Marquetry

 Hi all,
Those who read this blog on a regular basis will know that I have done a bit of inlay work. I use the term inlay to mean cutting a shape out of one piece of wood and replacing it with the same shape, but cut from a contrasting bit of timber.

An example would be the tulips on this vase.

or the rose on this box.

Both are improved by the use of pyrography but there is a draw back with inlaying wood. The problem is that even with the finest blade it is very difficult to cut acute corners in hardwood especially with two quarter inch pieces taped together.

To get over this problem I  thought I'd have a go at doing some marquetry, which involves cutting out very thin pieces of wood veneer with a knife and sticking them together to form a pattern. I would also use my pyrography iron to draw on the veneer. I thought I would be onto a winner with this idea because people who do marquetry use hot sand to burn marks onto their projects. My pyrography might not be the best in the world, but it has got to be better than anything that can be produced with hot sand.

Anyway, for my first attempt at marquetry I thought I'd do a box similar to the one with the rose on it but adorn it with a fuschia flower.

I stuck a piece of light coloured veneer onto a piece of 6mm plywood and then drew the fuschia onto it. I then cut out the two petals and replaced them with a darker veneer with the grain orientated in a different direction. I then cut out more veneers for the bottom part of the flower and some darker veneer for the stem.

I now had a square piece of 6mm birch plywood upon which I had stuck several pieces of veneer to form a fuschia flower.

So far so good. In my next post I will show you the finished box and give you my thoughts on marquetry.

By the way, for those who are interested in my latest book, 'The Reluctant Pom' I have added some photos, taken while I was in Australia, to my website. Click here if you'd like to see them