Veneer Stripping Saw

What is a veneer stripping saw? In short, it is a mechanical saw that cuts strips of veneer of a fixed width for use as stringers or borders. The advantage of this saw is that it repeatedly cuts the veneer square to the surface in seconds as opposed to slicing at an angle using a knife which splits the wood fibers. A definite plus when cutting veneer with wild grain. The prototype for this saw was made by marquetarian Ken Kollar about 25 years ago as shown in the first photo.




The fence is made of hard aluminum which was cast from a mold. It features a sliding table to adjust for the width of cut and the drive mechanism was machined from steel. About 25 of these were made and the mold destroyed. Needless to say that access to a machine shop was essential to making one of these.
Since that time others have wanted to build similar machines, but lacked the resources to construct it. I have, however, duplicated it using parts available over- the-counter at any hardware and woodworking store. No machining is required and can be constructed in a couple of hours. The second photo shows this saw with the blade guard up for better view. It can cut strips of veneer from 1/8" to 3". Parquetry can also be cut if the strips are assembled together to form a whole. Overall it performs identical to the original saw.



The message in this post is that nothing is impossible if you only condition yourself to think outside the box. Ideas can become a reality if you persevere with imagination and foresight. In marquetry there is more than one way to complete a task and sometimes the alternative is more rewarding than the first.

Marquetry Oeuvre

During a recent gathering of craftspeople in my area to discuss marquetry we had the honor of celebrating the 99th birthday of one of our own. Let me introduce you to Oskar Schriener. Trained as a painter, he enjoys applying this talent to marquetry which was introduced to him during WWII. His marquetry can best be described as art, but despite this he has always denied being an artist and this in itself makes him one. Some, like myself, are fortunate enough to have received instruction from Oskar over the years.

It was during this occasion that I was invited by his son, Irwin, to photograph his marquetry oeuvre. Below are 3 examples from this collection. They are titled "The Sistine Chapel", "The Rug Dealer" and "Neuschwanstein Castle" respectively. Truly a collection worth seeing.