Veneer making before the Machine Age?

[Glenn Crocker]

Dan's post on veneer caused me to think again of an old question of mine that I can't answer. How did the 18th - early 19th furnituremakers make veneer?

[Alan DuBoff]

Dan's post on veneer caused me to think again of an old question of mine that I can't answer. How did the 18th - early 19th furnituremakers make veneer?Frame saw.

There's a pic on this page showing a frame saw used for resawing.

http://www.brendlers.net/oldtools/ShakerBoxes/index.html

[Dennis McDonaugh]

They used a frame saw to saw a log into thin veneer stock and scraped it thinner and smoother.

[Dave Anderson NH]

Alan's post shows how it was done. I've watched the musical instrument makers work in the Hay Cabinet Shop at Colonial Williamsburg. Usually they will put a guy at each end of a very large frame saw to increase the accuracy and minimize the amount of cleanup work required on the sawn veneer. It should be noted that in the 17th and 18th centuries and even in the early 19th century before the use of machine made veneer, much thicker veneer was used in making furniture. It was common to use 1/8" thick stock though there was a really wide variety . The highly trained Europeans like the French eboniste tended to used thinner stock partially because they were able to successfully cut it thinner.

[Dan Forman]

Later in that same article, it talks about cleaning up the veneer with a scraper plane (of the pull variety). Thanks for asking this question.

[Steve Schoene]

Even a panel saw might be used. I've seen Mack Headley (Master at Colonial Williamsburg) pick up a standard looking panel saw and proceed to cut a sheet of veneer of less than 1/8" thickness. By eye, and with less variation than I could get with a fence on my bandsaw. (Master is his job description, but it is also an adjective referring to his skill levels.)