Tips & Techniques

Tip of the Month

Bench Top Cover:  I use vinyl floor tiles on my work bench.  If I’m drilling a hole for the saw blade, I don’t drill into my work bench.  As I glue a piece into the picture, rather than using waxed paper under it, I glue right on the vinyl tile.  The glue comes right off with a damp rag.  I do the same thing when mixing glue and saw dust to fill holes.  I mix it on a piece of vinyl tile and it is easy to clean off with a little rubbing and some hot water.  I also use the vinyl tiles on my cutting board.  After using all four sides and front and back, I can replace the tile for less than a dollar.  Contributed by Ted Lawshe

Preventing Bleed Over: When the cutting on a marquetry piece is completed and mounted on the backboard, it is time to sand down the surface.  If there is light colored veneer, like holly or maple, anywhere close to a dark veneer, like ebony or walnut, the dark sanding dust will get into the pores of the light colored veneer.

The solution is to apply a coat of sanding sealer to the piece before sanding. The sanding sealer prevents the dark sanding dust from penetrating the pores of the lighter veneer.  It may be necessary to repeat the process with the sanding sealer if a lot of sanding is required to achieve a smooth surface.  Contributed by Ted Lawshe

Glue – Ups: When mixing Pro Glue, weigh out the resin and water, and set a bit of water aside. Pour all the resin into the water, wait 10-15 seconds, then mix thoroughly. Add the additional water to thin it, if necessary. DO NOT ADD MORE POWDER!  From Al Spicer

Photographing Marquetry Revisited  – How to take quality photographs of your artwork

Packing Marquetry for Shipment – Tips on preparing pictures for shipment

Marquetry-Reflections of Water – How to add water reflections to your pictures

Marquetry-Fragmentation 1 – Some methods for fragmentation

Marquetry-Fragmentation 2 – Additional fragmentation tips

Marquetry as Intellectual Property  – A very good article on intellectual property as it relates to marquetry.