Is there anyone here who might be able to teach me about marquetry? I’m interested in making a small box with a simple design. Thank you so much!
That’s a big word for the old way of hand inlaying. I don’t know anybody that does hand inlay work anymore. Everything’s done with machinery.
I have tried hand cutting marquetry and it is one skill at which I utterly, completely suck!
However, if you’re open to using the lasers with veneer, you can make something pretty nice if you’re willing to fuss with it and be diligent about perfection. (although technically, I think that, at least according to Nick Silva, this might be called intarsia). It’s all about cutting with as little power as possible, precisely measuring and adjusting for kerf, and doing multiple tests to get it perfect. And then of course lightly sanding it after assembly. (remember to use tabs on your tiny pieces so they don’t blow away!)
FWIW, these were made with some of the free donated veneer that @coloneldan brought over from Gulfstream.
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We ought to do a few with the Gulfstream logo…
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Those are gorgeous! I took that class and still have the wood I was going to use, but I never got around to actually making anything. I may add that to my list…
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Alton Bowman in Flower Mound does amazing marquetry.
This is a top section of an table restoration he did years ago. He created a new top for this table to replace the leather imposter.
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'member that one time we had an expert come in to teach marquetry?
So John - are you in essence etching the board with the design so it is deep enough for the cut veneer to be glued in to the depression created?
You are using veneer for the outer design and the cutouts and cutting all the way through the veneer. I suppose you could etch … I haven’t tried that. It would be a fun experiment.