Federal Banding

[Ernie Hobbs]

I'm making a couple of federal card tables (similar to the ones in Steve Latta's article in FWW last winter). Although you can buy banding pre-made, I decided to make my own from scratch. I just finished it thought I'd post the pictures for some comments, advice, etc. from others that have made some before.

I have seventeen 29" sections, 1/16" thick, 3/8" wide. This comes out to about 41 feet of banding- enough to use for many projects in the future. The woods are walnut and hackberry.

The procedure I followed was documented in the Taunton Press book on veneer and marquetry. I resawed the walnut and hackberry boards and ran them through my planer to get the 1/16" thickness for the slices. Then I glued up a stack of alternating pattern veneer. Once dry, I sliced this sandwich into 1/16" wide slices on my bandsaw and then into 6" sections. I laid them side by side in a pattern and sandwiched them between 6" wide pieces of hackberry veneer. Then I sliced this into 1/16" slices for the finished product. I used hot hide glue for this process.

The ones in the picture aren't sanded yet so they are still rough. I'll sand them once I put them on the table aprons.

Originally, I wanted something as white as possible with a wood as black as possible. Since ebony doesn't grow naturally in northern Alabama, I first tried to dye hackberry black. This, however, didn't work since the analine dye didn't soak through and was a big mess. So, I decided to dye walnut. Unfortunately, the wood shows up brown, not the black that I wanted. Regarding the white part, I wanted holly or satinwood but, that was not available locally so, I chose hackberry (it seems to have similar properties to holly). I also found some quarter sawn sycamore that I am going in my inlaid federal medallions.

One question that I have is regarding the color of the walnut pieces. Is this going to be a problem? I am planning to ebonize or veneer (I haven't decided yet) the feet and I was wondering if this would look OK with the brown banding. I guess that I could indiviually dye or paint the black pieces on the banding but, I think that would mess up the white portions. I plan to paint the entire banding with a lacquer to protect it from my finishing of the rest of the table.

I'm also attaching a picture of the table that is my inspiration off of the Fine Woodworking project plans page, just in case you want to know what I'm talking about.

Thanks for your comments and advice.

[Tom Sontag]

Nice job Ernie! I am considering a similar sub-project (part of a larger undertaking), so this is inspiring to see.

I'd be very careful about messing with color at this stage: you have walnut brown and hackberry cream banding, end of story. You can coat it to prevent any project stain from infecting it, but the banding colors cannot really change unless you orange shellac (for example) the whole thing. Introducing a third color for the feet can be very nice, but I'd make sure that the walnut and hackberry get echoed somewhere to tie them in.

Nicely done, and without a drum sander!

[Rob Millard]

Ernie,

Getting 1/16” stock from the planer is quite an achievement, one I’ve never been able to do; the thinnest I’ve been able to get is about 3/32” and that with great difficulty and some waste.
As for the color, I can’t see anything wrong with the way it is right now, but my concern would be that walnut tends to lighten over time. I’ve not worked with hackberry so I don’t know how it would react to a chemical treatment, but you might try lime, lye or if you aren’t afraid of it like I am, potassium dichromate. These may darken the walnut without affecting the hackberry.
If you ever make this again, Constantine’s has 1/16” black dyed veneer, and Certainly Wood, occasionally has 1/16” holly veneer; having these will make short work of producing the inlay.

Rob Millard

[Ernie Hobbs]

Ernie,

Getting 1/16” stock from the planer is quite an achievement, one I’ve never been able to do; the thinnest I’ve been able to get is about 3/32” and that with great difficulty and some waste.
Rob Millard

Although I did have a little bit more waste that I would have liked, it wasn't that bad. I have the Delta 22-580 and can get down to about 1/8" just feeding the board through. Then I put a 13" wide maple board across the infeed and outfeed tables and continued down as far as I wanted to. I actually got a piece of aspen down to 1/32" without too much trouble.

[Ernie Hobbs]

Rob and Tom,

Thanks for the advice. Regarding the potassium dichromate, what kind of effect would you expect on the hackberry- is it going to alter the color significantly? Would leaving it alone as is be appropriate coloring for a federal piece?

This may be a stupid question but, where do you buy potassium dichromate? Can you get it at Woodcraft? Before applying, should all pieces be sanded completely? The strips I have are partially sanded but I painted on hide glue to fill any gaps and ensure that the small pieces wouldn't fall out. I still need to do a final sanding to remove any surface residue.

[Jim Becker]

Wow...talk about "real work"! You certainly have more patience than me! That's fine stuff, Ernie, and your project(s) will be greatly enhanced by the banding, especially given it's of your own hands.

[Calvin Hobbs]

Rob and Tom,

Thanks for the advice. Regarding the potassium dichromate, what kind of effect would you expect on the hackberry- is it going to alter the color significantly? Would leaving it alone as is be appropriate coloring for a federal piece?

Ernie,

Probably best just to try it. Any of the chemical treatments might work differently on each wood. For the most part the darker woods will darken and the "white" woods will stay white.

You could also try lye, not sure how it would affect the walnut or the hackberry. Tip, wear gloves and don't rub your eyes (some people have lost their eyesight, this is nasty stuff). Don't breathe the potash fumes, either.

Good luck, nice to see the progress.

Cal

[John Schreiber]

That looks very nice. I hope sometime in the next 30 years to be good enough and have time and equipment enough to try some of the federal period reproductions. It is my favorite style of furniture.

[Jim Becker]

Calvin, wouldn't the chemical still be limited relatively to the surface of the wood it's applied to? (same issue as dye penetration?)

[Calvin Hobbs]

Calvin, wouldn't the chemical still be limited relatively to the surface of the wood it's applied to? (same issue as dye penetration?)

Yes.

Ernie, you will probably have to experiment, but then your final treatment of the banding would have to be after leveling/sanding of all the surfaces of the table. Keep in mind I have never done any inlay, so I'm not the expert.

Cal

[Dave Anderson NH]

Danger Ernie. Rob is very right about being afraid of Potassium DiChromate it is truly nasty stuff. I'd go for either the lye (which I use) or the lime.

Potassium DiChromate is a known carcinogen and none of the woodworking supply or finishing supply houses carry it because of its toxicity. It's only available through lab supply houses. It is absorbable through the skin and is a systemic poison containing hexavalent chromium, one of the most toxic of the heavy metal derivatives. While I urge you not to use it, if you must, take the proper precautions. Goggles, face shield, rubber apron, and most importantly Nitrile or neoprene gauntlet style gloves. Note also that you will have a very tough time disposing of anything you have left over since most landfills, dumps, transfer stations, and municipalities won't take it.

[lou sansone]

great looking veneer ... boy it looks like a lot of work, but I am sure it is worth it.
best wishes on the rest of the project
lou

[Rob Millard]

Ernie,

I tried potassium dichromate once and it left a slightly orange tint on the maple inlays, I was using. I got mine from Olde Mill Cabinet Shoppe, but I’d stay away from it. The lye usually doesn’t alter the color of the inlays much, as long as it is fresh from the container; the act of dipping the brush into the lye will quickly discolor mixture, since it picks up tannin from the wood, and this will be transferred to the inlay. I start with a clean brush and work on the inlaid areas first, or use several clean brushes. I also pour in only a little bit of the lye mixture, into a glass or plastic jar, to minimize contamination.
The lime acts much like the lye, but since it can be sprayed I apply it this way whenever possible.
Rob Millard

[Ben Hobbs]

Good job. I made a few pieces of banding a few years ago, and I thought it took a lot of time. It is easy to make a little extra for future projects. I am really looking forward to seeing the finished tables. Dad

[Ernie Hobbs]

As I continue to make my pair of federal card tables, I have completed the medallions that will go on the legs. I need eight but I made nine, just in case one of these isn't acceptable.

Each medallion is about 1 1/4" wide and made of sycamore and hackberry. I used hot sand shading and green dye, along with hot animal hide glue. Each one was cut on a scroll saw with stack cutting (flower) and bevel cutting (leaves). Since this was my first time doing something like this, I made significant progress from the first to the last one completed.

Anyway- here they are. I intend to attach a band of stringing around each one and hopefully, I'll be able to actually finish my tables in the next few weeks.

[Chris Barton]

Hi Ernie,

The banding and medallions look good to me but, I like Rob would be concerned about the walnut fading over time. When I made my version of that table I used banding and medallions that I purchased (and having some spare medallions is a very good thing). I still consider the reproduction of that table to be one of the best projects I've undertaken. Good luck!

[Ben Hobbs]

They look pretty good to me. Dad

[Calvin Hobbs]

Ern,

Those medallions are looking nice. I can see how you improved during the process.

Are you shading the leaves using hot sand? Post some pictures of your stringing installation and the excavations for the inlays if you get a chance, I would love to see the progress.

Your biggest fan, Cal