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  • Inlaid Serving Tray: Veneers for Marquetry
    		•
    From "Wood Works"
    episode WWK-508


    PHOTO

    David Marks builds this handcrafted serving tray with a delicate leaf-design inlay.
    PHOTO

    The design was fashioned through the woodworking technique known as marquetry -- creating a picture or image by inlaying veneers of four distinct woods in varying shades.
    In this episode of DIY Wood Works, host David Marks builds a handmade serving tray with beautiful marquetry inlay.

    Marquetry -- the art of "painting with wood" -- is the focus of this project as a variety of wood veneers are used to create a free-flowing leaf design that's assembled and laid out onto a single background sheet of satin-wood veneer. Rich yellow satinwood, highly figured olive wood, zebra wood and bubinga are cut to form the artwork. The delicate inlay is cut to fit the background perfectly by bevel-cutting pieces simultaneously using a scroll saw and tiny saw-blade. Once the wood "painting" is complete, the artwork is glued to a substrate to form the base of the tray. The frame of the tray is created by cove-cutting and hand-sculpting bubinga to form smooth outward-bending arc.

    The construction of the tray is a simple frame and panel. The 8/4-stock bubinga frame is joined with biscuits. For form and function, a decorative cove is cut into the ends to serve as a handle. Once the marquetry is complete, the bottom of the tray is finished by laminating two slices of yellow satin-wood onto an apple-plywood core.

    Materials:

    Veneer stock (satinwood, zebra wood, olive wood, bubinga, myrtle)
    Band saw
    Drum sander
    Straight-edge
    Tracing paper
    Carbon paper
    Carpenter's pencil
    Safety glasses or goggles

    Safety Alert: Always wear safety goggles or safety glasses when
    working with wood, power-tools, saws, drills, routers, etc.
    advertisement


    PHOTO

    Figure A
    PHOTO

    Figure B
    PHOTO

    Figure C
    Selecting and Cutting Veneers for Marquetry

    • Beginning with the satinwood, slice two 3/32-inch-thick veneers using the band saw (figure A). Yellow satinwood is also know as "yellow heart." It is native to Brazil. It has a striking, rich yellow color.

    • Run each of the veneers through the drum sander (figure B) so that they're both 1/16-inch thick.

    • Now you can begin working out the design for your marquetry. Begin by first marking a center-point on the satinwood.

    • Use tracing paper to draw or trace the design (figure C) and carbon paper to transfer the design to the surface of the wood.

    • The inspiration for our 3-leaf design came from an art book. You can choose an established design, or you may choose to create or embellish one with your own artistic touches. Our design was laid out to wrap symmetrically around the center mark (figures D and E).
      Photo

      Figure D
      		Photo

      Figure E

      PHOTO

      Figure F
      PHOTO

      Figure G
      PHOTO

      Figure H
    Once the image is created, work begins on selecting and positioning the wood to create the design. This process of selecting colors, shades and patterns to complete the design is what characterizes marquetry as "painting with wood." Remember as you select your woods, that you'll only be using small sections from each of the veneers. Choose woods with grain patterns that look good on a small scale.

    At the band saw, we slice 3/32-inch veneers from four distinctive woods:

    • Olive wood is native to southern Europe, and has contrasting marble-like veins running through the yellowish-brown fine-grained wood (figure F).

    • Zebra wood is an African hardwood with contrasting dark-brown stripes (figure G).

    • We also a veneer of green poplar. In this case, "green" refers to the color of the wood, not the moisture content. The dark green hue of this wood will add to the range of color in the design.

    • Finally, we cut a veneer from a trunk of curly myrtle (figure H). The curly myrtle tree is typically found in the Pacific Northwest, and its wood has lustrous gold, tan and brown colors with a curly fiddle-back grain.
    Use the drum sander to remove any saw-marks left on the veneers by the band saw, and to bring the veneers to uniform thickness of 1/16-inch.

    In the segment that follows, the veneers are cut using a specialized double-bevel technique to create the inlay design.

    Wood Works factoid: The art of marquetry goes back at least 3,000 years -- to the civilization of ancient Egypt. Decorative inlays have been found on furniture in the tombs of pharaohs. Modern-day marquetry was reborn when a German clock-maker invented the jig-saw blade in the late 16th century. Today, marquetry is enjoying a revival in woodworking thanks to tools like the scroll saw that help speed up the process.

    Click here to order your tools and materials for this project from Woodcraft!

  • ALSO IN THIS EPISODE:
  		• Inlaid Serving Tray: Veneers for Marquetry
  		• Inlaid Serving Tray: Marquetry Techniques
  		• Inlaid Serving Tray: Bottom Panel, Frame and Joinery
  		• Inlaid Serving Tray: Finishing Touches