serving trays 3 - Marquetry

Beautiful work Frank. I would not call that just another serving tray!

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

It looks like you have master the craft, Frank.

-- Jesus is Lord!

Frank – WOW! I would love to learn to do marquetry work – definately on my list of things to learn (right next to veneering).

-- http://foldingrule.blogspot.com

very nice serving tray Frank

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

The marquetry is very good. That’s another skill all by itself that I will hopefully get a chance to learn someday.

-- There are three types of people in the world, those who can count and those who can't!

Our local “club” www.woodworkersguildofga.org has been fortunate enough to have Paul Schurch (www.schurchwoodwork.com) come for a week each year and teach his style of marquetry.
Frank, did you make your checkerboard stringing or buy it?

-- No piece is cut too short. It was meant for a smaller project.

Yes I did make stringing myself, out of solid maple and wengé and cut slices of those.

- Frank Boer

-- Frank Boer, Holland

Outstanding. Another skill for me to aspire to. (Someday)

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

I was admiring this again on Shuffle. Do you have any new projects in the works?

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

Beautiful woodworking art. Fantastic Marquetry.

-- Carpe Lignum - Seize The Wood,

THAT IS A BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF ART FRANK. VERY NICE, YOU HAVE TO LOVE WORK LIKE THAT. THANKS FOR POSTING IT.

-- GOD CREATED THE EARTH WITH TREES, GOD CREATED MAN WITH BRAINS TO MAKE A SAW. THE REST IS UP TO US. LETS MAKE SOME SAW DUST.

Wow! Really nice piece of work. I missed this first time by, but with sarge yelling so loud I was able to see it. ;)

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

An excellent example of Marquetry!

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

My marquetry guidelines:

There’s nothing to it,... really just get a nice and strait ruler, a sharp normal utility-knife, scotch-tape , patience and a small hard sandingblock with 150 and 180 grain and start cutting, thats how I learned it…..

Guidelines:

- I generally use MDF as a work-surface because it has no grain and therefore the knife won’t try to ‘wonder off’.

- Never try to cut the veneer in one go, always make multiple lite strokes depending on the wood. , say 3 to 5 for maple, 3 to 4 for mahogany just don’t force the blade through, it will “search” and follow the grain of the wood and you’d never get a strait cut.(I use 0,6 mm / 0,024” veneer.)

- Always place the ruler on the part you’re gonna use not on the cut-away, that way you’ll automatically cut at a slide angle and get perfect (!!!) seamless fitting pieces.

- Don’t use a pencil or pen, just mark stuff lightly with you knife.
(I am 21 so I have no problem seeing the markings with a knife, but if you do just try to keep the lines as this as possible.)

- I use scotch-tape to keep the pieces together. After glue-up the tape is scraped of very carefully.

I hope anyone has any use for these tips, it really isn’t hard just start-of with some squares or something and get the feel for it, then try a compass-rose.(which is NOT hard to do.)

Feel free to ask me any questions, I’d love to help anyone who is interested
in this great, rewarding, ‘priding’ and fun way of woodworking.

“Go For It!”

- Frank Boer 21yrs, NL Dutch – professional yacht-interiorbuilder/crafter. (@ Royal Huisman Shipyard B.V)

More pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/32533097@N00/

-- Frank Boer, Holland

beautiful serving tray. great job.

Hi Frank,

You posted this well before I came on board. These are beautiful trays and the inlays are just gorgeous. They add some distinctive elements to the trays. Thanks for the inlaying information as well. I have been meaning to try this but was unsure how to start. Your post helped clarify some questions that I had been formulating.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

Man these are beautiful. I am glad they came around again.

Beautiful work, and I love the banding you created!

-- Earle Wright, Lenoir City, Tennessee

Wonderful pieces.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Absolutely stunning tray.

-- My favorite piece is my last one, my best piece is my next one.

Beautiful work!

Thanks for the post

Callum

-- For wood working podcasts with a twist check out http://thetimberkid.com/