Intarsia for a beginner

[chippygeoff]

Hi Everyone.

 

I have been several days looking at the intarsia work and designs members have created and in my opinion it is indeed a work of art and the ultimate in scroll saw work. I feel this side of scroll sawing is for the more experienced scroller. I have never attempted it but when I have gained more experience I feel I would like to have ago. Would I be right in saying I would need several species of hardwoods in various thicknesses and contrasting colours. It would appear to me that when cutting a piece that joins onto another the cut must be absolutely identical for a perfect fit. A burning question I have concerns the finishing of each piece. from the designs and completed works i have seen each piece has a beautiful bevel on it and I was wondering how this is achieved, would it be by hand sanding with very fine grits or would you use something like a Dremel. It must be very time consuming and take many hours of work to complete a project so if I made some pieces to sell at a craft fair I would imaging They would have to sell at a much higher price than ordinary scroll saw work. I am looking forward to hearing from you all.

 

Geoff.

[Clayton717]

I do alot of intarsia and felt the same way (not enough experience) before I started. One day I just made up my mind to try it. I went to the library and got a book by Judy Gale Roberts, it explained intarsia and had patterns. The paying hand was the first one I did. it was fairly easy.

As far as wood, I do use several species of hardwood, Judy use mainly western red cedar, as there are many shades of brown in the one board. and others will use one type of wood and stain it different colors. This is not for me I like seeing the natural color and beauty of the wood. I start with all 3/4" material if I need it thinner I will rip the piece through my bandsaw, if it needs to be raised I will add a shim under it.

I use an oscilating spindle sander for squaring the edges and getting the fit I want, and also for doing 90 % of my shaping. I put each piece together as I'm shaping to try to get the pieces to "flow" together. I will use my dremel to do the small areas I couldn't get with the spindle sander, and of course a little hand sanding. It is time consuming but very rewarding. To start with a bunch of pieces cut out, then all assembled into a big puzzle to make a picture it's great. I sell all my intarsia, way more than any other scrollsaw work.

My advise would be go to your library check out a couple books about intarsia, pick a simple pattern and go for it.

[chippygeoff]

Hi Clayton. Many thanks for taking the time to reply. You have really boosted my confidence to try. I know it is exciting stuff and as you say, when it all comes together it is a joy to behold. I think I will be like you and start with the praying hands and then I can show members of the church. We have Dremel tools over here and there are many very similar devices along with all the various bits and burrs etc. I will also invest in a bobbin sander as they are not an expensive tool. I have a disc/belt sander coming soon but I doubt that will be any good for intarsia. I am like you Clayton, I do not like staining wood and prefer to see the natural grain and the beauty, just as God made it. The Western red Cedar sounds lovely with all those shades of brown. In the main I can readily get Ash, Yew, Oak, Mahogany, Maple, Lime, Laburnum and a few others so I will be off to a good start. In the mean time I will scan the internet and see what simple patterns I can find and also get a couple of books as you suggested from the library. Thanks again Clayton.

[Clayton717]

Hi Geoff. your very welcome, glad I could help. With the woods you mentioned sounds like you will have a variety of different shades to work with. good luck with your intarsia. After your first project you will be hooked and want more.

If you have any more questions just ask I'll help if I can, and there are others on here that do intarsia as well that can help out.

[Travis]

I agree, just jump in and do it. Just like regular scrolling, it looks hard until you actually do it. I wouldn't worry about being an extremely accurate scroller. While your cuts have to be fairly close, it's not completely vital they match exactly. Just do the best you can. Remember, the edges are shaped, so much of the cut isn't seen unless looked at very close (shadow plays a big role in hiding the cuts). I'm not an intarsia artist, but they way I'd approach it is to get one piece to fit the way you want it, then work on the next piece to fit. That way you can compensate for "happy accidents" and you work on your project.

 

One way to get a tight fit is to cut the pieces out. Once cut out, fit them together, then cut along the joint. This will correct any inconsistencies in your fit. I know a lot of intarsia artists use this technique.

 

Make sure you post your first project. I look forward to seeing it.

[Jan]

Most of what I do is intarsia. It took a lot of teasing and encouragement from the folks in the intarsia community before I got "brave" enough to attempt it. When I did, I fell in love with it. From my viewpoint, learning to cut very precisely is the key to proper fit. Learn to cut exactly on the pattern line and you'll have no problems with the pieces fitting together tightly. I never sand the edges for fit. As for shaping, the basic tools are flex drum sanders which are essentially foam cores with sandpaper sleeves that are turned by grinder motors. They are firm enough to remove wood efficiently and soft enough to make those nice soft looking curves that caught your eye. I think more than 90% of intarsia artists use them. Oscillating spindle sanders are great for quickly reducing the thickness of wood and, depending on the diameter of the spindle used, are excellent for shaping deep narrow cuts. I also use a sanding mop, also mounted on a grinder motor, that polishes wood very nicely and eliminates a great deal of hand sanding. I use a belt or disc sander only to quickly reduce the thickness of a piece.

 

I use a variety of domestic and exotic hardwoods for color and never paint or stain a piece of intarsia. The boards are usually 3/4" thick but I occasionally use a 1" or 1 1/4" board if more thickness is required. Plywood is never an option.

 

As far as learning to do intarsia, there are some very good books available. Judy Gale Roberts has several that give excellent instruction. Janette Square is just finishing a series in Creative Crafts & Woodworking Magazine that starts with choosing wood and finishes with mounting and gluing. Spend some time looking closely at the photos in the magazines that show the shaping process and explain why something is shaped as it is. It's a great way to learn.

 

Mostly.........Have Fun

 

Jan

[Jan]

One more thing I forgot to mention: Make sure the blade of your saw is exactly square to the table. That way gaps will not open as you shape the pieces because they already are flush to each other all the way from top to bottom.

 

Jan

[toolbeltman]

Lots of good info here guys...thanks for posting....anyone know if Laburnum is toxic? I know the seeds are....I grew up near a road that was ligned by dozens of Laburnum trees.

[Jan]

Laburnum, otherwise known as the Golden Chain Tree is extremely toxic. The list of symptoms is long.... including diarrhea, coma, seizures, nausea, vomiting....one article mentioned death. I think I'd find another wood and skip laburnum.

 

Jan

[Travis]

Be sure to download SSV's Toxicity Chart in the Downloads section. Lots of good info on wood allergies.

 

http://www.scrollsawvillage.com/downloads/

[toolbeltman]

Thanks for the info Jan...

[amazingkevin]

Wow this was interesting reading from the three peas in a pod intariaists we have in this forum!Clayton does teach in town there i know .I use a drum sander on my drill press with good results but need a curtain to catct pieces that get air born so i don't have to go far to find them again.

[Jan]

Funny you should mention that curtain, Kevin. I do have a sheet draped behind my flex drum and mop sanders for that very reason. It's much easier to find those little pieces that get airborne all too easily when being shaped. I know that when I finally move away from here I'll find a lot of missing pieces that disappeared completely while being sanded.

 

Jan

[sidriddle]

Hello, I am a new member here at scroll saw village. One of the coolest thing that can be done on a scroll saw, I believe,,, is intarsia. Anyway, the first time i saw intarsia, I just had to try it. I decided that i wanted to try something REALLY easy so I got one of my sons coloring books out and did a football. I used oak for the ball itself and poplar for the white stripes and strings. I am proud of how it turned out considering that i just bought a scroll saw and started cutting. I will post a picture of it as soon as i figure out how to do it. lol

Anyway, I am really glad to be here. I know there is a lot of information that I can pick up.

 

Sid

[jteagle77]

There is a wood working site that is nothing but a bunch of woodaholics. They live, eat, breath, and sleep anything wood. If you are looking for any type of wood there will be someone on there that may have it. They will trade, barter, sell or if your lucky may even give it to you. The site is woodbarter.com check them out hope you enjoy.

John

[SawGuy]

I took a cutoff piece of pool noodle and attached a carriage bolt and washers through it. Ran a couple laps of sandpaper (running the right way) and used my canned adhesive to seal it. I put this in my drill press at 1100 rpm and it so far works pretty good. Air filled sanders do work the best but they are very expensive. Also I made a light box with a small fluorescent light and Plexiglas top. I put my mating pieces on the pattern which is on the light and it tells me where I need to sand off to get it to seam closer. By all means have fun. Dale