Look Ma! I'm a marquetarian! (diagram added)

Doug , I am blown away with this first shot at it.
You certianly have and eye for it. Can’t wait to see what comes next.

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

Thanks, Bob. Now no piece of wood, no matter how small will get tossed. I’ll never get the shop cleaned up for a return visit from MsDebbieP.

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

Nice work!

What in the world ever became of Sweet Jane?

-- Scott - Chico California http://chicowoodnut.home.comcast.net

A real piece of art Douglas. Well done.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

Chico-
She lost her sparkle, you know she isn’t the same
Living on reds, vitamin C and cocaine
all a friend can say is “ain’t it a shame”.

My “company” logo:

I have a Brand New Company custom branding iron I had made several years back that I burn into the work I’m proudest of.

By now it’s probably no surprise to many that I am a little bit of a Dead Head (nothing extreme mind you).

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

This a fine job for a first effort! It looks amazing, good woork.

-- JCRug, Prairieville, Louisiana

Doug, that is just outstanding!

Have you read, heard, about heating sand so that you can shade an edge to give a little depth to the petals? Next step my friend.

Now go out and get your vacuum press.

One of the local ww groups is holding a marquetry contest for the August meeting. Thinking of doing it legit (green for leaves, yellow for sun etc) or doing it psychedelic (green for sun, red for earth, orange for sky etc.).

Most of my ties are Save the Children except for my Jerry Garcia tie.

Lee

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

Awesome job! It looks like you had a lot of fun. Thank you for sharing.

-- Depend on the rabbit's foot if you will, but remember it didn't work for the rabbit.

Looks pretty good to me Doug.

-- Betsy - GO BUCKS!

wonderful! that looks great especially for a first try! i can’t wait to see it mounted!

well done. very precise

-- ..... art for lifes sake ... danwalters@lumberjocks.com

Fantastic, Doug! I’ve been wondering what you’ve been up to. It was worth the wait!

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Very nice! Can’t wait to see it in the box lid.

Doug, you did an incredible job for your first one! That looks great…I agree with gbvinc…let’s see the box it’s going in.

Thanks for posting it.

-- Martin, Kansas

Hi Douglas;

U dun good George!!!

Obviously you’re hooked.

For somebody artistic like yourself this can open a whole new world of woodworking for you.

I use an R.B.I Hawk magnifying Glass / light that really enlarges the work to the point of it seeming like it’s not finesse work. I’m certain you can find them elsewhere, I just ordered mine with the saw since it was part of an upgrade kit that I wanted.

The next step is sand shading to add a 3 – d effect to your work. Then you can add mother of pearl or all kinds of other inlay materials.

I’ll bet if you really get into this, with your abilities, you’ll do some incredible artwork.

Enjoy:

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

What he said! Amazing Doug, you are too much. That is just gorgeous, outfingstanding. Jerry would be proud, I have marquetry envy. Too cool. Love the Logo too.

-- Mike. Profisher50@yahoo.com

Diuglas A great job on the inlay. Looks like fun.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

Thanks, folks. I knew about the sand shading and will give it a try on the next project. It’s just that I waited a week for the blades, wire drills and pin vise. Just when I was ready to rock, Omaha had another tornado-like event (second in two weeks – this one was 90+ miles per hour straight-line winds) that took out our electricity for 48 hours. I just couldn’t put my enthusiasm on hold for another minute. And, yeah, it is fun!

The good news in all this disaster is that it’s a green wood turners “buyers market”. Drive down any street in town and in Council Bluffs across the river and there are chain-sawn log sections stacked at the curb for free pickup. I already have a new load of what I hope is spalted maple, and I’ll be out tomorrow combing the streets for walnut, honey locust, ash, box-elder and basswood logs.

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

Nice! I can see only good is going to come from this marquetry work of yours!

Best of luck out there with the wood – sounds like pickins are good – though at an expense.

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

Douglas – nice job. I want to see the box lid with that on it – its going to look really good. Where did you get the scroll saw blades? I’ve been planning to give marquetry a go for some time, and you’ve given me a good nudge in that direction.

David, I ordered them from Scrollit.com. The smallest I could find locally were #3s, and they were unacceptably large. They also had drill bits in lots of 10, all of the same size. I also ordered some metal cutting blades. They do a good job on non-ferrous metals like copper (it’s a hint: wink, wink—nudge, nudge. There will be some copper on the current box project).

Also to let you in on it, Lee (Sawdust2) is sandbagging us just a little.

He learned some of this from Paul Schürch, a modern master of the art, and a German-American with the stones to keep the umlaut in his name. Aside from his incredible artistry, this alone is enough to give him a leg up in my book.

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

Very impressive Doug. That is a skill I’ve wanted to try for a while now, but I’m not sure my eyes will cooperate. One more time—- Very Impressive.

-- When you give someone a chance it may well be their last.

Russell, I found it necessary to don my bifocals, which I am generally loathe to do. Seems like my eyes get weird when I wear them, and I generally don’t seem to need them (just managing to pass my last drivers eye exam un-aided). Lee Jesberger’s solution may be the next augmentation for the scrollsaw. I think you should wade in. You can do it with a fret saw by hand if you don’t have a scroll saw.

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

Great job Doug. Marquetry is a lot harder than most people think.
I see you are up to the challange.

-- ''Carry on my wayward son''

Doug, thanks for the post. I’ve never really been interested in marquetry before but you’ve stirred my interest (may have been the Dead tie-in :))

-- I'm a wood magician... I can turn fine lumber into firewood before your very eyes! - http://www.woodworkersguide.com

Very nice. I’m wondering if you could get that whitish petal lip outlining by just following the seams with a sharp carving tool like a V-cutter. Then filling the grooves with dyed epoxy or inlace and sanding flush. ???

-- Use the fence Luke

Great job, Douglas! I always use a head mounted magnifier when using the scrollsaw, and a lot of other things.

This one is cheap at $20 and it comes with 4 different lenses. I never use the light but it’s there.

You can get it here.

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

Boy Gary, that guy sure looks happy. I wonder what he is looking at.

Jeez Doug, that’s awesome. I have always wondered how people do that. I’ll have to try it some day. I’m impressed by your “first attempt.” I’m sure we’ll see some more amazing marquetry in future projects. It came out beautifully. What gaps?

-- Check out my new website! http://www.theeasellife.com

I am in awe! This is absolutely beautiful work.This something I have ALWAYS wanted to try. Man this is soooo nice. Marquetry I have always been told is sooo hard and time consuming. One day I HAVE got to try this. Wonderful Job, Thanks for sharing. Dead Head Huh?
I saw a bumper sticker once on a V.W. Van of course that read
“Who are the grateful dead and why do they keep following me?
PEACE!!!

-- Allison, Northeastern Ca. Remember, Amateurs built the Ark. Professionals built the Titanic!

Nice work…

-- Steffen

Nice to hear from another dead head. Beautiful job man. Jerry G. would approve.

-- Kip Northern Illinois ( If you don't know where your goin any road will take you there) George Harrison

I thought it would be nice to include a little illustration of the double-bevel technique for reference…

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

Beautiful as always Doug. Like everyone else, I can hardly wait to see the final project.

-- Better to say nothing and be thought the fool... then to speak and erase all doubt.

What the . . . man that is amazing !

-- The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them

Doug, this is terrific! I’m going to give this a try, great job!

-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)

I remember figuring that out for myself before there was an internet.

That is a fantastic looking job there Douglas.

-- It's better to have people think you're stupid rather than open your mouth and remove all doubt.

Great looking marquetry work!

-- - Ray

Great logo ! very thoughtful

-- ..... art for lifes sake ... danwalters@lumberjocks.com

Doug, You did a great job!!!!!!! All I can say is WOOOOOOOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are giving all of us a run for the money. I hope thats not made out of someones junk. Or is it on a serving tray? If it was you would win first place and walk away with some nice stuff. Any way I think you did a great job. Dave

-- Davesfunwoodworking

Hey Doug…......that came out nice…....Casey Jones and Wavy Gravy would be proud. First shot WOW!!!!

Thanks again, everyone.

Neil, I hope it isn’t a matter of beginner’s luck, and then I shank the next one hundred or so.
Have to admit to being a fan of Wavy Gravy (the man and the ice cream!).

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

Nice work!

-- jeanmarc manosque france

just a small council so that the pink arises better. it would be necessary to make shades on the level of the petals in hot sand

-- jeanmarc manosque france

Beautiful marquetry!

-- Arianna

Thanks, Arianna. Take a gander at this…

from fellow Omahan Dennis Zongker. I obviously have much to learn and perfect. God willing and the creek don’t rise, I’ll have time to get to this level of perfection.

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

Hi Douglas,
Nice Marquetry!!! I think the double bevel method is the most complcated. But is very accurate. So what part of Omaha do you live in? Do you make a living at woodworking. If not, your very good at the computer. I thinking you could make a good living at that to. If your ever free some time maybe we could give each other tours of are shops. We have high schools wood shops come down to are shop for class tours.

-- Dennis Zongker

Dennis I’d be thrilled to visit your shop! I mentioned that I had come to know you through Lumberjocks to Ann & Harvey Pickle of Midwest Woodworkers. Their faces lit up. I’d be honored to take a gander. I’ll send you a PM.

You would be welcome anytime to my humble shop. The wife is always on about selling more of my things to friends, etsy, eBay etc. I get the occasional commission, but for the most part both the computer stuff (except for my job as a sign and banner specialist at FedEx Office) and the woodworking are avocational.

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

Don’t forget the pics Douglas.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python