Project Information
This project is one I did last year.It measures 36"x24" there are 7 wood types in this piece/oak,mahogany,cherry,poplar,hickory,aspen and cedar…Before I start on a project.I always pick out the best material.I look for quality,color and wood grain.Wood grain can really make an intarsia come to life…This project took alot of research before starting.Ive never been to New York city before..So I had to study at lots of pictures to get an idea on how,I was going to put this piece together.After all the planning,I got started..I started cutting out the skyline first.All the pieces were cut with Olson 7r mach blades.These blades seem to stay super sharp for any thickness of material.After all the cuts were made for the skyline.I used sanding drums and my belt sander to do all the different shaping..Everything was still kinda plain.I looked everything over and decided to cut Lady Liberty into the piece.I used poplar for Lady Liberty & oak for the the statue base.I cut 3/4"shims to raise her up.The reason for the shims,is to create depth perception/making Lady Liberty seem to be father away for the skyline.After that,I thought a few ships in the harbor would be nice.I used mahogany,walnut an aspen for these boats and ships.I cut the material down to 1/4"thickness…Again just to add to the depth in the work..After looking at the top half of the piece,I noticed there still was more work to do.So,I cut the hot air balloon & blimp into the picture.I used cherry for the balloon and walnut for the basket.For the blimp,I used walnut & aspen…After cutting the hot air balloon & blimp out I had more shaping to get effects for them…Now that everything had been cut,shaped and sanded.I started adding finish.I used Tung oil for the finish…When,I was younger my father showed me the how to get a good finish with Tung oil.The trick is to sand everything with 3 grits to start out.Then add a coat of tung oil and let setup.After the 1st coat sets up use fine steel wool. Repeat this step 3x.After the finish was done.I carefully glued everything down.I used gorilla glue for the glue down.The picture frame is cedar..At the time,I hadn't made very many picture frames,so please be forgiving,lol.Thanks for giving this intarsia project a look.