Charlie181

I'm lucky to live in the Houston area and I've found several sources locally. I have bought 30 pounds of wood from Amazon also for I think around $35 delivered. I don't think I'll do that again because I don't think I got my money's worth with the wood types they sent. I visit Clarks hardwood here in town about once a month and buy misc end cuts. Usually they are 4/4 and I plane them down to the sizes I need. Most of the time I get a really good deal. My most recent finds are cabinet shops. There's a lot of high end shops on Houston that use a lot of hardwoods. I sent out emails to several shops asking if I could buy their scraps and got about 25% of them to respond. My last haul was a load of walnut I bought for $10. The owner didn't even want that but I wanted to build a mutually beneficial relationship with him. I have more wood than I know what to do with right now.

Absolutely incredible! Thank you for sharing.

I'm sorry if I hijacked your thread. I was trying to figure out what to do with all these pieces of walnut I have this morning. I decided I needed a business card holder lol. I doubt I could make another one since I kinda winged the design. The lid supports the box and raises the cards up so they can be taken easily when on my desk. I need to put another coat on it but I think it turned out good. These pictures aren't sideways when I view them on my device but there flipped when I made the post. Sorry

I'm very interested in the responses and ideas as well. I recently got a bunch of free walnut from a cabinet shop. I can't decide what to do with it either.

I confirmed today it's lacewood. I took a sample to Clarks hardwoods in Houston. They said it's a very unique grain but it is without a doubt lacewood.

I'm a beginner at this so be gentle lol. This is my second intarsia project and may have screwed up jumping from chapter 1 to chapter 4. I'm using walnut, cherry, lacewood, maple, poplar, white oak, and thermal treated ash for the doors and windows. I'll finish shaping the lighthouse tomorrow then shape the background to fit it. I'll post the final once I'm done. Suggestions welcome.

Here's a couple more pics after I cut it. I don't think it's leopardwood due to its hardness. I'm not saying it isn't either, lol. I'm glad I'm not the only one that's befuddeled.

Yes, it's really wood. When I got it ,it was rough cut. The picture I shared was after planing. It was a little over an inch thick originally. The question on the end grain is a good one. It doesn't have rings like typical wood, but I can assure you it's wood. It splinters and did have some tear outs after planing. I haven't tried to sand it yet.

i think it may be leopardwood. Thank you for your help. I know one thing, it's hard as a rock and I went through 5 blades in 30 minutes cutting it. I don't think I want to work with it again.

I bought a box of misc woods off amazon and this was one of the boards. The wood I bought was domestic but sometimes they throw in an exotic piece. I have no idea what this is but its dense and very hard. Please let me know what it is.

Amazing work. Thank you for sharing

I thought I would update the thread with my final product. There's a few things I know that are not perfect but overall, I'm happy with it.

very impressive. Thank you for sharing.

Thank you all for the advise. I'll post the finished results no matter how bad it is, lol.

I'm amazed by all of the intarsia on this site. I decided to throw my hat in the ring and buy the intarsia for beginners book. I started on the first project in the book last night. My tools are limited and basically have a dremel, scroll saw, harbor freight belt sander and a pawn shop planer. Now you know what I have and my limited skillset, can someone offer a suggestion on how to shape the lines in the fins and mouth? I just don't feel like it's going to look good the way I'm doing it. Please offer any other suggestions you may have. I appreciate the input.