Veneer Hammering

[Wayne Bitting]

Howdy - I'm looking to try my hand at veneer hammering with hide glue. Instead of using a veneer hammer, would it be okay to use a roller like Rockler's J-handled power roller to squeeze out the excess glue? Thanks-wayne

[george wilson]

Why not just quickly make an all wood veneer hammer?The smaller contact area of the face would probably be better.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I am sure it would .
The veneer hammer is not used to to wail away at the veneer. Rather it's used to stroke the bubbles out you put one hand on the head of the hammer and firmly press down with that hand - while holding the handle with the other hand and press the veneer down as you pull the hammer toward you stroking the bubbles out and compressing the veneer against the substrate.

I suspect the word Hammer is a misnomer or just used because it looks a lot like a hammer even though you never whack the veneer with it.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

The excess may muck up a roller pretty quick. Probably work, but like George said, veneer hammers are really easy to make.

[Wayne Bitting]

I was thinking that the roller would get pretty messy as well. Since it would be for small items, I'll just go with the home made hammer I started last night. Thanks for the help!

[Mike Henderson]

I suspect the word Hammer is a misnomer or just used because it looks a lot like a hammer even though you never whack the veneer with it.
I always thought that's how they made veneer. Start with a board and wack the heck out of it with a veneer hammer until it's flat and thin:)

Mike

[David DeCristoforo]

Actually.... no. The veneer hammer will apply more localized pressure than a roller. The hammer is used to press the veneer down but also to push out excess glue. As George suggested, you can easily make one out of wood but it will work better with a steel or brass inlay on the edge.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I always thought that's how they made veneer. Start with a board and wack the heck out of it with a veneer hammer until it's flat and thin:)

Mike


HA HA HA
When I first saw a veneer hammer some many years ago I thought it was used in itty bitty little hammering strokes. After all, it was called a "hammer."

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

The veneer hammer will apply more localized pressure than a roller.

Wouldn't that depend on the surface area at point of contact?
A wood roller will deform some when pressed down but, I rather suspect that it won't deform enough to increase the surface area appreciably. So that'd leave the length of the roller as the determinative factor.

What a roller might do that might make it contraindicated is move along too quickly; letting air bubbles slip back into the wrong side by climbing up on the little rise they'd make. A hammer would have a lesser tendency to climb on an air bubble, I should think.
At least that'd be my best guess.

[Michael Panis]

Howdy - I'm looking to try my hand at veneer hammering with hide glue. Instead of using a veneer hammer, would it be okay to use a roller like Rockler's J-handled power roller to squeeze out the excess glue? Thanks-wayne
The veneer book I'm reading recommends using a windshield ice scraper that you would use for you car.

---Mike

[David DeCristoforo]

"...make it contraindicated..."

Well now... all I can tell you is that a roller is "contraindicated" by my experience. Rollers just don't work well for hammer veneering. I can't explain the physics of it... perhaps someone else can. All I can tell you is to try hammer veneering with a roller. If you are still not convinced, then we'll talk.

[Chris Padilla]

The problem with the roller is simple physics: it rotates. Therefore it makes it difficult to FOCUS pressure in a very small area for a period of time. The hammer veneer suffers from no such condition...it stay in one spot for as long as you need it and it allows one to really bear down.

Also, most rollers flex...even the hard rubber ones. Perhaps a metal roller would work better but, again, it rotates.

Okay, there is my shot at it. :)

[george wilson]

Correct,wooden veneer hammers usually have a rounded brass insert. I was trying to make it easy,in case he didn't have metal working capability. An all wood hammer of oak or maple would be good for some time,though. Then the face could be straightened if it wore.

[Barry Vabeach]

I made mine with a brass insert about 1/8 thick and 2 inches high - you could probably get by with something about 1 inch high, but if it is much shorter than that, it will be tougher to get the glue off of it as it gels. If you use brass, be sure to round off the edges - you don't want any sharp corners.

[David DeCristoforo]

As the vector of the hammer edge intersects with the angle of incidence of the veneer, the phases of matter synchronize with the principal quantum number of the hide glue. If you factor in the temperature of the glue divided by it's kenematic viscosity as measured by the Saybolt viscometer, of course allowing for variations in the state of motion of the hammer and the tensional stress of the veneer itself, it becomes obvious to even the most casual observer that a roller will never yield a satisfactory result.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

As the vector of the hammer edge intersects with the angle of incidence of the veneer, the phases of matter synchronize with the principal quantum number of the hide glue. If you factor in the temperature of the glue divided by it's kenematic viscosity as measured by the Saybolt viscometer, of course allowing for variations in the state of motion of the hammer and the tensional stress of the veneer itself, it becomes obvious to even the most casual observer that a roller will never yield a satisfactory result.

Exactly! I think...

[Steve Rozmiarek]

On my hammer, I just epoxied a brass dowel onto the business end. I rounded the ends so that they wouldn't gouge. After buying a vacuum press, it hasn't been used, but it worked ok for the few projects that I used it on.