# Watercolor Dye Technique



## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

*General Concept*

*This is the blog that I promised *detailing my experiments in what I call "watercolor style" aniline dying. My sincere hope is that it will encourage some of you to jump in and help develop what I think is a huge potential of which I've only scratched the surface.

*The idea of hand dyeing* pieces of inlay or marquetry came to me because I was frustrated by the limited array of colors available to me in the veneer and solid wood supply to which I have access. I was enjoying the idea of inlay and contemplating more complex marquetry, but as you can see in the examples of my pieces below, I clearly could have created a much better representation if I had more colors in my palate. Colors particularly difficult to come by in wood are greens and blues. These would make oceans, skies, trees, leaves and many other things more lifelike and more vibrant. I know that convention in marquetry is that you use a wide variety of woods and make do with what nature gave you, but I'm not really all that good with rules and besides, I don't have access to a supplier of veneers where I can go and pick through samples looking for the right colors.

*These are two *of my earliest inlay pieces, done with a router inlay set. They're nice enough but lack, in my mind anyway, an "edge".


















*I started by searching *the internet for dyeing techniques in marquetry, aniline dyeing techniques, dying inlay etc. and only came up with a couple of suppliers who would sell me pieces of plain light colored wood that had been pressure saturated with some color. That wasn't what I was looking for. Next I bought a set of 12×2 oz. bottles of liquid aniline dye http://www.woodessence.com/ColorFX-Dye-Trial-12-Color-Kits-P51C12.aspx and started experimenting.

*After some fooling around *I decided to give it a go on my "Cabinetree" project. The tree trunk was dyed in a fairly conventional way, blending a few colors with sanding in between.










*When it came time* to do the fall representation of Big Leaf Maple leaves, I cut the marquetry with the grains running the way that the leaf 's veins would run, more or less, but all out of maple, almost. I did use a few pieces of Walnut where the leaf curled up and was in shade, but other than that the whole marquetry was the same color. Not too impressive, I agree.










*That was when* the experimenting really got into gear. I decided to try to "watercolor" paint with the dye in a wet on wet style, using artists' brushes and double strength dye mix.










*I started with* the lightest color, yellow here, and flooded the piece, allowing it to get quite wet.










*Then I added* some green near the base of the center vein to show the last of the summer color hanging on. This was added while the yellow was still wet and allowed to just bleed with the grain. There's lots of room for experimentation here with different techniques, concentrations and solvent mixes. Aniline dyes can be mixed with water or alcohol or a mixture of the two. Further, there are three different alcohols (methyl, ethyl,and isopropyl) that you can use , each with it's own properties. Different combinations will exhibit different "bleed" characteristics.










*Finally I added the dark *decaying color around the edges. This didn't seem to bleed back into the yellow on it's own but after a bit of experimenting I discovered that I could blend it very nicely by re-wetting it. This can be done with water, an alcohol or, as I did here, by dragging a brush dipped in yellow from the yellow out into the burnt sienna. There's lots to play with here.



















*That about covers* what I learned about dyeing in the "Cabinetree" project. It only scratches the surface of the potential for this style and there's lots of room to improve and expand the technique.

Next time I'll go into the new ways I used the technique in "Facets" and show some of the tricks I've learned.

*Thanks for checking in* and for your interest. I hope I can inspire you to experiment with this stuff. It is a ton of fun.

Paul


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## driftwoodhunter (Jan 17, 2011)

shipwright said:


> *General Concept*
> 
> *This is the blog that I promised *detailing my experiments in what I call "watercolor style" aniline dying. My sincere hope is that it will encourage some of you to jump in and help develop what I think is a huge potential of which I've only scratched the surface.
> 
> ...


Thanks Paul for the detailed & easy to follow tuturial. I may get the same kit, plus some additional colors to try. 
Since I have an art background, the first thing I wondered about was the permanence of the pigments that make up the dyes. With artist's paints, the oils, watercolors, etc. have a lightfastness rating on each tube. 1 being most lightfast/permanent, 2 & 3 going down in stability accordingly. I wonder if aniline dyes have a similar system? If I can find a way to contact the manufacturer, I will ask. 
I think what you and others here are doing with the application of translucent color is wonderful. 
I look forward to trying it myself, and seeing more!


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## steliart (Jan 15, 2011)

shipwright said:


> *General Concept*
> 
> *This is the blog that I promised *detailing my experiments in what I call "watercolor style" aniline dying. My sincere hope is that it will encourage some of you to jump in and help develop what I think is a huge potential of which I've only scratched the surface.
> 
> ...


Thank you for the amazing journey.
You used colors cautiously and did not over do it, and I like this very much. 
Just wondering how will these colors react in time.
Just thinking out laud here about the blues and natural colors, cobalt blue in powder format widely used in Byzantine iconography, mixed with egg and vinegar (ok it will smell bad at first) but it's quite stable, so I was wondering how that technique can be mixed directly onto the wood and blend together with your colors. It worth investigating.
Thanks again


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## RogerBean (Apr 25, 2010)

shipwright said:


> *General Concept*
> 
> *This is the blog that I promised *detailing my experiments in what I call "watercolor style" aniline dying. My sincere hope is that it will encourage some of you to jump in and help develop what I think is a huge potential of which I've only scratched the surface.
> 
> ...


Paul,
You really have my imagination working overtime with the whole idea of "watercolor style marquetry". Your work is both innovative and beautiful. Inlaying is something I really enjoy, and the potential of your technique is huge. I want to try something with it on my boxes one of these days. Keep up the great work. Many thanks for sharing your work.
Roger


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## mauibob (Jan 1, 2010)

shipwright said:


> *General Concept*
> 
> *This is the blog that I promised *detailing my experiments in what I call "watercolor style" aniline dying. My sincere hope is that it will encourage some of you to jump in and help develop what I think is a huge potential of which I've only scratched the surface.
> 
> ...


Just came across this posting, Paul-sorry I missed it for so long. Been struggling with color palette myself for some time. Tried a few different techniques, but each seemed doom to deterioration with time. Will definitely do some more experimenting along the lines you suggested.
Have a very happy 2012!


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## NateMeadows (May 11, 2012)

shipwright said:


> *General Concept*
> 
> *This is the blog that I promised *detailing my experiments in what I call "watercolor style" aniline dying. My sincere hope is that it will encourage some of you to jump in and help develop what I think is a huge potential of which I've only scratched the surface.
> 
> ...


Paul,

Your dying of the the leaf project is well done! Great idea and execution! Thank you for sharing!

Your Friend,

Nate


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## steliart (Jan 15, 2011)

shipwright said:


> *General Concept*
> 
> *This is the blog that I promised *detailing my experiments in what I call "watercolor style" aniline dying. My sincere hope is that it will encourage some of you to jump in and help develop what I think is a huge potential of which I've only scratched the surface.
> 
> ...


Thank you so much for sharing Paul


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## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

*New Lessons Learned from "Facets"*

*The biggest and most dramatic* new lesson I learned from the "Facets" project's dyeing was the huge dimensional movement that you can get when you wet out this particular kind of veneer work. The most important thing learned from that experience is that if the pieces fit when you cut them they can be made to fit again, no matter how far out of whack they may seem to have gotten. It's only water and all you have to do is restore their original moisture balance. This can be done with a spray bottle or a hair dryer, depending on which way you have to go. This is well documented here: http://lumberjocks.com/shipwright/blog/20211 so there's no need to go over it again now.

*The new area* I wanted to experiment with in "Facets" was detailing within a color in a single piece. The big maple leaf on top was the subject. First of all I gave the whole leaf a wash of the shade of green I wanted for background color.










*Then I applied *a darker shade and even some black "wet on dry"to form curled up details in some of the tips and edges. I found that if I held a hair dryer with it's hot air aimed at the brush I could keep a quite bleed free line. I decided to try this after the leaves in "Cabinetree" showed me that I really didn't have to use the walnut bits to show dark edges.










*Here it's about* 1/2 done and you can see some of the detail is coming along nicely. Wet on dry lines that follow the grain work quite well even without the dryer.










*In this photo the pieces* are assembled into their backgrounds and adhered to their substrates but have suffered from the washing out that resulted from the dimensional stability problem. Now I had to see if the work could be repaired post assembly. I suppose I should explain the caterpillar. When I was double bevel cutting the corner pieces into the leaf center piece, I accidentally made the cut for the larger top right corner in the bottom left. The caterpillar covers most of the boo boo.










*He had to be* hand cut in and created his own dying challenges.










*Since I wanted* to darken the background color anyway, I decided to test the barrier qualities of the glue line with that color before going on to the leaf repairs. The last time I tried this the glue line was CA glue and did not present any barrier at all to dye bleeding. This was a different glue line. Firstly it was urea formaldehyde glue and secondly it had been vacuum bagged, probably giving it a better fill between the pieces. At any rate the glue line held as you can see in this photo. Once I knew this it was just a matter of repeating the previous steps albeit more carefully to re-create the lost detail. The whole process seems to be amazingly forgiving.










*I chose to make* a butterfly for the lift handle and dyed it with a simple wet on dry system. I discovered later that I could have done the fine detail after the first bit of poly and gotten better lines, but I don't mind this.










*Here's a finished shot* of the leaf panels with finish applied. The colors in the piece actually look more vibrant that they do in the photos but the extreme gloss and the many planes make it very hard to photograph.










*That's it for this segment*. Hope I've cleared up a little more of the mystery here and that some of you will jump in and clear up some more of it.

I'll do one more segment to discuss a few observations and tricks I've learned along the way.

For now Thanks for enduring and let's see some of you dyeing stuff.

Thanks again

Paul


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## Hoakie (May 8, 2007)

shipwright said:


> *New Lessons Learned from "Facets"*
> 
> *The biggest and most dramatic* new lesson I learned from the "Facets" project's dyeing was the huge dimensional movement that you can get when you wet out this particular kind of veneer work. The most important thing learned from that experience is that if the pieces fit when you cut them they can be made to fit again, no matter how far out of whack they may seem to have gotten. It's only water and all you have to do is restore their original moisture balance. This can be done with a spray bottle or a hair dryer, depending on which way you have to go. This is well documented here: http://lumberjocks.com/shipwright/blog/20211 so there's no need to go over it again now.
> 
> ...


That is an outstanding piece. I've been working on shop projects as of late but have some ideas for my next dye project. I will definitely keep your techniques in mind.


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## degoose (Mar 20, 2009)

shipwright said:


> *New Lessons Learned from "Facets"*
> 
> *The biggest and most dramatic* new lesson I learned from the "Facets" project's dyeing was the huge dimensional movement that you can get when you wet out this particular kind of veneer work. The most important thing learned from that experience is that if the pieces fit when you cut them they can be made to fit again, no matter how far out of whack they may seem to have gotten. It's only water and all you have to do is restore their original moisture balance. This can be done with a spray bottle or a hair dryer, depending on which way you have to go. This is well documented here: http://lumberjocks.com/shipwright/blog/20211 so there's no need to go over it again now.
> 
> ...


Very informative..


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## mickyd (Oct 23, 2009)

shipwright said:


> *New Lessons Learned from "Facets"*
> 
> *The biggest and most dramatic* new lesson I learned from the "Facets" project's dyeing was the huge dimensional movement that you can get when you wet out this particular kind of veneer work. The most important thing learned from that experience is that if the pieces fit when you cut them they can be made to fit again, no matter how far out of whack they may seem to have gotten. It's only water and all you have to do is restore their original moisture balance. This can be done with a spray bottle or a hair dryer, depending on which way you have to go. This is well documented here: http://lumberjocks.com/shipwright/blog/20211 so there's no need to go over it again now.
> 
> ...


Great recap Paul. Excellent documentation. Thanks. I'll try your technique at some point in the future.

I know that you've worked around the obsticle of the dimensional changes due to the water based dye. Is there a dying process that doesn't involve water based materials?


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## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

shipwright said:


> *New Lessons Learned from "Facets"*
> 
> *The biggest and most dramatic* new lesson I learned from the "Facets" project's dyeing was the huge dimensional movement that you can get when you wet out this particular kind of veneer work. The most important thing learned from that experience is that if the pieces fit when you cut them they can be made to fit again, no matter how far out of whack they may seem to have gotten. It's only water and all you have to do is restore their original moisture balance. This can be done with a spray bottle or a hair dryer, depending on which way you have to go. This is well documented here: http://lumberjocks.com/shipwright/blog/20211 so there's no need to go over it again now.
> 
> ...


I haven't checked. I'm having too much fun with this one right now. I'll look into it.


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## dbray45 (Oct 19, 2010)

shipwright said:


> *New Lessons Learned from "Facets"*
> 
> *The biggest and most dramatic* new lesson I learned from the "Facets" project's dyeing was the huge dimensional movement that you can get when you wet out this particular kind of veneer work. The most important thing learned from that experience is that if the pieces fit when you cut them they can be made to fit again, no matter how far out of whack they may seem to have gotten. It's only water and all you have to do is restore their original moisture balance. This can be done with a spray bottle or a hair dryer, depending on which way you have to go. This is well documented here: http://lumberjocks.com/shipwright/blog/20211 so there's no need to go over it again now.
> 
> ...


Some ideas in the photography, and using a flash, try putting a bar towel or piece of paper over the flash to take away the glare. Otherwise, try a soft light and use a tripod with a longer exposure on a higher f stop. Also, by taking the picture at a farther distance and zooming in may help.

The piece as it looks is great as it is.


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## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

shipwright said:


> *New Lessons Learned from "Facets"*
> 
> *The biggest and most dramatic* new lesson I learned from the "Facets" project's dyeing was the huge dimensional movement that you can get when you wet out this particular kind of veneer work. The most important thing learned from that experience is that if the pieces fit when you cut them they can be made to fit again, no matter how far out of whack they may seem to have gotten. It's only water and all you have to do is restore their original moisture balance. This can be done with a spray bottle or a hair dryer, depending on which way you have to go. This is well documented here: http://lumberjocks.com/shipwright/blog/20211 so there's no need to go over it again now.
> 
> ...


The final photos were done professionally in a studio. He tried all that and more.


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## Pop (Aug 6, 2007)

shipwright said:


> *New Lessons Learned from "Facets"*
> 
> *The biggest and most dramatic* new lesson I learned from the "Facets" project's dyeing was the huge dimensional movement that you can get when you wet out this particular kind of veneer work. The most important thing learned from that experience is that if the pieces fit when you cut them they can be made to fit again, no matter how far out of whack they may seem to have gotten. It's only water and all you have to do is restore their original moisture balance. This can be done with a spray bottle or a hair dryer, depending on which way you have to go. This is well documented here: http://lumberjocks.com/shipwright/blog/20211 so there's no need to go over it again now.
> 
> ...


Congratulations Paul, on a wonderful piece of work. I was a graphic designer of a few years and I'm here to tell you that this project is not just woodworking it's also a very nice design project and your work isn't just woodwork it's art.

Pop


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## dbray45 (Oct 19, 2010)

shipwright said:


> *New Lessons Learned from "Facets"*
> 
> *The biggest and most dramatic* new lesson I learned from the "Facets" project's dyeing was the huge dimensional movement that you can get when you wet out this particular kind of veneer work. The most important thing learned from that experience is that if the pieces fit when you cut them they can be made to fit again, no matter how far out of whack they may seem to have gotten. It's only water and all you have to do is restore their original moisture balance. This can be done with a spray bottle or a hair dryer, depending on which way you have to go. This is well documented here: http://lumberjocks.com/shipwright/blog/20211 so there's no need to go over it again now.
> 
> ...


Paul, anytime you can make something that a profesional photographer has a hard time getting a good shot from the gloss, it speaks for itself. Better than I can do.


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## jockmike2 (Oct 10, 2006)

shipwright said:


> *New Lessons Learned from "Facets"*
> 
> *The biggest and most dramatic* new lesson I learned from the "Facets" project's dyeing was the huge dimensional movement that you can get when you wet out this particular kind of veneer work. The most important thing learned from that experience is that if the pieces fit when you cut them they can be made to fit again, no matter how far out of whack they may seem to have gotten. It's only water and all you have to do is restore their original moisture balance. This can be done with a spray bottle or a hair dryer, depending on which way you have to go. This is well documented here: http://lumberjocks.com/shipwright/blog/20211 so there's no need to go over it again now.
> 
> ...


Very beautiful.


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## sawblade1 (Feb 11, 2010)

shipwright said:


> *New Lessons Learned from "Facets"*
> 
> *The biggest and most dramatic* new lesson I learned from the "Facets" project's dyeing was the huge dimensional movement that you can get when you wet out this particular kind of veneer work. The most important thing learned from that experience is that if the pieces fit when you cut them they can be made to fit again, no matter how far out of whack they may seem to have gotten. It's only water and all you have to do is restore their original moisture balance. This can be done with a spray bottle or a hair dryer, depending on which way you have to go. This is well documented here: http://lumberjocks.com/shipwright/blog/20211 so there's no need to go over it again now.
> 
> ...


Beautiful work


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## shouldwood (Jan 6, 2007)

shipwright said:


> *New Lessons Learned from "Facets"*
> 
> *The biggest and most dramatic* new lesson I learned from the "Facets" project's dyeing was the huge dimensional movement that you can get when you wet out this particular kind of veneer work. The most important thing learned from that experience is that if the pieces fit when you cut them they can be made to fit again, no matter how far out of whack they may seem to have gotten. It's only water and all you have to do is restore their original moisture balance. This can be done with a spray bottle or a hair dryer, depending on which way you have to go. This is well documented here: http://lumberjocks.com/shipwright/blog/20211 so there's no need to go over it again now.
> 
> ...


Man, creativity just oozes out of this club. Never saw such talent before. Thought this was the beautiful things only found in finest art galleries.
Beautiful.


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## Hoakie (May 8, 2007)

shipwright said:


> *New Lessons Learned from "Facets"*
> 
> *The biggest and most dramatic* new lesson I learned from the "Facets" project's dyeing was the huge dimensional movement that you can get when you wet out this particular kind of veneer work. The most important thing learned from that experience is that if the pieces fit when you cut them they can be made to fit again, no matter how far out of whack they may seem to have gotten. It's only water and all you have to do is restore their original moisture balance. This can be done with a spray bottle or a hair dryer, depending on which way you have to go. This is well documented here: http://lumberjocks.com/shipwright/blog/20211 so there's no need to go over it again now.
> 
> ...


*Is there a dying process that doesn't involve water based materials?*

I believe the powder dyes I used on my inlay sailboat project said I could dilute them in water or denatured alcohol. I imagine the alcohol would not cause the wood to swell as much. I opted for water dilution so I it is hard for me to say. For my project I stained the wood first and let it dry then cut out the template so it wasn't that big of an issue.


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## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

shipwright said:


> *New Lessons Learned from "Facets"*
> 
> *The biggest and most dramatic* new lesson I learned from the "Facets" project's dyeing was the huge dimensional movement that you can get when you wet out this particular kind of veneer work. The most important thing learned from that experience is that if the pieces fit when you cut them they can be made to fit again, no matter how far out of whack they may seem to have gotten. It's only water and all you have to do is restore their original moisture balance. This can be done with a spray bottle or a hair dryer, depending on which way you have to go. This is well documented here: http://lumberjocks.com/shipwright/blog/20211 so there's no need to go over it again now.
> 
> ...


That's standard for aniline dyes. You can dilute / dissolve in water, methyl alcohol (methyl hydrate), ethyl alcohol (denatured, vodka etc.), isopropyl alcohol or a combination. All have different properties, mostly to do with drying time but also with wicking and workability in this context.


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## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

*Tips and Tricks I've Learned*

*Time to wind up *this little blog about my venture into hand dyeing marquetry. Most of what's been covered here so far is also covered in the blogs of "Cabinetree" and "Facets". It appears here as a "one stop shop" for the initial stages of development. What remains is to list a few of the tips and tricks I've learned through experimentation, mistakes, etc. to give any of you who want to give this a try a head start.

*The first picture shows* a number of experiments about the difference between bleed applications and sharp line applications.

*1)* This is the "wet on wet" bleed that was used in the "Cabinetree" leaves for the residual summer green color. It works very well to create a natural blend and can be altered in it's spreading characteristics by varying the components used for dilution. Obviously as can be seen on most of these examples, the bleed is much more evident down grain.

*2)* Here the first color has been allowed to dry and the second is applied with as little load on the brush as possible. There is an improvement in clarity of the line but the bleeding still happens. This can be reduced further by directing a hot air stream on the area as you apply the detail.

*3)* This one shows the same procedure as above but it has had a coat of oil based poly wiped on. The point here is to note that the oil based poly does not smear the water based dye at all.

*4)* For the best detail of all with no bleed, you can lightly apply an oil based finish over the background before adding the detail. I haven't tried it yet but I think you could repeat this process with successive layers to build up a very detailed picture while still retaining the transparency of the dye.










*The tests above* are on soft maple. I've added this one on arbutus to show that in a denser wood, as would be expected, the bleed is less evident.










*This one surprised me*. It is just a bunch of scrap bits left over from other pieces that I assembled and then sprayed with successive light coats of water based poly. I got no bleeding at all. I think that a horizontal surface may have been a factor and certainly you would not get away with this with a brush or wiping rag.










*Next up*, and don't give me grief on the artwork, is a hastily painted butterfly done over the finish described above. You can get as good a line as you care to here but notice that the dye isn't as effective on the non-porous surface. Sanding would probably help.










*Same piece here* with a coat of wipe on poly to show that it still doesn't smudge the water based dye, even when the dye hasn't penetrated anything.










*Well that's it*. The "Watercolor Style" dye process in it's infancy (maybe). The sky's the limit here so give it a try and see how you can expand and improve on it and above all keep the rest of us posted.

Thanks for bearing with my ramblings.

Paul


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## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

*Toscana, Disassemble, Dye, Re-assemble*

*The general method* of applying the dye is with an artist's brush as seen in the first segment of this blog so I won't go into great detail here. Suffice to say that each piece is done separately in one or more colors allowing the color to flow into the grain. The work area will become colorful so a cover of several layers of paper is a good idea.










*The procedure I used* here was to first mount the whole piece on clear "Contact" shelf paper face side up and then to remove a few pieces at a time, soak and peel the tape from the surface, dye them, and return them to their places. It is important to work on an adhesive surface like this and to work from the outside in toward the center because the pieces will expand with the water both from tape removal and dye. If the newly dyed pieces were not confined by the pieces around them they could not be made to re-assume their exact positions and you would never get them to fit. It is also important to have some weight to keep the pieces flat. I used acrylic plates.










*This is a tree* in the background by the farmhouse. It first gets a bath of yellow on its sun side, then a dark green on its shady side, then just a line of very dark green on the very edge. You can't see the yellow at the end, but its effect is there.




























*You can begin* to see the effect of the wiggly cutting here.










*The picture is* coming together nicely ........










........*and the work area* is becoming more colorful as well. At one point I counted 19 brushes, ten colors and six dilutions of base colors in use.










*At last it is all dyed* and everything has been forced back into its place. It is amazing how malleable these pieces of wet wood are. I fitted some of the larger pieces (leaves) that were 1/4 inch bigger than their spaces. I just inserted top and bottom and pushed the middle down ….. and they just compress down and fit… snap. That's why the acrylic is there and that's why there are no gaps. You can't believe it until you do it. I should add that I did dry each piece with a hair dryer for some time before assembling but they were still quite swollen.










*So I guess* you're thinking the fun is over for this time. ....... Wrong! ...... The fun part hasn't even started yet. 
Next up is to get this whole thing mounted and finished without any sanding and without making the dye bleed and without losing the shape and integrity of the assembly.
Sounds easy when you say it that way. 
How I managed that next time (yes, it is already just about finished).

*Thanks for looking*

Paul


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## tomd (Jan 29, 2008)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, Disassemble, Dye, Re-assemble*
> 
> *The general method* of applying the dye is with an artist's brush as seen in the first segment of this blog so I won't go into great detail here. Suffice to say that each piece is done separately in one or more colors allowing the color to flow into the grain. The work area will become colorful so a cover of several layers of paper is a good idea.
> 
> ...


Wow that really looks great and I can not see any grain lines. Nice picture and you seem to have a knack for drawing too. I always seem to learn something new about marquetry from your blogs, I will wait till you finish this picture and blog, then ask my 300 questions. Love the skill you are displaying.


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## JeremyPringle (Aug 17, 2011)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, Disassemble, Dye, Re-assemble*
> 
> *The general method* of applying the dye is with an artist's brush as seen in the first segment of this blog so I won't go into great detail here. Suffice to say that each piece is done separately in one or more colors allowing the color to flow into the grain. The work area will become colorful so a cover of several layers of paper is a good idea.
> 
> ...


This is really cool. Every time you post I am more and more impressed.


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## sandhill (Aug 28, 2007)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, Disassemble, Dye, Re-assemble*
> 
> *The general method* of applying the dye is with an artist's brush as seen in the first segment of this blog so I won't go into great detail here. Suffice to say that each piece is done separately in one or more colors allowing the color to flow into the grain. The work area will become colorful so a cover of several layers of paper is a good idea.
> 
> ...


Nice design Paul and nicely executed. You have been practicing A LOT! Way to go.


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## tinnman65 (Jan 19, 2009)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, Disassemble, Dye, Re-assemble*
> 
> *The general method* of applying the dye is with an artist's brush as seen in the first segment of this blog so I won't go into great detail here. Suffice to say that each piece is done separately in one or more colors allowing the color to flow into the grain. The work area will become colorful so a cover of several layers of paper is a good idea.
> 
> ...


I must say I am pretty impressed with your work as a painter! This is going to be a beautiful piece of work.


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## FatherHooligan (Mar 27, 2008)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, Disassemble, Dye, Re-assemble*
> 
> *The general method* of applying the dye is with an artist's brush as seen in the first segment of this blog so I won't go into great detail here. Suffice to say that each piece is done separately in one or more colors allowing the color to flow into the grain. The work area will become colorful so a cover of several layers of paper is a good idea.
> 
> ...


Amazing work. It seems to go pretty quickly for you also, its great to see so much progress.


----------



## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, Disassemble, Dye, Re-assemble*
> 
> *The general method* of applying the dye is with an artist's brush as seen in the first segment of this blog so I won't go into great detail here. Suffice to say that each piece is done separately in one or more colors allowing the color to flow into the grain. The work area will become colorful so a cover of several layers of paper is a good idea.
> 
> ...


WowZa, Paul. Just totally amazing


----------



## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, Disassemble, Dye, Re-assemble*
> 
> *The general method* of applying the dye is with an artist's brush as seen in the first segment of this blog so I won't go into great detail here. Suffice to say that each piece is done separately in one or more colors allowing the color to flow into the grain. The work area will become colorful so a cover of several layers of paper is a good idea.
> 
> ...


It seems that you are mastering painting (dyeing) both at the same time Paul. Your rendering looks a lot better than the original photo. Very impressive work. I especially liked the way you did the trees with the different colors to get the sun and shading effects. That worked out extremely well. Thanks for this wonderful tutorial, I've learned at a lot from it so far, at least the theory part.


----------



## kiefer (Feb 5, 2011)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, Disassemble, Dye, Re-assemble*
> 
> *The general method* of applying the dye is with an artist's brush as seen in the first segment of this blog so I won't go into great detail here. Suffice to say that each piece is done separately in one or more colors allowing the color to flow into the grain. The work area will become colorful so a cover of several layers of paper is a good idea.
> 
> ...


Impressive and so fast getting to this point ,
I can't believe it .
I like it a lot and now I am anxious to see the finished picture .
It's going to be a master piece .


----------



## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, Disassemble, Dye, Re-assemble*
> 
> *The general method* of applying the dye is with an artist's brush as seen in the first segment of this blog so I won't go into great detail here. Suffice to say that each piece is done separately in one or more colors allowing the color to flow into the grain. The work area will become colorful so a cover of several layers of paper is a good idea.
> 
> ...


In all fairness I had this almost finished before I started the blog. The cutting took about six and a half hours. The dyeing about twice that and assorted work-arounds, packet making and the like another half dozen. At the point you see here it's about twenty five hours, not counting office time on research, sketching and Inkscape.

I really didn't want to be two segments into a blog and have a catastrophic failure. Much of this was new territory, very different than the earlier pieces where there were only a few much larger pieces.


----------



## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, Disassemble, Dye, Re-assemble*
> 
> *The general method* of applying the dye is with an artist's brush as seen in the first segment of this blog so I won't go into great detail here. Suffice to say that each piece is done separately in one or more colors allowing the color to flow into the grain. The work area will become colorful so a cover of several layers of paper is a good idea.
> 
> ...


wow, really nice!


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## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

*Toscana, My most intricate dye job to date*

*I have done a few* dye projects since the last post to this blog but they have been small and not very noteworthy. I did however learn from them and have decided to try something a whole lot more intricate than I've attempted before.

*The story begins* with new granite countertops for our kitchen and my wife's request for a bit of marquetry for a feature area in the new backsplash. She tried my Chianti tray there and likes it but it's a little too small.










*She liked the Italian theme* but said she would like more of a landscape so off I went to search Google images. This lovely bit of rural Toscana is actually about a rental property near Gaiole in Chianti, a place we have stayed in the past so it became the centerpiece that I would build the picture around.










*Next I found* a generic grapevine graphic that I could work with …....










*...and made* a quick sketch.










*Then I imported* the sketch to Inkscape and came up with a cutting pattern.










*As you can see* it is quite large to cut on the chevalet with a saw frame only 18" deep. It hardly looks cutable but with a little ingenuity and a few different start holes it was finally cut down into pieces that could be handled more easily.























































*With the cutting well underway*, this is a good time to break off. Next up will be finishing the cutting and assembling the monochrome marquetry. This whole picture will be from one (jointed) piece of 1/16" maple. All color will be added by "watercolor dyeing".

*Thanks for coming along* on the ride. I'm having lots of fun with this and it presents all kinds of probl …. er … opportunities so it should be fun.
*
Questions, comments critiques* as always are welcome.

Paul


----------



## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, My most intricate dye job to date*
> 
> *I have done a few* dye projects since the last post to this blog but they have been small and not very noteworthy. I did however learn from them and have decided to try something a whole lot more intricate than I've attempted before.
> 
> ...


I like the way you made the landscape manageable with the arch Paul. I will be watching closely to see how you do the dye work and the results. Judging by your past work, it will be beautiful. I can't wait to get started with marquetry again with summer coming to an end and with all of our house and garden work done. It still may take awhile as I have to make a few improvements to my shop first.


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## Schwieb (Dec 3, 2008)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, My most intricate dye job to date*
> 
> *I have done a few* dye projects since the last post to this blog but they have been small and not very noteworthy. I did however learn from them and have decided to try something a whole lot more intricate than I've attempted before.
> 
> ...


I'll be following this with great interest, Paul.


----------



## Bearpie (Feb 19, 2010)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, My most intricate dye job to date*
> 
> *I have done a few* dye projects since the last post to this blog but they have been small and not very noteworthy. I did however learn from them and have decided to try something a whole lot more intricate than I've attempted before.
> 
> ...


Looks wonderful, I like the scenery!


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## rance (Sep 30, 2009)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, My most intricate dye job to date*
> 
> *I have done a few* dye projects since the last post to this blog but they have been small and not very noteworthy. I did however learn from them and have decided to try something a whole lot more intricate than I've attempted before.
> 
> ...


Paul, the artistry with how you merged the items is supurb. So what do you think of Inkscape? I'm thinking of using it for some design work. Is it easy to learn? Any drawbacks to it? Can it export to DXF? Thanks in advance for any info. you could provide.


----------



## longgone (May 5, 2009)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, My most intricate dye job to date*
> 
> *I have done a few* dye projects since the last post to this blog but they have been small and not very noteworthy. I did however learn from them and have decided to try something a whole lot more intricate than I've attempted before.
> 
> ...


As always, your ideas and work are amazing and impressive. It was a smart idea to cut it down into easier to manage pieces.


----------



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, My most intricate dye job to date*
> 
> *I have done a few* dye projects since the last post to this blog but they have been small and not very noteworthy. I did however learn from them and have decided to try something a whole lot more intricate than I've attempted before.
> 
> ...


I'm always so impressed with all of your work Paul it's great of you to always share you work and techniques with us.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, My most intricate dye job to date*
> 
> *I have done a few* dye projects since the last post to this blog but they have been small and not very noteworthy. I did however learn from them and have decided to try something a whole lot more intricate than I've attempted before.
> 
> ...


WOW, Paul,

You're sure taking a BIG bite this time!

That's a HUGE piece to be moving around in your Chevrolet cutting machine!

I can't quite see how it's developing yet… BUT, I', sure I will as you progress…

Thank you for taking the time to do this…

You are just AWESOME and it's always a great pleasure watching you go through a project & into NEW terrirtory.

Thanks again.


----------



## tinnman65 (Jan 19, 2009)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, My most intricate dye job to date*
> 
> *I have done a few* dye projects since the last post to this blog but they have been small and not very noteworthy. I did however learn from them and have decided to try something a whole lot more intricate than I've attempted before.
> 
> ...


Looks like a pretty ambitious project Paul but it seems you have it well in hand. I look forward to see how you do the dyeing process.


----------



## phtaylor36 (Jun 13, 2011)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, My most intricate dye job to date*
> 
> *I have done a few* dye projects since the last post to this blog but they have been small and not very noteworthy. I did however learn from them and have decided to try something a whole lot more intricate than I've attempted before.
> 
> ...


Paul, I'm very impressed with how far you've come with the marquetry and you keep crankin' them out! Can't wait to see 'em dyed.


----------



## kiefer (Feb 5, 2011)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, My most intricate dye job to date*
> 
> *I have done a few* dye projects since the last post to this blog but they have been small and not very noteworthy. I did however learn from them and have decided to try something a whole lot more intricate than I've attempted before.
> 
> ...


Ah TUSCANY 
You hit a soft spot and I will be watching this one with great anticipation .
I framed some prints of Tuscany for a young lady some time ago and just fell in love with this place and it's beauty ,hope to visit some day .


----------



## Gene01 (Jan 5, 2009)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, My most intricate dye job to date*
> 
> *I have done a few* dye projects since the last post to this blog but they have been small and not very noteworthy. I did however learn from them and have decided to try something a whole lot more intricate than I've attempted before.
> 
> ...


Amazing!


----------



## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, My most intricate dye job to date*
> 
> *I have done a few* dye projects since the last post to this blog but they have been small and not very noteworthy. I did however learn from them and have decided to try something a whole lot more intricate than I've attempted before.
> 
> ...


You are just an incredible craftsman, and, artisan Paul. WowZa!


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## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, My most intricate dye job to date*
> 
> *I have done a few* dye projects since the last post to this blog but they have been small and not very noteworthy. I did however learn from them and have decided to try something a whole lot more intricate than I've attempted before.
> 
> ...


Thanks everyone,

*Rance*, I like Inkscape for the things I do. It is flexible and quite easy to learn but I don't have enough experience with other programs to give a good review one way or the other. As for DXF ….. you're over my depth on that one


----------



## peteg (Sep 2, 2010)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, My most intricate dye job to date*
> 
> *I have done a few* dye projects since the last post to this blog but they have been small and not very noteworthy. I did however learn from them and have decided to try something a whole lot more intricate than I've attempted before.
> 
> ...


I hate it when you tease us Paul with WIP shots for a piece like this 
Can't wait to see this finish line, fabulous design
Pete


----------



## JeremyPringle (Aug 17, 2011)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, My most intricate dye job to date*
> 
> *I have done a few* dye projects since the last post to this blog but they have been small and not very noteworthy. I did however learn from them and have decided to try something a whole lot more intricate than I've attempted before.
> 
> ...


I don't think this is real. Your 'photos' are obviously staged! I have never seen a shop that clean and tidy before. Come on, tell us… green screen?


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## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

*Toscana, cutting and assembly*

*As this blog* is supposed to be about hand dyeing and not marquetry, I'll try to cover the cutting and assembly as quickly as I can. The method here is like Boulle style except that there is ultimately only one layer. I say ultimately because for the initial few cuts there were overlapped pieces. Due to the size of the piece it was necessary to use five pieces of maple veneer to accommodate it and in the initial cuts these were overlapped to avoid unnecessary joints in the picture. The discard pieces can be seen in the photos in the previous blog entry but to save you looking back, here's an example. The pieces above and below the cut are overlaps that have been pulled out.










*The packets*, after removing the overlaps, are composed of one layer of 1/16" maple and two layers of 1/8" plywood (top and bottom). The cutting will leave kerf gaps but they will close up when the water in the dye swells the pieces. On to the cutting. In this one the arch and everything outside it are cut. The remaining packets have been placed in their eventual position. A you can see the face side of the maple is reenforced with veneer tape. I used it because it must be removed before dyeing and it requires less wetting of the veneer to remove veneer tape than the usual newspaper and HHG.










*The grapes were* interesting. I had to number them to keep track.










*In marquetry* precise line following is usually top of mind and the main focus of any cut. Here I took the opportunity to cut many of the lines "wiggly" and just use them as general guides resulting in a less rigid looking landscape. It was like skipping class. I felt quite guilty.


















*Here everything* is cut except the grapevines in the left foreground which have been redrawn to (I hope) make them better suggest green vegetation.










*Sorry I don't* have a better picture but this is the whole piece, cut and assembled, seen from the back










*After all this* boring reading about all this boring cutting I guess you deserve a little peek at the next segment which will be where it gets interesting and a little more colorful.










*That's it for today*. Next up, dyeing …... or dieing if it goes sideways. 

*Thanks for looking in*.

Paul


----------



## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, cutting and assembly*
> 
> *As this blog* is supposed to be about hand dyeing and not marquetry, I'll try to cover the cutting and assembly as quickly as I can. The method here is like Boulle style except that there is ultimately only one layer. I say ultimately because for the initial few cuts there were overlapped pieces. Due to the size of the piece it was necessary to use five pieces of maple veneer to accommodate it and in the initial cuts these were overlapped to avoid unnecessary joints in the picture. The discard pieces can be seen in the photos in the previous blog entry but to save you looking back, here's an example. The pieces above and below the cut are overlaps that have been pulled out.
> 
> ...


As Elvis would say: "uh-huh-huh, a-huh-huh, oh-yea"


----------



## MNedman (Dec 1, 2007)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, cutting and assembly*
> 
> *As this blog* is supposed to be about hand dyeing and not marquetry, I'll try to cover the cutting and assembly as quickly as I can. The method here is like Boulle style except that there is ultimately only one layer. I say ultimately because for the initial few cuts there were overlapped pieces. Due to the size of the piece it was necessary to use five pieces of maple veneer to accommodate it and in the initial cuts these were overlapped to avoid unnecessary joints in the picture. The discard pieces can be seen in the photos in the previous blog entry but to save you looking back, here's an example. The pieces above and below the cut are overlaps that have been pulled out.
> 
> ...


Paul, this is shaping up to be another great project. This dyeing technique is very interesting. Amazing how the dye completely transforms the picture. Where did the 1/16 maple stock come from for this project? Did you re-saw it yourself? I am watching closely!


----------



## FatherHooligan (Mar 27, 2008)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, cutting and assembly*
> 
> *As this blog* is supposed to be about hand dyeing and not marquetry, I'll try to cover the cutting and assembly as quickly as I can. The method here is like Boulle style except that there is ultimately only one layer. I say ultimately because for the initial few cuts there were overlapped pieces. Due to the size of the piece it was necessary to use five pieces of maple veneer to accommodate it and in the initial cuts these were overlapped to avoid unnecessary joints in the picture. The discard pieces can be seen in the photos in the previous blog entry but to save you looking back, here's an example. The pieces above and below the cut are overlaps that have been pulled out.
> 
> ...


An amazing amount of detail. Analine dyes are intriguing. Thanks for posting this, it is very interesting to learn about these new processes that you present!


----------



## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, cutting and assembly*
> 
> *As this blog* is supposed to be about hand dyeing and not marquetry, I'll try to cover the cutting and assembly as quickly as I can. The method here is like Boulle style except that there is ultimately only one layer. I say ultimately because for the initial few cuts there were overlapped pieces. Due to the size of the piece it was necessary to use five pieces of maple veneer to accommodate it and in the initial cuts these were overlapped to avoid unnecessary joints in the picture. The discard pieces can be seen in the photos in the previous blog entry but to save you looking back, here's an example. The pieces above and below the cut are overlaps that have been pulled out.
> 
> ...


Never boring Paul and always informative. The dye work came out really well. I'm sure this will be a great looking marquetry.


----------



## Gene01 (Jan 5, 2009)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, cutting and assembly*
> 
> *As this blog* is supposed to be about hand dyeing and not marquetry, I'll try to cover the cutting and assembly as quickly as I can. The method here is like Boulle style except that there is ultimately only one layer. I say ultimately because for the initial few cuts there were overlapped pieces. Due to the size of the piece it was necessary to use five pieces of maple veneer to accommodate it and in the initial cuts these were overlapped to avoid unnecessary joints in the picture. The discard pieces can be seen in the photos in the previous blog entry but to save you looking back, here's an example. The pieces above and below the cut are overlaps that have been pulled out.
> 
> ...


Paul, I'm guessing that each little piece is dipped, right? Will there be some pieces that will require a brush for shading to get depth and/or realism? 
Such intricate work. I know how you love a challenge, but this is just over the top. As I said before "AMAZING".


----------



## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, cutting and assembly*
> 
> *As this blog* is supposed to be about hand dyeing and not marquetry, I'll try to cover the cutting and assembly as quickly as I can. The method here is like Boulle style except that there is ultimately only one layer. I say ultimately because for the initial few cuts there were overlapped pieces. Due to the size of the piece it was necessary to use five pieces of maple veneer to accommodate it and in the initial cuts these were overlapped to avoid unnecessary joints in the picture. The discard pieces can be seen in the photos in the previous blog entry but to save you looking back, here's an example. The pieces above and below the cut are overlaps that have been pulled out.
> 
> ...


Thanks all

*Gene*,every piece will be done with an artist's brush, many of them in more than one color. I wouldn't even try to count the pieces. The smallest are in between the grapes, teeny tiny triangles. Check the old segments of this blog for the brush technique.

thanks again


----------



## Patricelejeune (Feb 21, 2013)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, cutting and assembly*
> 
> *As this blog* is supposed to be about hand dyeing and not marquetry, I'll try to cover the cutting and assembly as quickly as I can. The method here is like Boulle style except that there is ultimately only one layer. I say ultimately because for the initial few cuts there were overlapped pieces. Due to the size of the piece it was necessary to use five pieces of maple veneer to accommodate it and in the initial cuts these were overlapped to avoid unnecessary joints in the picture. The discard pieces can be seen in the photos in the previous blog entry but to save you looking back, here's an example. The pieces above and below the cut are overlaps that have been pulled out.
> 
> ...


This is a good, idea. It saves wood and you can still do watercolors!


----------



## tinnman65 (Jan 19, 2009)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, cutting and assembly*
> 
> *As this blog* is supposed to be about hand dyeing and not marquetry, I'll try to cover the cutting and assembly as quickly as I can. The method here is like Boulle style except that there is ultimately only one layer. I say ultimately because for the initial few cuts there were overlapped pieces. Due to the size of the piece it was necessary to use five pieces of maple veneer to accommodate it and in the initial cuts these were overlapped to avoid unnecessary joints in the picture. The discard pieces can be seen in the photos in the previous blog entry but to save you looking back, here's an example. The pieces above and below the cut are overlaps that have been pulled out.
> 
> ...


Great post Paul, But why didn't you just draw the line "wiggly" and cut to the line, shame on you! And also your teacher Patrick could very well be reading this and see how you cheated!


----------



## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

shipwright said:


> *Toscana, cutting and assembly*
> 
> *As this blog* is supposed to be about hand dyeing and not marquetry, I'll try to cover the cutting and assembly as quickly as I can. The method here is like Boulle style except that there is ultimately only one layer. I say ultimately because for the initial few cuts there were overlapped pieces. Due to the size of the piece it was necessary to use five pieces of maple veneer to accommodate it and in the initial cuts these were overlapped to avoid unnecessary joints in the picture. The discard pieces can be seen in the photos in the previous blog entry but to save you looking back, here's an example. The pieces above and below the cut are overlaps that have been pulled out.
> 
> ...


Good one Paul. The answer is that it would take a lot longer to make the line wiggly in inkscape than on the work.
I'm pretty sure Patrick wouldn't consider this marquetry so cheating wouldn't really count.


----------



## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

*Flip, Flop, and Press ... protecting the dye.*

*Warning: boring content.* ............ This is technical junk about a sequence of events that will interest people who want to try this technique. Others may fall asleep.

*The marquetry and dyeing* are done so the next step is to mount the assembly on a substrate, right?
Not so much. First and foremost the very fragile surface dye must be sealed to prevent its being abraded or smeared in the mounting process. To make things just a little trickier the Contact paper that it is currently mounted on is not sticky enough to keep all the bigger pieces flat without weights to help and you can't have weights on top when you're sealing it.

*So the next step* was to tape over the face side with medium tack tape, strong enough to hold the pieces briefly but not so strong as to pull dyed fibers off the surface.










*All taped* and turned over, the Contact paper peals very easily, hardly pulling any little pieces up with it … but a few of course. Now I can replace it with the same medium tack tape and remove the front tape. Flip ...... flop …
When the front tape is off I can press the assembly to improve the tack of this back side tape.

*Aside:* Here's the thing, from an artistic point of view both my wife and I really liked the incidental dye job on the back (one of us liked it better than the front … 'nuf said)


















*With the pieces* now securely mounted on the back side it is safe to spray a coat or two of oil based poly on the dyed surface to protect it from moisture.










*And flipping one more time*, the front is laid on another sheet of Contact (low tack) paper and the back tape is removed. this is a little tricky as the tape is much better stuck than the Contact, but eventually I got all the little fence posts and grape vine bits stuck back where they belonged and I could proceed to pressing onto the final substrate.



















*Once out of the press* I coated the whole piece with a good protective (and leveling) coat of epoxy. 
(Shiny isn't it?)










*From here on* it's just a matter of sanding the epoxy flat and finishing with a couple of coats of spray 
semi-gloss poly and cutting the edges to final shape.

*There may be* an easier way to do this but I thought the processes through and am happy that I came up with a sequence that worked. It may seem like a lot of steps but each one has a good reason behind it.

That's it. Ill post the project shortly

*Thanks for looking in.*

Paul


----------



## littlecope (Oct 23, 2008)

shipwright said:


> *Flip, Flop, and Press ... protecting the dye.*
> 
> *Warning: boring content.* ............ This is technical junk about a sequence of events that will interest people who want to try this technique. Others may fall asleep.
> 
> ...


Another great follow-along Blog Paul, the final product is excellent!
I really liked the incidental image on the back too…


----------



## BertFlores58 (May 26, 2010)

shipwright said:


> *Flip, Flop, and Press ... protecting the dye.*
> 
> *Warning: boring content.* ............ This is technical junk about a sequence of events that will interest people who want to try this technique. Others may fall asleep.
> 
> ...


Hi Paul,
You had showed a lot of skills plus the watercolor dyeing is one of the best solution for those green and blue colors seldom found in wood. Another way of doing right specially in making art through painting. Added to your skill is painting. A typical view that I like is the shadow formed from the pine which makes an additional 3D effect.

Very well done. Thanks for the lesson too!


----------



## BillWyko (Feb 19, 2009)

shipwright said:


> *Flip, Flop, and Press ... protecting the dye.*
> 
> *Warning: boring content.* ............ This is technical junk about a sequence of events that will interest people who want to try this technique. Others may fall asleep.
> 
> ...


WOW Paul. you just keep taking it to a whole new level. Looking forward to your return to Tucson. That piece is absolutely stunning. So what can we work out to make something like this for the wine cellar I'm still building?  Has to be something we can trade.


----------



## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

shipwright said:


> *Flip, Flop, and Press ... protecting the dye.*
> 
> *Warning: boring content.* ............ This is technical junk about a sequence of events that will interest people who want to try this technique. Others may fall asleep.
> 
> ...


Beautiful and a COOL technique!

Thank you.


----------



## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

shipwright said:


> *Flip, Flop, and Press ... protecting the dye.*
> 
> *Warning: boring content.* ............ This is technical junk about a sequence of events that will interest people who want to try this technique. Others may fall asleep.
> 
> ...


Wow! Creation of a masterpiece


----------



## longgone (May 5, 2009)

shipwright said:


> *Flip, Flop, and Press ... protecting the dye.*
> 
> *Warning: boring content.* ............ This is technical junk about a sequence of events that will interest people who want to try this technique. Others may fall asleep.
> 
> ...


Impressive to put it mildly Paul. You are really accomplishing quite a bit with your marquetry and dyeing.


----------



## MNedman (Dec 1, 2007)

shipwright said:


> *Flip, Flop, and Press ... protecting the dye.*
> 
> *Warning: boring content.* ............ This is technical junk about a sequence of events that will interest people who want to try this technique. Others may fall asleep.
> 
> ...


Great blog Paul, I followed along every step of the way. I'm glad you won the battle of opinion and decided to keep the intentional dyed side the face. 

Can you provide some additional detail on the type of epoxy and the application method you use. You have made reference to it on several of your projects but I'm not sure of the details.


----------



## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

shipwright said:


> *Flip, Flop, and Press ... protecting the dye.*
> 
> *Warning: boring content.* ............ This is technical junk about a sequence of events that will interest people who want to try this technique. Others may fall asleep.
> 
> ...


Hey Mat,
There wasn't much of a battle really but I did make a note that it might be something to try on purpose another time. The effect is quite striking. 
As for the epoxy I use, this is one of the pour-on bar coating ones but I've used laminating epoxy in the past and even glueing epoxy would work in a pinch. I don't want the high gloss thick plastic look and since I will be sanding flat the self levelling part isn't too important. This stuff is thin enough to self level reasonably well so it can be sanded flat but doesn't really self level unless you use a gross amount (the recommended method) of it. It is however water clear and easy to buy in small quantities without having to go to a specialty store.


----------



## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

shipwright said:


> *Flip, Flop, and Press ... protecting the dye.*
> 
> *Warning: boring content.* ............ This is technical junk about a sequence of events that will interest people who want to try this technique. Others may fall asleep.
> 
> ...


Interesting procedure and with an excellent result Paul. I read in my marquetry book that sometimes veneers are dyed from the back to give them special color or tonal qualities on the face side that the natural grain color lacks and that it is not possible in most cases to see that they are dyed. Great work and waiting to see your final project post.


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## kiefer (Feb 5, 2011)

shipwright said:


> *Flip, Flop, and Press ... protecting the dye.*
> 
> *Warning: boring content.* ............ This is technical junk about a sequence of events that will interest people who want to try this technique. Others may fall asleep.
> 
> ...


Boring are you kidding ?
This is a fantastic blog and a pleasure to follow along .
Love the intricate details you are creating with wood and colour ,I find it just amazing .


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## Bluepine38 (Dec 14, 2009)

shipwright said:


> *Flip, Flop, and Press ... protecting the dye.*
> 
> *Warning: boring content.* ............ This is technical junk about a sequence of events that will interest people who want to try this technique. Others may fall asleep.
> 
> ...


The look of the dye job from the back is quite something, and it will never be quite the same from one piece
of wood to the next, makes one wonder if you could make a reversible marquetry piece somehow. Thank
you for sharing and making us stretch our comfort zone.


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## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

shipwright said:


> *Flip, Flop, and Press ... protecting the dye.*
> 
> *Warning: boring content.* ............ This is technical junk about a sequence of events that will interest people who want to try this technique. Others may fall asleep.
> 
> ...


With each new project you seem to 'up the ante'.

Are there any Chapel ceilings in your future designs? 

Your Tutorial Blogs are always well done and very inspirational.

Thanks for sharing your Gifted Talent.

Best Regards. Grandpa Len.


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## NormG (Mar 5, 2010)

shipwright said:


> *Flip, Flop, and Press ... protecting the dye.*
> 
> *Warning: boring content.* ............ This is technical junk about a sequence of events that will interest people who want to try this technique. Others may fall asleep.
> 
> ...


Great job, looks so bright


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