Some of you may remember a couple of months ago I posted a new segment in my blog about marquetry cutting styles describing the “painting in wood” style. Well, once I started cutting the classic French design (pattern in the back of the workbook from ASFM) I started musing about where it might end up. I’ve made enough boxes and while they were a good venue for some simple marquetry and served well to practice on, my real interest is in bigger projects and more furniture kind of pieces.
To make a long story a little shorter, I decided to go for one of the most common items seen adorned with French marquetry, the writing table. One of the problems you face when you start looking in Pierre Ramond’s books to get a feel for what you want to build is that you soon discover that in France, in the days when the chevalet was developed, they put a lot of marquetry on their furniture. I don’t mean that the top was completely covered with it (although it would have been) but that every flat surface on the piece was covered with marquetry…...........and some of the curved ones.
The question that always gets me in trouble: How hard can it be?
So I started by designing a nice little writing table with lots of marquetry and it just sort of snowballed from there. I’m currently at around twelve to thirteen hundred pieces and I haven’t started assembling the table yet.
Here are a few photos to get you up to speed.
This is a sketch I made several months ago, a little musing about making a fancy table in the old French style (of which I know nothing of course). It immediately came to mind when I did the painting in wood piece. The finished table will actually look a lot like it. That’s surprising for me because my projects often end up very different from the “concept drawing”.
To start with I thought I would cut the “music” motif from the painting in wood segment above in an ellipse and do a leaf garland to set it off.
I decided to do a macassar ebony border around the table top and add elaborate corner marquetry. I matched and mitered the ebony veneer and then stack cut all four corners in four colors in Boulle style. That means the packet was sixteen layers plus 1/8” plywood wasters top and bottom, about 3/4” thick.
If you want things to fit after cutting a packet this thick you had better have a very square blade setup.
This picture shows the check I did to be sure. The piece fitted in the hole in the bottom waster plywood is actually the piece cut out of the top waster piece 3/4” away. This proves that the bottom piece and the top piece are exactly the same size. It took a little adjustment but the built in adjusters on the chevalet handled it perfectly. The piece at the side is one of the ebony layers from the same cut.
This shot shows the layers in the packet. There are four of dyed yellow, four purpleheart, four pale green poplar and four ebony. The Poplar was thicker and caused several problems down the road.
There are something like two hundred and sixty-eight pieces in the corner motifs (total).
Here is the rough laid out border with the corners assembled into the background and the central medallion sitting in rough position. The garland has yet to be trimmed to elliptical on the outside.
I think that’s enough for one night. I am skipping a lot of little things but this blog will turn out to be long enough as it is. I have a ton of photos of this thing. Next time I’ll try to cover the rest of the table top and include a few of the “learning experiences” I was fortunate enough to encounter.
I hope you enjoy this blog half as much as I am enjoying the build. I keep hearing strains of “Fools Rush In” when I’m working on this..????
Thanks for dropping in. Comments, critiques, and especially questions are always welcome.
Paul
-- Paul M ..............If God wanted us to have fiberglass boats he would have given us fiberglass trees. http://prmdesigns.com/
32 comments so far
JR45
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409 posts in 483 days
#1 posted 308 days ago
Paul
Painting in wood is the perfect description of your art here. Beautiful work.
Jim
-- It always looks better when it's finished!
Boxguy
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925 posts in 439 days
#2 posted 308 days ago
Paul,
Have you been to the Getty Center in LA? There is some work there you would like. A couple of desks in particular.
-- Big Al in IN
Lee A. Jesberger
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6501 posts in 2151 days
#3 posted 308 days ago
as always, Paul…masterful. I would think that by now, you would know not to ask yourself…”how hard can it be”.
My wife tells me I’m not interested in doing something if it’s not impossible.
Lee
-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com
Schwieb
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1115 posts in 1632 days
#4 posted 308 days ago
Paul,
You’re no fool, but you can paint me green with envy. This is meticulous work and I hope I can approach it one day. BTW, I have found a man to teach a marquetry class at my shop in the near future. I told him about you and your chevalet. He was amazed, and had only ever seen one in pictures.
Ken
-- Dr. Ken, Florida - Durch harte arbeit werden Träume wahr.
tinnman65
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897 posts in 1585 days
#5 posted 308 days ago
This looks like its going to be an amazing table. I think that’s my favorite part of woodworking is doing a project and having to problem solve your way through it, what better way to encounter those “learning experiences”! I look forward to the rest of this blog.
-- Paul--- Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. — Scott Adams
SPalm
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4115 posts in 2053 days
#6 posted 308 days ago
Wow, I can only imagine all the things that can go wrong.
I love the journey also – what fun.
It is looking really great,
Steve
-- -- I'm no rocket surgeon
HalDougherty
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1820 posts in 1408 days
#7 posted 308 days ago
Your detail work is incredible! I’m happy if I can get a tight fit for a flying dutchman or butterfly inlay to reinforce a slab bench that has a crack through the slab.
-- Hal, Tennessee http://www.first285.com
Karson
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34370 posts in 2571 days
#8 posted 308 days ago
Paul: I great treat to see a master at work. Thanks for offering us this journey.
-- I've been blessed with a father who liked to tinker in wood, and a wife who lets me tinker in wood. Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †
Bluepine38
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2102 posts in 1256 days
#9 posted 308 days ago
Wonderful wooden painting. I would lose too many of those little pieces, if I could even cut them out. Thank
you for sharing your journey with us and letting us dream.
-- As ever, Gus-the 74 yr young apprentice carpenter
Kookaburra
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744 posts in 395 days
#10 posted 308 days ago
Another learning experience here at LJ. I have a couple of marquetry pieces that came from my grandparents and I love them. I would have not been able to describe how they were made. At least now I can start describing it. I am looking forward to more installments – I have a lot to learn.
Some questions though-
It looks like you end up with lots of extra pieces – in fact are all of the pieces cut out of each veneer? Does that explain why I sometimes see the same design in a different color scheme? If you do not want multiples are the extras just trashed (cries) or do you take a different approach with your cut sheets?
-- Kay - Just a girl who loves wood.
grizzman
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5394 posts in 1474 days
#11 posted 308 days ago
what a fantastic and fun project to take on, i also have a furniture piece planned for this fall/winter that will be fun for me, not on the same scale as what your doing but ..you know what i mean, this is a great learning tool for those who are doing or trying to enter into this type of wood work, thank you for sharing your talent, its always a joy to see
-- GRIZZMAN ...[''''']
stefang
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9496 posts in 1505 days
#12 posted 308 days ago
I sure admire your courage in tackling such a complex project Paul, and even more so your ability to do it really well. The work so far looks just looks amazing to me. This blog is a real treat. Don’t worry about your blog being too long as I’m sure many others like myself will just enjoy it all the more.
When you get the time I sure would appreciate hearing about the advantages of the Chevalet over a power scroll saw. I am sure there are a few, and it would be interesting to have your take on the subject.
-- Mike, American in Norway
Nate Meadows
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881 posts in 378 days
#13 posted 308 days ago
Paul,
Don’t worry about length, you are teaching and inspiring so much. It is a joy to read and see your work!
Nate
-- "With a little bit of faith, and some imagination, you can build anything!" Nate
sras
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3248 posts in 1300 days
#14 posted 308 days ago
This is going to be a great blog!! Wow!
-- Steve - Impatience is Expensive
Bearpie
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2475 posts in 1189 days
#15 posted 308 days ago
I’m in “awe” with the complicity of this project! Your work and skill just seem to improve by leaps and bounds with each project. Seems almost criminal that one person should be blessed with so much talent but I’m not criticizing or bemoaning your talents. Almost seems like you’re another Davinci or Michaelangelo in the making? I’ll be following your posts and dreaming!
-- Erwin, Jacksonville, FL
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