Replies

1. 
   Frank Vucolo | Jan 15, 2011 11:28pm | #1

   Hot hide glue for hammer veneering

   Christian,

   For veneering with hide glue, you will want to use hot hide glue. Heated, the glue goes down liquid but begins to gel and tack as you hammer (press it in a squeegee fashion with the flat hammer) it to the substrate. 

   There are good videos on the process here

    http://www.americanfederalperiod.com/woodshop.html

   and here

    http://woodtreks.com/category/techniques/veneering/

   Depending on the veneer you are using, you may or may not have to soften it. if you are using a plain veneer that is fairly flat you should be fine. Hot hide glue warms and softens the veneer as you apply it. If the veneer is crotch or burl or something highly figured and wavy, you may have to use a softener first to prepare the veneer for use.  

   Frank

1. 
   cblouin | Jan 15, 2011 11:34pm | #2

   Thanks Frank, my veneer is some nice looking Pimento Burl. It is a bit wavy and looks quite stiff. I'll look into softening. Also, since it is my first project, I've bought twice as much veneer as I need... so I have a margin to "learn" with.

1. 
   ndmatt | Jan 16, 2011 10:41am | #3

   You can use liquid glue

   Hi Christian,

   You can definitely use liquid hide glue to veneer.  I've used the Titebond in the past, but now I prefer Old Brown Glue, which Patrick Edwards makes.  Just make sure your glue isn't too old or you might have adhesion issues (DAMHIKT).  I haven't tried hammer veneering, but I've had great success clamping projects up.  And if the veneer isn't relatively flat, you'll definitely have to flatten it.

   Matt

1. 
   Westchester | Jan 18, 2011 07:27am | #11

   Gluing

   Making fresh hide glue is mainly for hammer veneering.  If you can clamp the veneer down the other glue you mention will work.  Hide glue is more commonly used in restoration work.    As others say - you must flatten the veneer before gluing.

   SA

2. 
   sapwood | Jan 16, 2011 12:07pm | #4

   Hide glue that is liquid in a bottle is not suitable for hammer veneering. If you want to hammer veneer you have to use hot hide glue and you will have to mix it yourself from granules or pearls. Doing so is not an onerous task.

1. 
   cblouin | Jan 16, 2011 08:19pm | #7

   I'm going to try hammer veneering, mostly because it looks fun to do. I'll go with pearls of hide glue then to add to the experience.

   I found a home recipe on another forum for softener, with 50/50 glycerin/dist. water that I'll try. I don't have a good feeling trying to glue the veneer in the state that it is in right now.

   Thanks to all for your input (so far).

1. 
   DonStephan | Jan 16, 2011 05:34pm | #5

   The flattener recipe often mentioned on the Vacu-Press veneering forum is 2 parts white or yellow glue, three parts water, one part glycerin and one part denatured alcohol.  My notes from the forum and other sources are at http://www.stephanwoodworking.com/education.htm and click "Veneer Notes."  The relevant section is "Veneer Flattening."  Make sure the veneer is back to moisture content before flattening, before you use it.

2. 
   joinerswork | Jan 16, 2011 06:32pm | #6

   Don and cblo,

   I'd definitely test the flattener having a white glue ingredient on a test veneer, before gluing the veneer down with with hide glue on a "real" project.  In restoration work, I have found the two glues to be fairly incompatible- in that the one softens, and contaminates, the other, resulting in a weak bond.

   Ray

3. 
   cblouin | Jan 16, 2011 08:22pm | #8

   I should try the white glue recipe, I'm just wondering how the white glue will affect the wood for finishing. I'm going to simply use oil, a few coats of rubbed polyurethane and finish with a wax.

   testing is definitively in order, with each softeners and without side by side. I've got quite a bit of veneer anyway.

4. 
   Frank Vucolo | Jan 17, 2011 01:51am | #9

   You're right...

   ...it's fun!

   Cook up some glue and  practice. It's not hard but there is a learning curve. Common sense will guide you through a few practive applications before you get busy with the real deal when your veneer is softer and flatter. 

   Good luck,

   Frank

2. 
   DonStephan | Jan 17, 2011 08:51pm | #10

   Testing would be an ideal approach.  I've used the four part flattening solution on olive ash burl with some success, but I didn't test the veneer moisture content.  In my case, I think it still had too much moisture when I glued it down.  I used a hot iron and yellow glue to iron down the veneer and some seams opened.  Last time I'll try this iron on method.  Don't think I've had the need to use flattening solution since then, but I've never seen posts on the veneering forum that there was a problem with adhering the veneer to the substrate with finishing.  Certainly you can test the flattening solution on some inexpensive flat veneer for adhesion or finishing problems.  Don't have to test using more expensive veneer.