Marquetry For My Father-in-law

[avengers63]

I'm going to make everyone's Christmas presents this year. I know this sounds a little bit Kindergarden, but it'll be a wee bit more sophisticated than crayons & construction paper. Knowing how much time this is likely to take, the sooner I get started on these dozen or so woodworking projects, the better.

The first thing on my list is for my father-in-law. He spent 27 years in the U.S. Air Force under the Air Mobility Command in the Air Weather Service. He was an A.F. meterologist. I wanted to honor him by making a marquerty plaque of his division badge. He has a love for wood and small woodworking items, so this is a natural fit fot him.

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff15/avengers63/AWC%20logo/awslogo.jpg

Recently, I bought some wood and veneer.I know some of y'all don't like eBay, but I just love it. It's been very good to me. Here's what I picked out to do the symbol with.

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The color-to-wood translation will be:
yellow = cherry
white = maple
blue = walnut
black = walnut stained black
The whole thing will be inlaid into a square piece of bloodwood. Other options for the plaque were poplar & padauk, but the bloodwood looked the best.

I tell ya - this veneer is great. You can cut it with an x-acto. in two light passes, or one pass with a straightedge. My progress so far:

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff15/avengers63/AWC%20logo/awslogo1.jpg

It's just sitting on the bloodwood for right now. I'll be posting regular progress as it comes along.

[Cruzi]

Interesting to see a fluer-de-lis in a US Military Badge, its usually associated with the French Monarchy, but also the Spanish Monarchy.

You using the window technique?

[artme]

And the scouts.

[avengers63]

Interesting to see a fluer-de-lis in a US Military Badge

It's going to me quite the pain to cut out, too.


You using the window technique?

To be honest, I've only read one book on doing inlay work. It didn't name any techniques. For all I know, I may be using it and not know it. If there are any tutorials you could point me to, that might help.

Here's the basic steps I'm taking:
Spray the back of the paper with adhesive & press it onto the veneer.
CAREFULLY cut out the veneer with an X-acto knife.
Fit them together like a puzzle. Trim or re-cut as needed.
(cutting & fitting is where I'm at right now)
Apply spray adhesive to the front of the puzzle.
Assemble the inlay upside-down on wax paper.
Glue another piece of veneer to the whole thing with the grain going the opposite direction. (added strength & thickness)

After that, it'll be all final shaping & inlaying it into the bloodwood.

If I'm off anywhere, PLEASE tell me now!

[Cruzi]

The Scouts got it from the badge of Army scouts during Boer War which came from their Norman (French)origins.

As for correct techniques, I have no idea, still looking and trying to learn.

A forum member posted this link (http://www.woodworking.org/InfoExchange/viewtopic.php?p=140353#140353)to a tutorial he did.

[avengers63]

I did do a window fot the walnut piece. I'm going to have to re-do it, though. It didn't fit tight enough.

I tried a window for the anemometer too. It went, uh... let's just say I'll be re-doing it as well. Actually, the cups are fine, It's the thin connecting rods that went kablewie. The outline is the wind cup kinda pulled itself apart last night while I was cutting it. Too thin & fragile.

The whole thing is a big learning process for me. Good thing I have plenty of veneer to play with.

[paul collins]

avenger look for a book called ,the marquetry course. it is by jack metcalf & john apps.its published by BtBatsford.distributed in the usa by Stirling publishing Co.isbn 0 7134 8850 6.its an a2z of veneering ,used in uk as the standard marquetry course.its strength is that it tells you in easy terms how to go about the different aspects of marquetry & parquetry.i first came across it in the public library here in australia.cant recommend it enough.hope this helps.

[avengers63]

This would definitely help. My sister-in-law works at Boarders (book store chain in the U.S.), so she can pick me up anything in print at her discount. The ISBN# is a real plus in finding it. Thanks!

[paul collins]

glad to help avenger you will find the book a real treasure.

[avengers63]

Sunday was incredibly productive for me. My wive laid down for a nap around 1:30, then left with the kids from 4-7. That's right, I had over 6 uninterrupted hours to play! :woot:

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I'm sure I don't need to tell you, but I will anyway... That fleur-de-lis was a huge PIA. I had to re-do each poece at least once. BUT, I learned a whole lot through trial & error. I don't regret the time spent. All the pieces are edge-glued with CA. I need to do some final shaping, then I can start cutting out the walnut.

I decided to not put the outline on the wind cup. I know that at this stage, I won't be able to make the round cuts consistentantly. I'd rather opit a detail than do it badly. The highlights on the cups turned out OK, though. Hopefully, there'll be more progress this week.

[avengers63]

I'm really learning a lot from this project. I found a couple of on-line tutorials which I read a couple of times. That, combined with a hefty ammount of trial & error, is making for a great learning experience.

Monday night, I divided the shield in half and stained the right side black. As it dried, I cut & fit the center dividing stripe. I had to leave the whole ting alone for a day as the stain dried.

Last night, after I fit the right side of the shield into place, I managed to fit the wind cup & 1/2 of the F-D-L into place.

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff15/avengers63/AWC%20logo/awslogo3a.jpg

At this point, with the exception of the F-D-L pieces, the whole thing is held together with blue painters tape.

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff15/avengers63/AWC%20logo/awslogo3b.jpg

You can see very small gaps where things aren't quite lining up exact in some places. Aside from re-doing the whole thing, does anyone have any suggestions? I'm thinking about either grain filler or trimming off "splinters" to fill the gaps.

[artme]

That is coming along very well indeed!!:2tsup::2tsup::U

[avengers63]

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff15/avengers63/AWC%20logo/awslogo4.jpg

It's almost readt to inlay into the bloodwood. I have the whole thing glued onto a piece of cherry veneer. (Thanks for the suggestion, jmrentis!) Woodweld is so easy to use! A little spooged through the gaps onto the face when I was putting the initial coat onto the piece. Fortunately, it cleaned right off with mineral spirits. I'll need to do a little gap-filling with some splinters, but other than that, it's ready to be inlaid into the plaque.

[Cruzi]

Looking good mate, keep them pics coming :2tsup:

[avengers63]

I tried a couple of things to fill in the gaps. Carving off splinters? they looked like poo. Sanding dust? It all dragged out with the tack-cloth. Sanding also had the effect of stripping off the ebony stain. Did it get wiped away like the "filler" dust? Nooooooooooo... It filled in the grain on the walnut, cherry, and maple!

Typical.

I don't mind so much on the walnut & cherry. It actually accents the wood. The maple, though, just looks dirty. Sanding it out isn't working either. Lesson learned!

When I went back with a paintbrush to touch-up the stain that was removed, I stubmled accross one solution to the gaps. I filled them in with black stain! Problem solved.

So, after that was all cut out, snaded flat, and the shape was fine-tuned, it was time to rout out the bloodwood plaque.

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God bless my Dremmel. I just love it to pieces. I routed the whole thing out, then evened out the edges & corners with a chisel-blade X-Acto knife. I needed two passes to get it to depth. I anticipated this. Better to be too shallow on the first cut. It's a heckuva lot easier to take out mor than it is to put some back.

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The fit isn't too bad. There are some small gaps. Here's the plan: I'm going to glue it in with 2-part epoxy. When it's mixed up, I'll mix in some of the dust from routing the cavity into the epoxy. This'll turn it the appropriate color. Then, when it oozes out a bit, the gaps will fill in with the right color.

[artme]

If this is your first attempt at Marquetry then you should be well pleased!
It has really come along very well!:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

[avengers63]

Thanks artme. It isn't going nearly as well as I'd like. Then again, I'm pretty hard on myself. I expect a very shallow learning curve from myself. Sometimes, this just isn't the case. The gaps bug me. I think I have it figured out.

Friday, I mixed up some epoxy and added some bloodwood sawdust for some gap filling. It glued together tight, but it didn't squish out the sides. OK... I'll just have to fill it in with lacquer. So the plan became to put on a sealing coat, then do some gap filling. It turns out that the solvent in lacquer is also a solvent for the black dye. It flowed out and stained the surrounding wood.

Were I not a God-fearing man, y'all might have heard me cussing up a blue streak all the way in Australia. Woah BABY was I ticked!

I managed to wipe off most of the lacquer that was on the non-black parts, but the damage was done. I tried to sand it back, but I couldn't get in there very good. All I could do was get what I could and go on.

After that layer dried, I packed the gaps with sawdust and used a toothpick to drop lacquer into the gaps. It worked out well enough. I'm now finishing the lacquer and making a frame out of walnut. I'll post some pics on Monday.

[Torre]

this is probably too late but an interesting fact anyways if you mix a cup of vinegar with a hand full of nails over night and combine the mixture with something pale like oak it turns black exactly like a stain would look.
the peice is looking great cant wait to see the fianl result!

[avengers63]

this is probably too late but an interesting fact anyways if you mix a cup of vinegar with a hand full of nails over night and combine the mixture with something pale like oak it turns black exactly like a stain would look.
the peice is looking great cant wait to see the fianl result!

It may be too late for this one, but it can be used in the future. One cannot have too much information. What one does with said knowledge is another thing completely.

What type of nails are used, and what type of vinegar? IE: are the nails steel, aluminum, etc. Is it red vinegar, white vinegar, malt vinegar, etc. This sounds like a chemical reaction, and I know that the reactions are dependant on specific ingredients.

Is the resulting mixture used as a stain?

Sorry I haven't posted the pics yet. Things have been busy at home. I have the lacquer mostly done. I'm just waiting for it to cure before I buff it out with steel wool. The frame is waiting for a band clamp to come in.

[Torre]

all you need to do is get have a cup of white vinegar and thrwo some steel nails in, i dont think theres any exact ratio let that sit overnight then place some veneer in a tray like a paint tray and pour the mixture in let it sit for a few hours take it out dry it and thats it all done.

[avengers63]

Sorry it's taken me so long to get some pics and make an update. Here's the frame I made for it and a peek at the finished product.

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff15/avengers63/AWC%20logo/awslogo7b.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff15/avengers63/AWC%20logo/awslogo8.jpg

The frame is made from flamed walnut. I brushed on a coat of sanding sealer, sanded it back, then rubbed in two coats of wipe-on poly, buffing with steel wool between coats. I'm going to leave it as is: semi-gloss.

I'd like some opinions on the plaque. The lacquer sould me fully cued next week. I have two options: 1) level it out and buff it with steel wool for a matte finish, or 2) level it out, wet sand it to 3000 grit, and polish it out to a mirror finish. What do you think?

[artme]

Wonderful result!1 It really has come up a treat!:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

[Chipman]

You have really done a fantastic job with your marquetry (I wish I could do it that well!) So you had a few issues... well that is what makes a good craftsman is making the most of the problems.

You said you wanted some comments... well here is mine. The marquetry is great and the walnut frame looks beautiful. The grain and pattern in the walnut is really something to behold. For me, if I was going to be a bit picky this is where I would comment. I think the beauty of each component detracts from the other. What I mean is, the marquetry is the subject of what you are doing, I would recommend a more basic/plain frame or border so that it will not detract from the marquetry work. This is just my opinion so take it for what it is worth. (probably nothing much!)

Anyway, you are doing it for your Dad and I am sure he will love it with all the thought and work that has gone into your project.

I look forward to you posting your next project!

Chipman:)

[avengers63]

And then disaster struck.

So the other day, I gathered everything to wet sand the lacquer to a mirror finish. The first thing you do is level out the finish, so I grab the sanding block and some 220 and LIGHTLY begin to sand.

Literally two swipes - one forward and one back - and I had sanded through. Not only had I sanded through, but I took off some of the black stain on the right side. But it gets better. One lone piece of the maple wind cup got it too. Remember how the black stain had bled over onto the rest of the wood and darkened it? Now there was a 'clean' spot!

Honestl, I can't imagine how this happened. I must have laid down 5 or 6 fairly heavy coats of brush-on lacquer. There's just no way it was that thin. All evidence to the contrary.

GGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

At his point, I throw my hands up in the air and surrender. I said to myself "Screw it, I'm starting over."

No, I'm not trashing the whole thing. I sanded back as far as I could to get everything 'clean' again. I may completely forego trying to make the right side darker. The whole thing is glued together and solidly in place, so there's no getting the right side of the background out.

I'm more than a little frustrated right now. Any suggestions?

[Chipman]

Sorry to hear of your problem. I had something similar happen to me with a clock....hd to wash all the lacquer of with thinners and stain and finish again(mine fell over into newspaper!). I would sugest you never go finer than about 600 grit with wet sanding and use a little detergent in the water. Also if you spray, you might be able to get more even coats. I suspect some would tell you to forget the (lacquer and use shellac)

I wish I could give you some help but without a picture or seeing it it is hard to give any advice. I have sometimes had some success with spot staining if I have cut through the lacquer and taken off the stain.

Hope you work something out as it is a nice piece.

Chipman

[Ashwood]

Just a thought - given it's really thin (the veneer/stain as well as the finish), I'd suggest not to touch a sanding block. If at all, use the sanding sheet with your bare fingers/hands , so you can really feel what it's doing. And go easy with any other treatment as well (steel wool, buffing down, etc).

But keep at it, you've been doing well!

[avengers63]

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All done. :U

I did all of the sanding by hand this time. After leveling, I wet-sanded from 400 through to 3000. It then got a dose of swirl remover and elbow grease.

There were a LOT of lessons learned the hard way. Honestly, most of the flaws are a result of trying to fix something else that went wrong. I'm not satisfied with the results, but it's not getting done over. It's not BAD, but it could be a lot better. Next time around will be much better.

[Matt Thomas]

For a first time at marquetry you did a great job, also your little mishap that you had was just a learnng curve and you would of learn't what to do if you do marquetry in the near future....we all gotta learn from mistakes. GREAT JOB!!!