Morning Glory on Trellis Marquetry

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Here's a couple of marquetry panels I'm working on right now. I'll cut them to size, add some banding and a border, and glue them to a substrate - then finish. So there's still a lot of work to do yet.

This was a "difficult" project. I did three revisions of the design, so just the drawing phase took quite a while. Then I had to figure out what veneers to use (color, figure, etc.). I went through several combinations before deciding on the wenge for the background. It was moderately difficult to cut out and difficult to put together. Most of the time, you're fitting the design elements into the background so you have some guidance as to where things go. On this one, all I had was a bunch of pieces after I was finished cutting it out. You start the assembly of a panel like this in the middle. But when you get to the outside, you can find that pieces won't fit, or will have big gaps. It's the problem of "cumulative error."

The two panels were cut out at the same time. That is, sufficient veneer was stacked to be able to make two panels. The only real difference between the two is the wood used for the trellis. I used a light wood (actually bleached) on one and oak on the other (which one do you prefer?). The background is wenge and will finish fairly dark.

One panel will be used on the tray table project I'm working on right now (about five tray tables, all with a different design) and I'll use the other panel to make a serving tray.

Anyway, it'll be a while before I can finish things but I'll post a picture when I do finish.

Mike

[What you see here is the glue face, but I flipped the image in Photoshop so you can see what the show face will look like.]

Marquetry morning glory 1.jpgMarquetry morning glory 2.jpg
 
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I was going to say the oak, it really has some great definition. However after looking at it a few more times, the flowers really pop with the bleached version rather than blending in. Nice work on both though! :thumb:
 
Superb work Mike. I agree with Darren. Dont know if its the photo but the first pic with bleached trellis has everything popping up brighter.
However this is being picky and microscopic. Either panel is absolutely superb to me.
How did you get the blue for the petals and green for the leaves? Dye? What was the wood you died.
I assume you cut the pieces on your scroll saw. When doing so do you have a rule like say cutting on the line removing the line or cut outside and sand to line? ? Whatever way how does one sand the edge of the veneer without splitting it when fitting.
Hats off to you Mike you sure challenge yourself.:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

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Here's a question. I'm assuming that small gaps are inevitable while doing this. How do you deal with the small gaps?
There are different techniques for doing marquetry. One technique, used by Silas Kopf, is to cut pieces to fit, one at a time. That technique will give you an exact fit (no gaps). Another technique, used by Paul Schurch (and me), is the packet technique where you stack all the veneer and cut it at the same time. That technique gives you a gap of the thickness of the scroll saw blade.

I use Proglue, a UF glue that is colored a dark brown. It's water based. When I glue up, I use excessive glue (just a little excessive) so that the glue will rise up in the gaps and fill them. Additionally, since the glue is water based, the veneer swells a bit and tends to close the gaps somewhat. Even with all that, I may wind up with gaps and those are filled with Faowood wood filler before finishing. You can see the gaps in the final product but they're not noticeable (or objectionable) to most people.

Additionally, sometime I use the gap as a design element. For example, on a leaf, I may make larger gaps for the veins of the leaf so the piece is not just a flat piece of green. I do that by making two cuts down the vein, widening the cut. The glue rises up in the cuts and highlight the veins.

The advantage of the packet technique, and the main reason I use it, is that you can make multiple copies at one time. So if a panel needs three different colors, you'll need three pieces of veneer in the packet. By putting six you can make two identical panels. By putting nine, you can make three panels. Most panels require more than three colors but the maximum for cutting is about 16 pieces of veneer so you can usually make two or three copies at one time.

Mike

[There's another marquetry technique which allows you to have an exact fit and to make multiple copies - it's an ancient technique taught by Patrick Edwards in San Diego - but it takes fair amount of special equipment and skill.]

[Search on those three guys names and you'll see some interesting marquetry work.]
 
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Superb work Mike. I agree with Darren. Dont know if its the photo but the first pic with bleached trellis has everything popping up brighter.
However this is being picky and microscopic. Either panel is absolutely superb to me.
How did you get the blue for the petals and green for the leaves? Dye? What was the wood you died.
I assume you cut the pieces on your scroll saw. When doing so do you have a rule like say cutting on the line removing the line or cut outside and sand to line? ? Whatever way how does one sand the edge of the veneer without splitting it when fitting.
Hats off to you Mike you sure challenge yourself.:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

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I buy my veneer already dyed - and the blue and green are dyed wood. I can dye my own wood but it's messy and difficult to get the same color (really the same saturation) in multiple lots. The commercial people can make a pile of veneer be all the same color. Dyed veneer is also not really very expensive.

I do cut the packet with a scroll saw. That's one of my weaknesses right now. I'm not as good as I need to be on the scroll saw - but I'm getting better with each project.

I don't sand the edge of the veneer before inserting it. In the odd case where a piece is too big (and that's usually because of an assembly error) I trim the veneer with a knife.

I should have also mentioned that before inserting the veneer into the packet, I glue veneer tape to one face (I use a 2" wide veneer tape). You can also use hot hide glue and newsprint. This holds the veneer together while you cut it so the pieces don't splinter in the cut. After everything is glued down, I use water to remove the veneer tape.

If you do mess up a piece, either in cutting it or in sand shading it, it is possible to cut another piece to fit. It's often a pain because the piece will often need to be sand shaded and it takes 15-20 minutes to get the sand hot enough to sand shade and you're only doing one piece.

Let me also comment that I appreciate the interest everyone has shown in the process of doing marquetry. If I try to explain this to most people I get eyes glazing over, yawns, and a quick exit. It is good for getting visitors who over stay their welcome to leave:rofl:

Mike
 
I like the darker one better, but both are very nice. I've found I get the glazing over effect talking about most things in woodworking. It amazes my wife how much time I can spend just reading about other woodworking :)
 
Mike I love reading about how you do this and some of the tricks, I've never done it or even tried it, but it is on my list of things to give a go. Your approach is very practical and straight forward, sometimes the bigger name guys seem to get lost in the translation somehow, what you are saying here is very easy to understand and makes sense to me, so I enjoy reading it, keep the comments and projects coming! :thumb:
 
Mike I love reading about how you do this and some of the tricks, I've never done it or even tried it, but it is on my list of things to give a go. Your approach is very practical and straight forward, sometimes the bigger name guys seem to get lost in the translation somehow, what you are saying here is very easy to understand and makes sense to me, so I enjoy reading it, keep the comments and projects coming! :thumb:

Yeah what Stu said :thumb::thumb::thumb:
 
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