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Guy at the Denver Woodworking Show saved me from a huge mistake
Was at the Denver show last month and watched a finisher show how he stripped a 1920s table with a cheap stripper that ate right through the veneer. He said he learned that lesson the hard way after ruining a $1200 client piece with methylene chloride. Now I always test a hidden spot with whatever stripper I'm using before touching the main surface. Anyone else have a close call with veneer?
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max_foster5mo ago
Thirty years back I ruined a customer's desk with a citrus stripper that bubbled the old shellac so bad it looked like a relief map of Colorado. The veneer was already loose in a few spots but I didn't check first and just went to town with the stripper... that was the last time I trusted a product label without testing. Now I always scrape a tiny patch on the bottom or under the apron with a dental pick to feel if the glue is still holding before I even uncap the stripper. That old hide glue from the 1920s is especially tricky because it dissolves faster than the wood absorbs moisture. If you catch it early you can inject fresh hide glue with a needle and clamp it overnight but once it's buckled you're basically rebuilding.
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lucas_carr245mo ago
Took me straight back to the time I was stripping a little side table and the citrus stripper turned the veneer into bubbling soup in under five minutes. That old hide glue just melts, man. I was using a plastic scraper and the whole top layer came off in one wet sheet. I sat there staring at it for a solid ten minutes trying to figure out how to un-ring that bell. Learned to test every surface with a bit of mineral spirits on a q-tip first. If the finish bubbles up right away you know you're dealing with something fragile.
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