. They only used an iron to flatten slit bubbles.

The part that freaked me out, was putting a little hot hide glue on the top surface of the veneer. But, it worked fine as a lubricant, and acted as a filler too. I do cheat a little by pre-heating the substrate under a couple of 100w light bulbs, to give me more time. I also followed their suggestion of using a size on the substrate.

Steve

An iron is one of my habits. I also use heat lamps. There's times on large areas where bubbles may get harder to move around, or the veneer is bumpy, where an iron comes in handy. Maintaining the hot pot correctly and using the correct gram strength gets some getting used to, especially when using the glue for joinery.
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