Thread: Quick and easy marquetry 1

Now cut around the free end - but only the scoring cut (see the post on cutting veneer below). Do this cut as close to the spike as possible, tilting the knife a bit to get the tip right in close. Then peel off the tape and put the spike aside. Do your through cuts following the scoring lines, then crosscut to free the piece. Now push the head of the spike back into the cut-out you have just made. If your cutting is accurate, it should snap into place and stay there. If not too accurate, use some tape.

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Now cut around the tail of the spike. Again, just a scoring cut. You may need to provide some support to the tail of the spike to prevent it deflecting as the knife presses against it. I have a little hold-down block that I use for this, consisting of thin mdf with that non-slip stuff used for stairs on the bottom. Move the spike aside, then through-cut it.

With the cut-out complete, push the spike in place for the final time. If necessary you can tape it in place. You can also smear some PVA over the spike, pushing it into the joins between spike and background. Generally, I prefer not to use glue on marquetry in progress as it makes the veneer soggy, but because this pattern is fairly sparse then I see no reason not too.

If you have made a bit of a mess with the cutting, then remember that marquetry is not a sudden death process, you can fill gaps by cutting slithers of veneer and slipping them in. If done carefully, no-one will even notice your repair.

Repeat the process for the next spike.

An alternative way to do it is to cut all the cutouts, but hold the spikes aside and assemble it all at the end. If doing this, use some contact film (the clear stuff used for lining drawers etc). Put the contact film down sticky side up, press the background onto it face down, and then insert your spikes. The contact film can stay on the piece right through the project, giving you a nice clean face when it is finally pulled out of the press and the film peeled off.

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Now press the veneer to your substrate. I use PVA glue and no, it doesnt creep. Overnight is best. Next day, clean the face with diluted deck-cleaner if needed and sand level. I cant hand-sand, so have to use an ROS. If you are in this position be careful with the sanding - its very easy to cut right through 0.6mm veneer and there is no real way to repair it.

The secret to sanding adjacent timbers without one tainting the other (in this case the lauro preto leaving dark marks across the sycamore) is simply dust extraction - lots of it, to the point where lifting an orbital sander free of the work surface is hard work. If hand sanding, you can buy manual sanding blocks with dust extraction from automotive finishing shops.

Thats it, I hope you werent expecting something more complicated, but marquetry is simple and with some experience it should take about 15 minutes to do this star, which seems like a good return on time spent to me.

A bit more on knives and cutting in the next post.

Arron

For cutting the veneer in a project like this you are going to be using a knife. After trying every type of knife on the market I've settled on using scalpel blades in craft knife handles. By 'scalpel blade' I mean proper surgical scalpels. I use Swan-Morton scalpel blades which can be bought from art supply shops for about 80 cents each, or bought in bulk from the UK for about 35 cents each. Dont let anyone tell you that craft knives, even the brand name Xacto or Fiskars ones, are as sharp as scapels - they are not even close.

The best blade for cutting veneer is the 10a. I think this terminology is standard across scalpel blades and some craft knife brands.

The reason I use the blade in a craft knife handle is because I find the surgical scalpel handle too thin and slippery to hold onto firmly. I use a Fiskars handle - you can see it in one of the photos above. The rear and bottom of the blade needs to be ground away to seat it in the handle. This also reduces the deflection which many people find a problem with scalpel blades. A little deflection is good, and allows you to follow curves.

You sharpen a scalpel blade by grinding away the back, at an oblique angle to the tip. This grinds away the tip from the rear so that you bring into play the unused section of the blade above the tip. See the attached photo

To cut veneer, its one scoring cut followed by one (or more) through cuts. The scoring cut is light which allows you to focus fully on the direction the blade is travelling. Increase the pressure and accuracy drops accordingly. If cutting against a straight edge or a veneer edge, never be tempted to do two scoring cuts with the straight edge in place. With the first cut partially obscured by the straight edge, the second cut will very often not follow the first, giving you the chewed-up edge so typical of poor marquetry. Instead, do the scoring cut, then lift the straight edge away and do the through cut(s) by running in the groove of the scoring cut.

When crosscutting veneer, the problem is splitting the veneer at the very edge where the fibres are essentially unsupported. To prevent this, cut normally across the grain, but within the last few millimetres remove almost all pressure from the blade and when it reaches the edge rock the knife backwards and downwards. This snips the last few fibres without pulling them away from the rest.

Arm yourself with self-healing mat and a quilting square and you are ready to go.

cheers
Arron

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