New Intarsia

[wdkits1]

Hi Everyone

Has been a few years since I had anything to post on this forum but I'm back into the swing of things. I started this project in October and have been working on it on and off between other projects and commitments. As most of you who have seen my work may know,  I specialize in what I call " Thin Wood Intarsia " . Because I like to use all natural colored woods,  I find it more efficient and cost effective  to re-saw woods to 1/4" or less and use extensive detail carving, natural colors and grain directions  to bring out the depth of my pieces. This is a design as I go project and is completely hand drawn . As such, there have been lots of cuts and re-cuts to achieve the depth I envisioned when I started this project. At this point I have used 27 natural colored woods  with a total of 363 pieces. The frame is made from fishtail oak with the inside dimensions of 11" x 17". I still have  a few pieces to fine tune and detail before I can do the glue up.  This has been a fun project to create. 

Edited February 28, 2023 by wdkits1

[Gonzo]

That is really, really awesome!

[Peter N White]

Very well done.

[preprius]

Wow.   really detailed. 

The woodpecker and the bald eagle are incredible. 

The guy in the boat I can see the fishing line.  The water fall from the snow mountains.  

But I think the hardest might be the row of trees on the right. 

Very great work.

Me.

Mark Eason

[don watson]

Totally awesome

[daveww1]

fantastic job

[meflick]

Beautiful piece.

[Scrappile]

So glad you are back.  I have always enjoyed your intarsia work.  This on is right up there with the best of them.

[Dak0ta52]

Ditto to all the comments. The commitment to detail is second to none.

[rjweb]

All I can say is excellent, RJ 

[wombatie]

Wow that is amazing.  Very impressive work.
Good to see you back, I always loved your work.

Marg

[Ron Johnson]

Awesome and very beautifully done Mike. I like your way of thinking using thin woods for intarsia. Strange just the other day I was thinking if it would be possible of using thin woods for intarsia. Now I see it is. I love doing marquetry using the double bevel process that Roy King introduced several years ago using ⅛” hardwoods. One question. Do you find doing less sanding using thin woods? 
Again your work is awesome. 

[wdkits1]

Thanks Ron

When I started doing intarsia back in the early 90"s, one of my goals was to learn about and use different natural colored woods to create this beautiful art. All I had back then was a Task Force  9" band saw and a 3" belt sander. I learned how to use the band saw with an 1/8" scrolling blade  to cut small pieces . I soon realized  that some of the woods were very expensive and it seemed a waste to use thick pieces so I re-sawed them into thinner pieces which allowed me to design pieces at a lower cost. I designed my first " thin wood Intarsia" in the form of a keepsake box. I used 1/4 " pink ivory, green poplar,  3"16" ebony and 1/8" tiger maple  for the inlayed lid of the cherry box. Soon I was designing my intarsia pieces with thinner woods and using different grain patterns  and natural colors and offering them as kits though  catalogs like Leichtung workshops and Cherrytree toys. So to answer your question about sanding- working with thinner pieces does require  some final sanding but also uses detail carving and texturing to achieve the visual 3-D effect.

[Zoot Fenster]

Gorgeous!

[wdkits1]

Hi everyone

Here is an update on my Intarsia project.

I have done all of the final detailing and glued everything into the frame and applied the final coat of poly. I decided to make this into a functional piece of art by adding the handles to be able to use it as a serving tray as well as a hanging piece. Turned the handles on the lathe and drilled the holes to attach them with 3/16" brass rod. The next step will be to do a total encapsulation using table top resin to protect the Intarsia if used as a serving tray. Stay Tuned!!

[Peter N White]

That is an awesome platter.

[OCtoolguy]

Beautiful work. I'm humbled for sure. I am happy that you have decided to re-join us and I look forward to seeing more of your artistry. It will give me something to strive for. Absolutely gorgeous!

 

[OCtoolguy]

On 3/2/2023 at 6:50 AM, wdkits1 said:

Thanks Ron

When I started doing intarsia back in the early 90"s, one of my goals was to learn about and use different natural colored woods to create this beautiful art. All I had back then was a Task Force  9" band saw and a 3" belt sander. I learned how to use the band saw with an 1/8" scrolling blade  to cut small pieces . I soon realized  that some of the woods were very expensive and it seemed a waste to use thick pieces so I re-sawed them into thinner pieces which allowed me to design pieces at a lower cost. I designed my first " thin wood Intarsia" in the form of a keepsake box. I used 1/4 " pink ivory, green poplar,  3"16" ebony and 1/8" tiger maple  for the inlayed lid of the cherry box. Soon I was designing my intarsia pieces with thinner woods and using different grain patterns  and natural colors and offering them as kits though  catalogs like Leichtung workshops and Cherrytree toys. So to answer your question about sanding- working with thinner pieces does require  some final sanding but also uses detail carving and texturing to achieve the visual 3-D effect.

You mentioned using a 1/8" scrolling blade on your bandsaw. Can you expand on that as to where, how much and what size of blade you used? I've got a Delta 14" saw. Is a blade that size available from your source? What tooth pattern/size are you using? I know these blades exist but I'd prefer to hear from someone who is actually using one rather than become the guinea pig. Thanks for any info.

 

[wdkits1]

Hi Ray

Back when I started creating intarsia in the 90's I had a 9"Task Force band saw from Lowes  but soon found out that the 1/8" scrolling blade  I was using was not sufficient to do the type of detail work I was wanting to do. The blades were fairly expensive and were easy to break trying to do intricate cuts. I bought my first scroll saw- a Craftsman 16" single speed  which only took pinned blades. It was safer to use  and the blades were less expensive but still didn't allow me to do very intricate cuts. I ended up getting another Craftsman 16" scroll saw with variable speed and took pin-less blades which allowed me to do the type of cutting I was trying to do for Intarsia .( Still use this saw ). I also have a Delta 14" bandsaw with a 6" riser block and run a 3/4"  3 Tooth per inch blade that I use primarily for re-sawing . For Intarsia or general scrolling  a good scroll saw is the way to go.

[Hawk]

absolutely stunning and inspirational. Thanks for sharing!