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Chapter 30

Abrasives

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Abrasives are used by cabinetmakers to smooth surfaces in preparation for assembly or finishing. Various types and forms of abrasives are available.

Summary

Abrasives include tools and materials to smooth surfaces. Abrasive tools include files, steel wool, rasps, and screens. Products using abrasive grains include coated, solid, and loose abrasives. Abrasive grains may be natural or synthetic. Natural grains include, garnet, emery, pumice, rottenstone, and tripoli. Synthetic abrasives include aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, and industrial diamond.

Abrasive grains are sized by grit, powder, and flour sizes. Sizes from 16 to 220 are sifted through screens with varying hole sizes. Smaller sizes are floated in air or water to separate them.

Coated abrasives consist of a backing, two layers of adhesive, and the grains. Backings include paper, cloth, fiber, and a combination of paper and cloth. Adhesives include glues and resins, in varying combinations for make and size coats. Coated abrasives may be cut into sheets or formed into belts, disks, sleeves, blocks, and flap wheels.

Solid abrasives include grinding wheels and stones. Both are made by mixing abrasive grains in a bonding agent. The mixture may then be left to cure or heated in an oven for greater durability.

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Chapter 31

Using Abrasives and Sanding Machines

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Smoothing with abrasives is the process of removing wood fibers to achieve a smooth, blemish-free surface. The terms abrading and sanding are used interchangeably to describe the smoothing process. There are abrasive planers and sanding machines, such as the disk sander and belt sander. However, the term abrading is the most proper because coated abrasives are not covered with sand. Products other than coated abrasives will smooth a surface by abrading. A file is an example.

Abrading leaves scratches in the surface. The depth of the scratch is determined by the abrasive grit size or file’s cutting edge. Abrading is done along the grain; thus scratches follow the grain and are less noticeable than those across the grain. By using successively smaller grit sizes, the scratches become even shallower. Eventually, you cannot detect grit marks in the wood. The surface is then ready to finish. Face and edge grain should need the least amount of abrading. End grain will require more effort.

Summary

Smoothing with abrasives is the process of abrading workpieces in preparation for assembly or finishing. Abrasives are chosen according to the workpiece surface. Coarse abrasives remove saw or other machine marks. Medium abrasives remove coarse abrasive marks. Continue with finer abrasives until a quality surface is achieved. Minimum use of abrasives is recommended, so stop when the surface quality is acceptable.

Abrading may be done by hand or machine. By hand, the process is slow. Do so only when a sanding machine is not available or in hard-to-reach places. Electric or air-powered sanding machines reduce abrading time. With stationary machines, you hold and move the workpiece. With portable machines, you move the tool over the workpieces.

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Chapter 32

Adhesives

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Cabinetmakers bond many kinds of workpieces together with adhesives. In the early stages of production, you might bond lumber together to make wider components. Later you may assemble the cabinet with adhesives, then apply veneer and plastic laminates.

Today, you can find an adhesive to bond almost any two materials. The adhesive may have single (join similar materials) or multiple uses (join dissimilar materials). Included are lumber, paneling, paper, cloth, leather, ceramics, rubber, vinyl, and numerous other materials.

Summary

Adhesives serve the cabinetmaker in many ways. Choosing the right adhesive affects the strength, durability, and appearance of your product. When selecting the adhesive, carefully consider the following questions:

	What is the adhesive’s shelf life?
	How quickly will the adhesive begin to set? This determines the time you have to clamp.
	What joint strength and durability is required?
	Must the adhesive resist heat and/or moisture?
	Must the adhesive resist solvents (paint or lacquer thinner)?
	Will the adhesive have to fill gaps of poorly fit joints?
	Should the adhesive have a good wet tack?
	Within what temperatures should the adhesive be applied?
	Once the adhesive dries, is the glue line visible?
	Can excess adhesive be removed with water or solvent, or must you remove it with a scraper or abrasive after it dries?
	Will you use RF, hot melt, or traditional means of gluing?

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Chapter 33

Gluing and Clamping

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Clamps are like another pair of hands for the cabinetmaker. They may hold a workpiece while you are processing it. They can secure a jig in place. They might also hold featherboards or stop blocks so your hands stay away from the point of operation. Use clamps to reduce accident risks when you work with tools and machinery.

Clamping is most often associated with adhesive bonding when assembling a product. Here, clamping is a two-step procedure. To assure proper fit, position and secure workpieces without adhesive. This is called a trial assembly, or dry run. Now, remove the clamps, spread the adhesive, and clamp the final assembly.

Clamps come in many shapes and sizes. Some are designed for one specific purpose. Others hold glue joints as well as attach jigs and fixtures. With most, you can control the amount of clamp pressure. Clamp pressure is achieved with springs, screws, threads, levers, cams, and wedges. However, spring clamp pressure depends on the strength of the spring. Except for the spring clamp and vacuum press, the clamps discussed in this chapter are positioned and tightened by hand. Clamping machines are discussed in Chapter 52. These use hydraulic or pneumatic pressure.

Summary

Clamps are used to position and hold assemblies They also serve as extra hands while you are processing materials. They can hold jigs and fixtures in place during production.

Clamp pressure is achieved with springs, screw threads, levers, cams, and wedges. Hand clamp pressure is adequate for most cabinetmaking purposes. Hand clamps include spring clamps, hand screws, bar clamps, edging clamps, band clamps, and miter clamps. Quick-release, cam, and wedge clamps are also common. Machine clamps are used for high production operations. Clamp pressure is supplied by pneumatic or hydraulic rams.

The bonding procedure involves a trial assembly, spreading the adhesive, and clamping the glued assembly. The trial assembly is made to check the fit of joints. It also lets you experiment with positioning clamps for proper pressure. Then adhesive is spread on the components, after which they are reassembled and clamped.

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Chapter 34

Bending and Laminating

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Many furniture designs require processes beyond cutting and assembling solid wood components. Thicker and stronger cabinet parts are made by bonding two or more pieces of wood together. This is laminating. Curved pieces, such as drawer fronts, chairbacks, and table aprons are made by bending and/or laminating.

Summary

Bending and laminating are processes used to make curved components and thicker or stronger straight workpieces. These are involved processes and require skill in many areas of woodworking.

Bends can be made dry or with moisture and heat. Gentle curves can be made with relative ease. Sharp bends likely will require molds or forms and a source of pressure or vacuum.

Bends made by laminating are much easier than bending solid wood. Layers of veneer can be coated with adhesive and held in a form until dry. Straight laminations are made to increase the size and/or thickness of a part.

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Chapter 35

Overlaying and Inlaying Veneer

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Overlaying and inlaying are methods of applying thin materials to enhance the appearance of a wood product. While many other materials may be used, this chapter will concentrate on veneer or thin wood, except when discussing edgebanding. The veneer or thin wood may be cut into decorative patterns, shapes, picture mosaics, and strips.

Overlaying includes veneering and parquetry. When veneering, you bond flat or flexible veneer to a substrate, or core material. Parquetry is the art of arranging a geometric pattern of thin wood blocks, then bonding them to a substrate.

Inlaying involves making a recess in a wood surface and bonding veneer or thin wood in the recess. Like overlaying, there are two practices, marquetry and intarsia. Marquetry is inlaying veneer patterns. Intarsia is inlaying thin wood patterns.

Bandings are strips of veneer on thin wood inlayed in the surface. They may be very decorative or simply a different wood species.

The surface to be decorated by overlaying is called a substrate. For overlaying, the material may be fiberboard, particleboard, MDF, or plywood. You cover the substrate completely.

Surfaced solid lumber may be the workpiece to receive inlay materials. The lumber will remain visible around the inlay. Other materials, such as plywood, veneered particleboard, or MDF may be used. However, due to the thin face veneers used on these products, extreme care must be taken when abrading the workpiece after completing the inlay.

Summary

Overlaying and inlaying are surface decorating processes. For full surface veneering and marquetry, use 1/28” (0.9 mm) veneer. Thicker material of up to ¼” (6 mm) is used for parquetry and intarsia. Veneer tape covers the edges of panel products. Bandings provide decorative borders.

A few special tools and supplies are needed. They include a veneer saw, sharp knife, and possibly an iron or tape lamination machine. Supplies include veneer pins, masking tape, and adhesives.

Applying an overlay involves selecting the veneer, laying out the pattern, cutting, assembling, bonding, and pressing. Using this procedure, you can apply a decorative surface to an inexpensive core material. Applying an inlay requires many of the same processes, but includes inletting. Inletting is routing or chiseling a recess or groove in a solid hardwood core. Then, the assembled design is bonded into the recess.

Maintaining the color contrast from core to inlay can be a special problem. Some open grain woods may need staining and filling, while the inlay needs none. Where you do not want discoloration, apply shellac or tape to the surface.

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Chapter 36

Installing Plastic Laminates

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Plastic laminates cover many styles of cabinetry. They provide a colorful, decorative surface resistant to water, chemicals, abrasion, impact, and normal household wear and tear. These features make plastic laminates an alternative to solid wood or veneer. They are used for countertops, tables, and cabinetry in both residential and commercial settings. Complementary colors add to the pleasing design. The 90° and 180° postformed high-pressure decorative laminates (HPDL) clad panels, drawer fronts, and doors may be used. They created a softer, longer lasting product.

Summary

Plastic laminates are an alternative to solid wood or veneer surfaces. They are durable, decorative, and relatively easy to apply. You can cut laminate with hand and power saws, or you can score and fracture it much like glass. The tool you select depends on whether the laminate is rigid or flexible.

To bond the plastic, coat it and the substrate with contact cement. Generously apply an even layer and allow it to dry to the touch. Once the laminate contacts the substrate, it cannot be adjusted. Place newspaper or dowel rods between them while you position the sheet. Excess laminate can be trimmed with a laminate trimmer, router, hand trimmer, or mill file.

Laminate clad panels can be susceptible to warpage. Proper preparation and precautions can prevent any warpage from occurring.

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Chapter 37

Caning and Basic Upholstering

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Caning and upholstering are methods of creating a soft covering on furniture. Caning consists of weaving a design using cane, reed, or rush. Upholstering refers to completely covering a surface with fabric, leather, or vinyl.

Summary

Caning and upholstery provide a decorative textured surface to furniture. Caning has a long history of applications. Originally, it was used to reduce furniture weight. Now, it is done for appearance reasons. Most cane installed today is purchased as webbing. You cut and install panels of webbing. However, you might also choose to weave loose strands of cane, reed, or rush.

Slip seats are upholstered surfaces commonly found on various chairs, stools, or benches. You might find both caned and upholstered surfaces on a piece of furniture.

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