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Crafting a Parquet Tile Handcrafting a Parquet Tile From "Trade School" episode DTRS-107

In this episode of Trade School, woodworking apprentice Wendy Parsons (figure A) fine-tunes her skills in the world of wood parquet flooring. Her instructor, Peter Winthers, lays the groundwork for Wendy's education, guiding her through the meticulous process of crafting and installing nearly 50 inlay parquet tiles that make up the intricate basketweave pattern for this dining room floor (figure B).

Figure A

Figure B

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Figure C

In this session, Wendy demonstrates the techniques used to form and assemble the large mosaic tiles. Each tile comprises 14 individual subpieces made of exotic canary wood, jatoba and cordia. Aiming for perfection, each sub piece must be meticulously cut, shaped and assembled like a puzzle (figure C).

Basic tools
Vertical band saw
Table saw
Power drill
Pneumatic staple gun
Toggle clamps
Waterproof wood glue
Glue roller
Glue press
Caliper
Chop saw
Steel square
Rubber mallet
Handheld router

Note: For the sake of precision and uniformity of the 700-plus subpieces for this project, many of the steps are repeated hundreds of times before moving on to the next stage.

1. After referring to the computer-drawn design, Wendy begins on a vertical band saw cutting squared boards of the exotic woods into 1/2" thick rectangular veneers (figure D).

2. Because the thin wood tends to expand after being cut on the band saw, Wendy next utilizes a table saw to parallel the sides of the veneers (figure E). After aligning the saw's adjustable fence to the proper width, she shaves the edges using a push block to protect her hand as she slides the wood along the blade.

Figure D

Figure E

3. Then Wendy adjusts the fence to rip the various veneers down to the approximate widths. For the ultrathin jatoba highlight strips she uses a plastic push stick to guide her cuts (figure F).

4. Next, Wendy forms the individual pieces that make up the tiles by bonding a veneer of canary wood and a jatoba strip upon a section of furniture grade plywood. To assist her, Peter builds and secures a gluing station template to a wood table (figure G). Consisting of a secured straightedge, two toggle clamps and one small plywood keeper, the template is used hundreds of times to precisely align and press the veneers and strips together to form several panels.

Figure F

Figure G

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