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68K views 494 replies 108 participants last post by  RooseveltKoepke 
#1 ·
A tribute to my mentors

It seems like only yesterday that I built my first chevalet from a few photos on the internet and began to try to figure out how to use it. Well it wasn't yesterday and it wasn't last year either. It was almost four years ago and while I did learn on my own and produced some reasonably good pieces of work, things really started to ramp up for me when I attended The American School of French Marquetry in Feb of 2012 and 2013.

The skill training was invaluable but the inspiration far outweighed it in its effect on my work. I was suddenly able to understand what really good marquetry was and how long a road lay ahead of me. Patrick and Patrice are really amazing practitioners of this art and I feel very privileged to have met them and had occasion to learn from them.

One thing I remember that Patrick told me the first year, when I asked him what I should do to really improve, was "Go to France and buy as much sawn veneer as you can afford." It sounded a little out of my reach at the time but it grew on me and last year I went to Paris and did buy a big pile of sawn veneer.

So …............ after almost a year of procrastination, I am finally beginning my first project with this precious material and I think it is only fitting that it be an homage to my mentors. The project is, on the surface, a jewellery box inspired by the wonderful reproduction piece that headlines Patrick's blog.

Rectangle Wood Font Art Facade


I am not about to copy his work and in fact my box will be quite different but Patrick's box and the many fine pieces that he and Patrice have produced are all the inspiration behind it.

So what will mine look like? I don't really know exactly because I'm not finished it yet but there are a few parts that are now decided and I've started working on both the box and the marquetry so it's time to start a blog since it's been a while.

This is about as complex as plans get on paper for me and even this was done really more to describe it to others. The real design is all in my head where I can change it at a whim without an eraser (or eraser tool).

Rectangle Wood Table Outdoor furniture Tire


The top, ends, and drawer fronts will all have marquetry and like Patrick's, the background will all be ebony. There will be three pull out and six cantilevered drawers. The drawer fronts will be a series of modifications of this one from craftsmanspace.com.

Plant Rectangle Font Circle Terrestrial plant


I retraced it in Inkscape and added some variety in the flowers. There will be only three flowers but by using left and right mirror images and changing colors, they should all be different. Cutting for the drawers will be piece by piece as it lends itself to the repetition but the ends and top will likely be done in painting in wood.

Here is my drawer marquetry plan.

Rectangle Textile Font Pink Motif


And just to get your attention, jumping way ahead, here's a shot from today. The green Poplar pieces and the flowers are permanent. The rest are "practice pieces". I'll explain them next time.

Rectangle Wood Art Font Tints and shades


Thanks for looking in.

Paul
 

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#342 ·
The promised pretty pictures

Last entry I had just started cutting the top marquetry. This is the most complex piece I have attempted and yes that was also the case when I cut the ends. This cutting and assembly took between 55 and 60 hours but it is done at last.
I now have all the marquetry cut for the jewellery box and all that remains is sand shading, pressing,
and assembly.
..... it doesn't sound too bad when you say it quickly. :)

As promised, this entry has pretty pictures ( at least after endless cutting they are very pretty indeed to me)

First up the separating cuts to get pieces that will rotate inside the 18" saw frame.

Brown Wood Art Creative arts Flooring


This time I assembled on clear shelf liner over a flipped copy of the pattern. Turns out to be a far superior method of keeping track of all the tiny pieces.

Brown Flower Plant Branch Petal


As the sections neared completion there were some very fragile bits of background to keep an eye on.

Wood Rectangle Art Font Hardwood


When the background is finally added the whole thing just pops.

Brown Flower Rectangle Wood Petal


The fragile ground at the other end.

Plant Wood Table Art Tints and shades


Wood Font World Handwriting Art


The two completed ends.

Brown Black Textile Flower Plant


I cut the centre section in two so that I could work toward the top and bottom from the middle. The parts are held in alignment by two veneer nails at the top corners and two at the bottom corners.

Wood Textile Art Pink Line


Then it was the home stretch.

Rectangle Wood Art Serveware Art paint


Wood Rectangle Art Creative arts Flooring


Wood Interior design Ornament Art Flooring


And at last .........

Flower Rectangle Textile Motif Ornament


Thanks for looking in.

Paul
 

Attachments

#343 ·
The promised pretty pictures

Last entry I had just started cutting the top marquetry. This is the most complex piece I have attempted and yes that was also the case when I cut the ends. This cutting and assembly took between 55 and 60 hours but it is done at last.
I now have all the marquetry cut for the jewellery box and all that remains is sand shading, pressing,
and assembly.
..... it doesn't sound too bad when you say it quickly. :)

As promised, this entry has pretty pictures ( at least after endless cutting they are very pretty indeed to me)

First up the separating cuts to get pieces that will rotate inside the 18" saw frame.

Brown Wood Art Creative arts Flooring


This time I assembled on clear shelf liner over a flipped copy of the pattern. Turns out to be a far superior method of keeping track of all the tiny pieces.

Brown Flower Plant Branch Petal


As the sections neared completion there were some very fragile bits of background to keep an eye on.

Wood Rectangle Art Font Hardwood


When the background is finally added the whole thing just pops.

Brown Flower Rectangle Wood Petal


The fragile ground at the other end.

Plant Wood Table Art Tints and shades


Wood Font World Handwriting Art


The two completed ends.

Brown Black Textile Flower Plant


I cut the centre section in two so that I could work toward the top and bottom from the middle. The parts are held in alignment by two veneer nails at the top corners and two at the bottom corners.

Wood Textile Art Pink Line


Then it was the home stretch.

Rectangle Wood Art Serveware Art paint


Wood Rectangle Art Creative arts Flooring


Wood Interior design Ornament Art Flooring


And at last .........

Flower Rectangle Textile Motif Ornament


Thanks for looking in.

Paul
Ok Paul . . . WOW!!!
 

Attachments

#372 ·
Top Sand Shading and Assembly

Warning: Lots of photos!

Here's my setup for sand shading one piece at a time. The marquetry has been preliminarily assembled on sticky shelf paper, a sheet of thin acrylic covers most of it, and the sand is hot.

Interior design Flooring Art Wood Floor


I remove one piece, shade it in a spoon of hot sand, and return it. Then I repeat a thousand times (give or take). I am still developing this way of doing things but it is working very well and I have complete control of how the picture grows as I am shading.

Brown Rectangle Flower Plant Leaf


Here's an example. The curled edges here look flat so I shaded the outer edges a bit and now (second photo) it looks better. I ended up shading almost every piece and all of them seemed to add to the three dimensional effect.

Flower Plant Leaf Petal Textile


Flower Plant Leaf Petal Orange


This is the end of day one, about 4 1/2 hours.

Brown Plant Rectangle Wood Flower


A detail at that stage

Brown Flower Plant Flowerpot Petal


Day two

Brown Wood Rectangle Textile Flooring


Day three

Brown Rectangle Wood Flooring Art


And day four, around twenty hours total shading time.

Flower Dishware Bird Textile Rectangle


One of the advantages of this technique in painting in wood style is that the unavoidable kerf spaces can be managed. In the first photo I've moved all the pieces tightly together against one edge. If the marquetry were glued up this way it would look awful.

Petal Plant Wood Flower Tints and shades


But the shelf paper has a soft adhesive that allows me to slide the pieces around. Here I have arranged the kerfs to be evenly spaced. These kerfs are 1/100" and can be either disguised with matching mastic or (as will be the case here) emphasized with a black mastic, adding to the shadow effect and creating a "trap line" to isolate the elements of the marquetry.

Flower Plant Petal Art Painting


Once the shading Is to my liking and the spacing has been adjusted I apply a layer of cheap masking tape. I really like the cheap stuff because I can see through it. That helps when you are trying to brush it down to contact the thinner pieces, in my case the ebony. The nail brush does a nice (if not perfect) job of this.

Wood Rectangle Automotive tire Font Automotive exterior


Wood Road surface Outdoor shoe Flooring Automotive tire


All taped up, the whole thing is turned good side up and the shelf liner is removed carefully. I find that sliding the acrylic along as I peel the shelf liner helps control the pieces that want to lift.

Wood Art Rectangle Flooring Door


Wood Art Flooring Twig Font


Now I have placed my prepared assembly board (French kraft paper) on top of the marquetry. I coated it with hot hide glue and inverted it onto the marquetry. Sorry no time for photos in the process. After turning it back over I once again used the brush to press the thinner pieces down onto the glue…...

Table Cup Wood Gas Rectangle


Rectangle Wood Hardwood Wood stain Font


And after a light pressing, carefully peeled the tape.

Wood Drinkware Flower Dishware Rectangle


Here all the tape is off and it looks ready to fill and apply to the substrate but there is still the matter of different thicknesses. Even though I am using veneers that are marketed as 1.5 mm and 1/16", which should be quite even there is a good discrepancy between the thickest (poplar) and the thinnest (ebony).

Flower Rectangle Textile Wood Architecture


I set up this enclosure and carefully sanded it to near flush with my Ceros. The enclosure proved a good idea as I blew out about fifteen tiny pieces and found all but one or two which were easy to re-make.

Wood Drawer Automotive design Bag Audio equipment


With the sanding and repairs complete I get my first idea of how the shading will look when sanded and finished on the good side. I couldn't resist a splash of alcohol to see the real colors.

I sort of can't believe I did this.

Flower Rectangle Wood Dishware Serveware


Here are a couple of shading videos I made for anyone who has survived all of this lengthy explanation.

Brown Flower Plant Leaf Petal



Flash photography Kitchen appliance Cooking Tints and shades Font


Thanks for looking in

Paul
 

Attachments

#373 ·
Top Sand Shading and Assembly

Warning: Lots of photos!

Here's my setup for sand shading one piece at a time. The marquetry has been preliminarily assembled on sticky shelf paper, a sheet of thin acrylic covers most of it, and the sand is hot.

Interior design Flooring Art Wood Floor


I remove one piece, shade it in a spoon of hot sand, and return it. Then I repeat a thousand times (give or take). I am still developing this way of doing things but it is working very well and I have complete control of how the picture grows as I am shading.

Brown Rectangle Flower Plant Leaf


Here's an example. The curled edges here look flat so I shaded the outer edges a bit and now (second photo) it looks better. I ended up shading almost every piece and all of them seemed to add to the three dimensional effect.

Flower Plant Leaf Petal Textile


Flower Plant Leaf Petal Orange


This is the end of day one, about 4 1/2 hours.

Brown Plant Rectangle Wood Flower


A detail at that stage

Brown Flower Plant Flowerpot Petal


Day two

Brown Wood Rectangle Textile Flooring


Day three

Brown Rectangle Wood Flooring Art


And day four, around twenty hours total shading time.

Flower Dishware Bird Textile Rectangle


One of the advantages of this technique in painting in wood style is that the unavoidable kerf spaces can be managed. In the first photo I've moved all the pieces tightly together against one edge. If the marquetry were glued up this way it would look awful.

Petal Plant Wood Flower Tints and shades


But the shelf paper has a soft adhesive that allows me to slide the pieces around. Here I have arranged the kerfs to be evenly spaced. These kerfs are 1/100" and can be either disguised with matching mastic or (as will be the case here) emphasized with a black mastic, adding to the shadow effect and creating a "trap line" to isolate the elements of the marquetry.

Flower Plant Petal Art Painting


Once the shading Is to my liking and the spacing has been adjusted I apply a layer of cheap masking tape. I really like the cheap stuff because I can see through it. That helps when you are trying to brush it down to contact the thinner pieces, in my case the ebony. The nail brush does a nice (if not perfect) job of this.

Wood Rectangle Automotive tire Font Automotive exterior


Wood Road surface Outdoor shoe Flooring Automotive tire


All taped up, the whole thing is turned good side up and the shelf liner is removed carefully. I find that sliding the acrylic along as I peel the shelf liner helps control the pieces that want to lift.

Wood Art Rectangle Flooring Door


Wood Art Flooring Twig Font


Now I have placed my prepared assembly board (French kraft paper) on top of the marquetry. I coated it with hot hide glue and inverted it onto the marquetry. Sorry no time for photos in the process. After turning it back over I once again used the brush to press the thinner pieces down onto the glue…...

Table Cup Wood Gas Rectangle


Rectangle Wood Hardwood Wood stain Font


And after a light pressing, carefully peeled the tape.

Wood Drinkware Flower Dishware Rectangle


Here all the tape is off and it looks ready to fill and apply to the substrate but there is still the matter of different thicknesses. Even though I am using veneers that are marketed as 1.5 mm and 1/16", which should be quite even there is a good discrepancy between the thickest (poplar) and the thinnest (ebony).

Flower Rectangle Textile Wood Architecture


I set up this enclosure and carefully sanded it to near flush with my Ceros. The enclosure proved a good idea as I blew out about fifteen tiny pieces and found all but one or two which were easy to re-make.

Wood Drawer Automotive design Bag Audio equipment


With the sanding and repairs complete I get my first idea of how the shading will look when sanded and finished on the good side. I couldn't resist a splash of alcohol to see the real colors.

I sort of can't believe I did this.

Flower Rectangle Wood Dishware Serveware


Here are a couple of shading videos I made for anyone who has survived all of this lengthy explanation.

Brown Flower Plant Leaf Petal



Flash photography Kitchen appliance Cooking Tints and shades Font


Thanks for looking in

Paul
Holy crap, that is remarkable. You have become a master of marquetry. I wish I had some of that ability, all my marquetry attempts end up flawed and bland.
 

Attachments

#415 ·
Glue-Up and Details

With the marquetry all done and mounted the focus turns to getting the carcass finished and glued up and to the finishing details.

First up is to get the back piece veneered with 1/16" Walnut inside and out and the R.E. magnets and concave end trim pieces installed.

Brown Rectangle Table Wood Wood stain


Furniture Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood


I ran the top through the drum sander to get it all levelled out.

Cabinetry Wood Flooring Kitchen Tool


Then the carcass parts got ebonized and got a preliminary finish prior to glue-up. A quick check assembly at this point pointed out the need for just a bit more marquetry as the front edges of the dividers seemed wrong in solid black.

Wood Flooring Floor Tile flooring Rectangle


No problem

Wood Art Material property Font Tints and shades


Table Wood Cabinetry Floor Flooring


Before glue-up I also added the Queen Ebony trim mouldings to the front and sides. This one is being fitted with a saw cut.

Wood Bicycle handlebar Gas Metal Personal protective equipment


The glue-up. I used OBG for this one as it gave me more time than HHG.

Wood Flooring Floor Composite material Gas


Wood Gas Audio equipment Machine Engineering


Wheel Automotive tire Automotive exterior Motor vehicle Gas


I cleaned up the hinge barrels and added Arararacaga trim to the drawers.

Wood Tool Rectangle Table Tablecloth


Wood Floor Flooring Hardwood Gas


Because there are no ends to add strength to this carcass I made the tough decision to add two trim head screws in the top and two in the bottom. I made veneer topped plugs to hide the holes in the top marquetry.

Wood Wood stain Table Hardwood Varnish


Wood Wooden block Rectangle Art Hardwood


Wood Hardwood Wood stain Flooring Toy


Table Wood Tableware Kitchen utensil Tool


A crack in the veneer was making a real mess of my feature bird's neck so I took a shot at fixing it. The repair looks better than in the picture.

Bird Flower Painting Creative arts Art


Bird Beak Flower Painting Art


Bird Beak Finger Creative arts Feather


Bird Flower Beak Rectangle Serveware


Lastly, I replaced the inner tubing pieces of my hinge pins with solid 7/16" brass rod. I drilled 1/4" holes in the bottom ends to facilitate removal with needle nosed pliers and locked them in with polished brass plates.

Table Wood Rectangle Floor Bumper


Table Wood Office ruler Wood stain Floor


Wood Rectangle Floor Gas Wood stain


Hand tool Wood Tool Saw Handheld power drill


Netbook Wood Gas Computer hardware Personal computer


The whole thing is now complete except for French polish but you will have to wait for the pictures until the project post. For now I'm heading home on Friday and I will do the polishing there where I have room to spread out and work on all the parts.

Thanks for looking in.


Paul
 

Attachments

#416 ·
Glue-Up and Details

With the marquetry all done and mounted the focus turns to getting the carcass finished and glued up and to the finishing details.

First up is to get the back piece veneered with 1/16" Walnut inside and out and the R.E. magnets and concave end trim pieces installed.

Brown Rectangle Table Wood Wood stain


Furniture Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood


I ran the top through the drum sander to get it all levelled out.

Cabinetry Wood Flooring Kitchen Tool


Then the carcass parts got ebonized and got a preliminary finish prior to glue-up. A quick check assembly at this point pointed out the need for just a bit more marquetry as the front edges of the dividers seemed wrong in solid black.

Wood Flooring Floor Tile flooring Rectangle


No problem

Wood Art Material property Font Tints and shades


Table Wood Cabinetry Floor Flooring


Before glue-up I also added the Queen Ebony trim mouldings to the front and sides. This one is being fitted with a saw cut.

Wood Bicycle handlebar Gas Metal Personal protective equipment


The glue-up. I used OBG for this one as it gave me more time than HHG.

Wood Flooring Floor Composite material Gas


Wood Gas Audio equipment Machine Engineering


Wheel Automotive tire Automotive exterior Motor vehicle Gas


I cleaned up the hinge barrels and added Arararacaga trim to the drawers.

Wood Tool Rectangle Table Tablecloth


Wood Floor Flooring Hardwood Gas


Because there are no ends to add strength to this carcass I made the tough decision to add two trim head screws in the top and two in the bottom. I made veneer topped plugs to hide the holes in the top marquetry.

Wood Wood stain Table Hardwood Varnish


Wood Wooden block Rectangle Art Hardwood


Wood Hardwood Wood stain Flooring Toy


Table Wood Tableware Kitchen utensil Tool


A crack in the veneer was making a real mess of my feature bird's neck so I took a shot at fixing it. The repair looks better than in the picture.

Bird Flower Painting Creative arts Art


Bird Beak Flower Painting Art


Bird Beak Finger Creative arts Feather


Bird Flower Beak Rectangle Serveware


Lastly, I replaced the inner tubing pieces of my hinge pins with solid 7/16" brass rod. I drilled 1/4" holes in the bottom ends to facilitate removal with needle nosed pliers and locked them in with polished brass plates.

Table Wood Rectangle Floor Bumper


Table Wood Office ruler Wood stain Floor


Wood Rectangle Floor Gas Wood stain


Hand tool Wood Tool Saw Handheld power drill


Netbook Wood Gas Computer hardware Personal computer


The whole thing is now complete except for French polish but you will have to wait for the pictures until the project post. For now I'm heading home on Friday and I will do the polishing there where I have room to spread out and work on all the parts.

Thanks for looking in.


Paul
Paul,

This was an absolute treat to see in person. That repair is invisible from a foot away. This is the kind of work that will be remembered. I cannot come up with enough words to convey how beautiful this piece is. I think Patrick & Patrice will be honored that this work is dedicated to them.

Congratulations on a truly masterful piece.

Safe travels back to Canada - I will see you this winter!

Luke
 

Attachments

#452 ·
Home Stretch- French Polish and Pig Suede

Well I'm back home in Canada and after getting a bunch of household maintenance jobs out of the way and spending a very long time getting the surfaces perfectly filled, I have finally started on the finishing. It won't be long now!

Here are a few shots and a couple of videos I made today. At this point there are only two or three bodying sessions in the polish but it is coming up really well.

Automotive design Wood Yellow Flooring Cuisine


Flower Rectangle Gold Publication Metal


Wood Interior design Flooring Hardwood Rectangle


Font Technology Screenshot Event Display device


Sleeve Font Rectangle Technology Flooring


This is the first trial fit of the burgundy pig suede that will line the drawers.

Table Wood Rectangle Table tennis racket Tablecloth


Rectangle Wood Gas Magenta Tartan


I hope to get this posted shortly but thought a few sneak peaks were in order.

Thanks for looking in

Paul
 

Attachments

#453 ·
Home Stretch- French Polish and Pig Suede

Well I'm back home in Canada and after getting a bunch of household maintenance jobs out of the way and spending a very long time getting the surfaces perfectly filled, I have finally started on the finishing. It won't be long now!

Here are a few shots and a couple of videos I made today. At this point there are only two or three bodying sessions in the polish but it is coming up really well.

Automotive design Wood Yellow Flooring Cuisine


Flower Rectangle Gold Publication Metal


Wood Interior design Flooring Hardwood Rectangle


Font Technology Screenshot Event Display device


Sleeve Font Rectangle Technology Flooring


This is the first trial fit of the burgundy pig suede that will line the drawers.

Table Wood Rectangle Table tennis racket Tablecloth


Rectangle Wood Gas Magenta Tartan


I hope to get this posted shortly but thought a few sneak peaks were in order.

Thanks for looking in

Paul
Beautiful, incredible work. It was a joy to see this in person. Photos cannot capture its full beauty. Congratulations on this project Paul!
 

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