Thanks, Dewey. Your tutorial is very clear and helpful.
An alternative to clearing the spaces for the fans would be to cut them with a forester bit at an earlier stage of construction, then fitting the fans to the recesses. Would that be problematic, or more time-consuming? (I've not done any marquetry, but would like to.)
Also, you could cut the outer bands with a circle cutter (or could use a forester bit for the inside radius). You'd have to sandwich the veneer between two boards to keep it intact, and you'd no doubt have to make two 360s to get four 90+s, but you could two at a time. Again, you'd have to fit the fans to the rings. Opinion?
I would be interested in a tutorial on string inlay. One variant is to use dyed epoxy rather than wood for the inlays. I saw that in a Fine Woodworking issue quite some time ago. If you've tried that perhaps you could include a few words on that technique.
Cary
