Previous to the veneer being put on, the work is well warmed before a fire, and the glue brush worked freely over both the veneer and wood to which it is to be applied. When the veneer is put on, it is rubbed backward and forward, at the same time being pressed down with the hands until it sticks in the right place. There are often lumps here and there where there is too much glue, and these are remedied by the veneering hammer, the head of which is made of wood furnished with a strip of iron plate. This strip is laid flat on the veneer, and the head of the hammer pressed with the hand while it is worked about by the handle, pressing out the glue as it moves towards the edge. When a piece of furniture is too large to be covered with one veneer, these thin slabs of wood are laid on in several pieces, the edges being first planed quite straight and made to meet with the greatest accuracy. The whole surface is afterwards worked with the toothing plane, and then scraped with a flat square piece of steel, which takes off a wonderfully fine thin shaving and leaves the surface perfectly smooth. It is afterwards finished with sandpaper. It is then French polished with a liquid composed mostly of rectified spirits of wine, gum, shellac, gum seed lac, and Venice turpentine, the furniture being previously well oiled that it may better receive this sort of varnish.
Clamps are a sort of screw vice for holding the various parts of the work. The bow saw is a small fine blade of steel notched like a saw, and fixed to a short handle, from which a wooden or metal bow extends to the other end of the blade. The bow keeps the saw from buckling or breaking, and the tool is used for small work, like the fretwork in front of pianos, where a corner has to be turned and the piece sawn out. The screws seen in the larger picture hanging above the Cabinet Maker’s bench are used for holding pieces together after being glued, or on other occasions.
Bow Saw. Clamps.
It is supposed that there are about 50,000 workers in wood in London, and 350,000 in all England. About 160,000 timber trees of average size are required to make the furniture for the new houses built every year in England and Wales. In cabinet making there are many departments, such as the chair maker, the bedstead maker, the carver, the general manufacturer of tables, drawers, side-boards, wardrobes, &c. and the fancy Cabinet Maker, who uses costly woods and makes workboxes, desks, dressing-cases, and similar articles.
A good set of Cabinet Maker’s tools is worth from £30 to £40.
The Upholsterer, whose trade is generally joined to that of the master Cabinet Maker, does what is called the “soft work,” that is, he undertakes the curtains, hangings, cushions, carpets, beds, and the stuffing of the seats of chairs. For these operations he requires but few tools.
