Thread: Beginner's question, white wood in intarsia

Hi there LiliB,

I am a new member, my first post to this forum. Apart from trying to register for the freebies that is. I have read somewhere on a website that you can use domestic bleach solutions, rusty metals etc to colour timbers.
About to buy a scroll saw and intarsia sounds and looks great.

I saw some Tasmanian Cheesewood veneer on Saturday, and it is distinctly white. I don't know how available it is in thicker form, but it might be worthwhile investigating.

http://fantasticwoodworking.probityp...m.au/index.htm is the website I was looking at. Steve Bundred hails from Byfield in Qld. He has also written a book.

Cheers

Did you mean this one instead?

Sorry RufflyRustic,

You are right, a typo on my behalf. Steve is a very approachable guy to boot. And no, I ai'nt related to him.

Cheers,
Ringbarker

P.S. I will probably make a few more measure twice cut oncers before I'm finished.

Hi Chris
Thanks for the tip. I'm sure I came across Cheesewood at one of the two timber specialists I visited in Tassie. It rings a bell. Will talk to them and see if it is readily available.

I'm too much of a pussycat to try my hand at using chemicals to bleach timbers, so if there is a natural alternative available, I'd prefer it.

Cheers
LiliB

Hi Ringbarker and Ruffly Rustic

The website you pointed me to is a beauty. It not only shows plenty of inspiring plans, but also a lovely concept for creating sculptures without chisels.

I came away from the site, inspired and very keen to try both the traditional intarsia, as well as the stack laminated 'sculptures'

He also mentions whitening wood, though my only worry here, is would bleaching lead to distortion? I know there are probably some woods that are more suitable for this treatment than others. I guess it might mean just experimenting?

Thanks so much for your help.

LiliB

Norfolk Island Hibiscus . Have a look at the legs on the lidded box, 2nd from the left on the 4th row. White enough for you??? The only whiter wood I've seen is Holly AFTER bleaching

Hi TTIT

Now That's what I call WHITE. I walk past a Norfolk Island hibiscus regularly and it will probably have a little piece removed to see what it's like. Lots of them are used for street plantings, and they aren't all that scarce, unlike Holly.

I'm really chuffed with how many different choices are coming through the thread. It's making the whole thing really fascinating. I'm starting to look at garden ornamentals with different eyes.

Cheers
LiliB

Hi Lil,

This sounds so exciting. I hope you will let us keep up with you by posting a picture every now and then.

cheers
Wendy



PS To Ringbarker, typos are coommon the really good sites are not. cheers, W.

Yes Norfolk Island Hibiscus is very white there is also a Queensland tree sold as White Ash that looks the same. It also gets the same blue stain problem. I have some Norfolk Island Hibiscus in Williamstown if you are interested kept it because someone wanted pen blanks and never got back.

Hi Glenn

I would be interested. PM me with details of how much etc.to send to Deniliquin.

Cheers
LiliB

Hello Libi

I have been doing intarsia for quite some time and some of the patterns I use need white wood. I was able to get some sort of pine that was scrap . It did the job well. I have also used the sap wood from cypress pine. It isn't pure white as you seem to be serching for but it does my job very well.

I have never used a synthetic colour for my intarsia as I think it takes away from something that is natural and outstanding. The cypress has very fine grain showing and has a slight creamy touch about it. That goes to show that it truly is wood. It is hard to get a decent size peice of sap wood so I just use something that has a bit of heart wood and turn it over. The heart wood usualy gets lost underneith

I have always thought that if people don't like natural wood colours then why don't they use MDF and paint it.

I think cypress pine is called murray river pine down your way

Good luck with your intarsia it's very rewarding

Red Gum

Hi Red Gum
Thanks for the tip.

I agree wholeheartedy about not using colours or non-wood pieces for intarsia. I think the purist would shudder at both these concepts, however, I know there are some out there who do it.

In my book on Intarsia by Kathy Wise, she gives an example of pool balls which require staining. However, I can't see the point of doing this as intarsia anyway, and wouldn't bother with it.

I think the exciting thing about the beginner's go at intarsia, is finding the range of coloured and textured wood for the projects. It leaves me brim full of anticipation and excitement.

I expect that getting the expertise to produce truly good things will take time, and will only try the fairly easy things first. Maybe even decorating some of Dave's scrollsawn boxes with appropriate pieces.

A couple of questions, if I may?

1. How do you deal with backgrounds? Do you use ply, veneers, thin woods? Other things?

2. How do you deal with the 3D aspect? Do you cut from differing sized woods, or glue woods onto backings of MDF etc.

As I say, I'm only just beginning, and trying to gather together aspects of people's experience and ideas, which is what I always try to do when I'm going into a new area of knowledge. I have always found, in life, that people are out greatest resource.

Cheers
LiliB