Marquetry Course with Paul Schurch

[Mike Henderson]

This week, I'm in Santa Barbara taking a five day course in marquetry with Paul Schurch (http://www.schurchwoodwork.com/). I thought I'd share the course with you by posting some information and pictures each day. Today was the first day and there were six students.

The class started about 9am and the first day was the usual introduction to the subject - but we soon moved into doing actual marquetry work. Three of us brought designs we wanted to do and three were somewhat less experienced and did not have specific designs they wanted to do. Paul is a very high energy guy and moved the class along very quickly. He made some suggestions about my design and I spent most of the morning re-drawing parts of it.

We went to lunch together at a Mexican restaurant in the area and had some time to socialize. After lunch it was back to the designs and preparing the veneer for the packets. I got as far as starting to put my packet together but at least one student was already starting to cut out his design. Class ended for the day about 5. For me, the afternoon went quickly and 5 o'clock came before I realized it.

Here's Paul's shop. He shares it with another woodworker. He mostly uses the right side (facing the shop), while the other woodworker uses the other side.
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Here's a close view of Paul's space, set up for the class.
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This picture is of a few people in the class, with Paul in the center. The other picture is of Paul assisting a student in making a packet of veneer for a marquetry panel.
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And here we have a shot of the students working at the benches, and one cutting out some veneer on a scroll saw.
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Finally, here's a monster heated press used for pressing veneer/marquetry panels.
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Tomorrow we'll continue working on the packets, assembling them and cutting the parts on a scroll saw. Tomorrow evening is pizza night where friends, relatives and members of the community are invited to share pizza and see some of the Paul's work, and the student's work. I'll let you know tomorrow how it goes (if it doesn't run too late).

Mike

[Shawn Pixley]

I'm jealous. Have fun at the class.

[James Baker SD]

Paul was the speaker at the annual 2.5 day seminar at San Diego Fine Woodworkers this year. He was a great speaker and demonstrated the techniques on stage. Amazing skills he has.

As an aside, maybe he can help you with the manual on the Hawk scroll saw as he had one at the seminar.

James

[Richard Wolf]

Wow, looks like a great class. It is fun to take classes, learn techniques and very motivating. Keep the pictures coming, I'm jealous also.

[Jeff Monson]

Mike that looks like a great experience. I'd really like to see some photo's of your work.

[Mike Henderson]

In preparation for Paul's class, I did one panel based on his DVD, then another of my own design. In class, I'm doing an 8 sided panel (to become a tray) with a circular design. I'll try to take a picture of the drawing and the steps to completion over the next few days. Here's a couple of pictures of the panels I've already done. Remember that they're just student panels (I made them into trays so they would have a use). The second, third and fourth pictures are closeups of the flowers in the first panel. I should have done a bit more sand shading on them to make the petals stand out more. This first panel is pretty easy to do. Anyone with a scroll saw and Paul's DVD could do it. The flower in the second panel is a bit more difficult.

Regarding the Hawk manual, I was able to get a copy from two different sources so if anyone needs a copy, let me know.

Mike

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[James Baker SD]

Hi Mike:

That work looks like you've been doing this for years. Really nice.

James

[Mike Henderson]

Here's the update on the second day. I'll use my project to describe the activities. I completed my drawing, called a cartoon, and pasted it down on a piece of cardboard. Another piece of cardboard is hinged to the first to make a "clamshell".

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This drawing is of two intertwined vines with flowers and leaves attached around the circle. Each individual element is numbered sequentially. There's about 145 individual elements in this design, and some of them are pretty small. This is a bit more complex than the usual beginner project.

Next, veneer is placed between the two pieces of cardboard under the elements. For example, holly is placed under the flowers and green dyed veneer is placed under the leaves. Multiple pieces are often needed to make sure the grain direction is correct for the elements. So at least two pieces of holly are placed under each flower so that each petal will have grain running lengthwise of the petal.

Same with leaves, since there may be multiple leaves in an area, and they may go in different directions.

When everything is placed, the packet is taped up and pins are used to hold the veneer in place. Then on to the scroll saw to cut the elements out.

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Here I am using a Dewalt 788 scroll saw. I'll comment that the Dewalt is a good scroll saw, easy to set up and adjust, and low in vibration. Each of those little elements are cut out and put in a tray with a numbered grid in the bottom. Since I had so many individual pieces, I had three trays of pieces. It took me all afternoon to cut out all the pieces.

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I learned something already: Don't overdraw. All those little design elements have to be cut out, organized, sand shaded and then fit back into the design. I need to learn how to represent design elements, such as a flower, with less small pieces.

Tomorrow, I'd do the sand shading and, hopefully, start assembling the pieces into the background.

Mike

[Richard Wolf]

Great update Mike, keep us posted. It looks like a very complex design, I like your confidence level.

[Todd Bin]

Thanks for posting Mike. I am anxiously awaiting your next post and can't wait to see the final pictures of the project completed. Also, please explain what you learn about not overdrawing.

~Todd

[Mike Henderson]

What I mean about not overdrawing is not to put small detail in the marquetry - or at least not more than's really needed. For example, let's say you're drawing a flower. You can try to capture every small detail of that flower, or you can do only enough to show the major aspects of the flower. What I learned it that you don't have to show all the fine detail. As long as you capture the important aspects of the flower the viewer's mind will fill in the detail. The human mind is a very good pattern matching machine. A good artist can use a few strokes to capture the important aspects of some design element and you'll recognize what it is.

In marquetry, that's very important because every small element has to be sawn, tracked, sand shaded and then fit into the final design. If you can express your design in less pieces you'll have less work to do, less chance of errors and the job will go faster.

Mike

[Mike Henderson]

One more comment. Last night we had pizza and Paul did a slide slow of some of his work. He's done some very interesting and creative work. Unfortunately, I can't really convey in words what some of his work is like. But afterwards I was thinking of the difference between Paul and someone like Sam Maloof. Fairly early in Sam's career he settled on a set of furniture and a general design. Over the years, he refined his design but he stayed with the same set of furniture (at least for commercial work). When you think of Sam's work, you immediately think of his rocking chair.

Paul's work is all over the place and he seems to be constantly searching for new avenues for his creativity. For example, he's now working on designing women's clothes incorporating veneer. He showed on piece at a couple of woodworking shows, and showed one to us last night.

He commented that he gets bored doing the same thing over and over, and I certainly believe him.

If you ever get a chance to see his portfolio, either in a presentation he makes, or someplace else, maybe a web gallery, take a look. His body of work is pretty impressive.

Mike

[Sean Hughto]

So I can't tell, is this double bevel? Are you willing to share details like:

- what blades are you using?
- what thickness veneer
- what kind of cardboard - like white poster board?
- if double bevel, what angle?
- what sort of glue will you be using?
- what substrate, and does Paul think it necessary to simultaneously veneer the back side of the panel?
- How does the method you are doing with this whole packet approach compare to the additive approach used by Silas Kopf?

Thanks for anything you can tell me. The past week or so, I've been getting to know my new excalibur and dope out making some simple double bevel stuff. I've been encouraged by the results.

[Mike Henderson]

Let me answer in your post, below. [Added note: A lot of your questions are covered in Paul's DVD on marquetry. If you can check out a copy from the library it'll answer a lot of questions. Or you can purchase a copy from his web site.]


So I can't tell, is this double bevel? Are you willing to share details like:

- what blades are you using?
#2/0 standard blades. No special tooth profile.

- what thickness veneer
1/42"

- what kind of cardboard - like white poster board?
We're using gray cardboard, maybe the thickness of two or three pieces of veneer. I don't think this is very critical. You just want something to hold the packet together but not so thick that it's hard to saw.

- if double bevel, what angle?
No bevel - just straight cutting with the scroll saw. Paul says that the veneer expands slightly when it absorbs water during glueup and the dark glue blends in with the sand shading, in any case. I've looked closely at his work and I don't see gaps.

- what sort of glue will you be using?
Urea Formaldehyde. I'll give you more info when we get to that part of the class.

- what substrate, and does Paul think it necessary to simultaneously veneer the back side of the panel?
We're using MDF, but Paul has worked on a variety of substrates for different purposes. Yes, he veneers both sides.

- How does the method you are doing with this whole packet approach compare to the additive approach used by Silas Kopf?
Sorry, I can't answer this because I'm not familiar with the approach Silas uses.

Thanks for anything you can tell me. The past week or so, I've been getting to know my new excalibur and dope out making some simple double bevel stuff. I've been encouraged by the results.

[Sean Hughto]

Thanks, Mike. I look forward to future reports and seeing the result of your efforts!

[Mike Henderson]

Today was sand shading (a lot of sand shading) and assembly. Here's a picture of the veneer with the pieces assembled. I missed a couple of pieces in sand shading so I'll have to go back and re-do those. My biggest "mistake" was that I didn't sand shade dark enough. I was afraid of burning the piece to bits, but it would have looked better with darker shading. But, overall, I'm satisfied with the way it came out.

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Tomorrow I'll repair a few things on the panel, then add banding and a border and do the glue-up. So it's getting close.

Mike

[richard poitras]

Mike when is your first book coming out! :)

[Richard Wolf]

Looks great Mike.

[Carroll Courtney]

Mike,I have to ask but where do you purchase your holley and dye veneer from.I tried dying my own veneer before but it just did not work out.---Carroll

[Mike Henderson]

Today I spent the morning doing some repairs to the panel. Nothing major but just fixing a few problems. Then I cut the banding and the border and put it together. It took me a lot longer than I expected and I didn't go into press until late in the day. Here's a picture of the front of the panel (the glue side - the show face is covered with veneer tape).

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The next picture is of the back. I had done the back before I came to Santa Barbara so I didn't have to lay that in class.

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Another student and I are attempting to lay one more panel (together) but we don't have much time left. I'll let you know how it goes.

Mike

[Mike Henderson]

Mike,I have to ask but where do you purchase your holley and dye veneer from.I tried dying my own veneer before but it just did not work out.---Carroll

You can get holly from Certainly Wood and you can get dyed veneer from B & B Rare Woods. Dying your own is messy and tough.

Mike

[Richard Wolf]

Looks great Mike. I hope you enjoyed your week.

[Mike Henderson]

Tomorrow, after I get home, I'll try to write a detailed review of the class, the tools, what I learned, and where the knowledge and skills might lead. I have a lot of thoughts in my head but I have to get them organized into something coherent.

Mike

[John Fabre]

Just watched Paul on Rough Cut - Woodworking with Tommy Mac today episode "Standing Mirror", he sure made it look easy. Thanks for posing Mike, looking forward to more pictures.

[Mike Henderson]

Okay, let me see if I can give you a good summary of the class and a feeling for what it might be if you were to take the class.

First, let me say that Paul is very high energy person, extremely knowledgeable in veneer work and marquetry and the class is definitely worth while.

The class consisted of six people, which I understand is the maximum size of the marquetry class. I suspect it's a difficult class for Paul to teach because the students come in with a wide variety of experience, talents, and preparation. In this class, one person came in with a very complex project which he had done a fair amount of preparation for. He was also somewhat experienced in doing marquetry. On the other end, some of the students had never done marquetry before and had nothing except their willingness to learn. Others, like me, fell in the center. I had a background in veneer work, had done two panels in preparation for the class, and had a design I wanted to do. So Paul has to find a way to work with this wide range of students, keeping each one moving and challenged. To do this, he moved from student to student giving advice and helping when needed to keep the student moving. So each student worked at his (the class was all men) pace.

The class started with a general discussion of veneer and marquetry but quickly moved to hands on work. Paul gave a relatively simple design to the students who did not come in with one so they had a learning project. Then he covered how to make a packet, which consists of gluing your design to cardboard, adding a back cardboard, then selecting the veneer pieces for each element (color of wood, for example, holly for flower petals) and assembling the packet.

Then it was scroll sawing. I'm new to using a scroll saw so some of the hints were very helpful to me. The people who were experienced scroll sawers definitely had an advantage. It's harder than you think to follow a line with a scroll saw, especially when the line jigs and jags to make a leaf. Keeping track of all the little pieces is a significant challenge but I won't go into the process here.

Then you need to sand shade the pieces to give the illusion of depth in your design. This also takes experience. You want to shade enough so that the shadows are dark enough to make a good "picture" but not enough to burn the piece to a crisp. I probably erred on the side of too light.

When that's all done, you assemble the pieces back into the background veneer, much like a jigsaw puzzle, except that you have a system to help you find the right piece for the hole. After it's all assembled, the assembled veneer gets glued to your substrate. Paul likes Pro-Glue, which is a urea formaldehyde glue with very low VOC.

Okay, now comments about the class. Paul has a lot of knowledge and shares it freely. He's also driven and drives the class along at a rapid pace, I suppose because he's trying to fit an awful lot into five days - more than can really be done. I often felt "pushed" and did the work faster than I normally like to work. Also, when someone would reach a certain point, for example, being ready for glue-up, Paul would cover that part of the process. But some people missed the discussion because they were working hard on their project, trying to get their's ready for glue-up. Paul is very free in sharing his knowledge but there's a limit to how fast a student can absorb the information and retain it. I know I missed things, either because I was working and not paying attention, or because there was just too much information.

This issue became more apparent towards the end of the class, because the students were "on deadline" to finish their projects, and projects were finishing at different times. But the other choice would have been to hold people up until everyone reached a certain milestone, then cover that material. I'm sure you've taken classes like that and there's a lot of standing around waiting in those classes. While Paul's approach has its problems, it's preferable to the waiting around approach. And with Paul's high energy personality, he's able to keep things going pretty well, even if he has to demonstrate the same thing to each student individually.

So to summarize, you'll learn a lot in the class, but be prepared for an intense week. Also, do some preparation before class:
1. Learn how to use a scroll saw. It's a skill that you develop through doing it. Get a scroll saw and use it a lot before the class. Know how to change blades and what tension is needed.
2. Make sure you can do veneer work. If you haven't done standard veneer work you don't belong in the class. Know what a radial match (sunburst) is and make sure you know how to lay one.
3. If at all possible, get Paul's DVD on marquetry and do the project that's part of the DVD. You'll get more out of the class if you're not starting from zero.
4. Try to do a design for a project you'll do in class. Many people shy away from marquetry because they feel they don't have any artistic talent. What you can do is search the web for pictures of flowers, or other people's marquetry. Take the flower picture and print it out to the size you want, then put it under tracing paper and make it part of your design. Once you get started, you'll start taking pictures of flowers you encounter. You'll start seeing flowers as subjects for marquetry and you'll think of what veneer you'd use to represent the petals. You'll get past the design problems fairly quickly.
5. Don't put little bitty pieces in your design. Sawing them is tough, keeping rack of them is tough, and sand shading them is almost impossible.

That's about it.

Let me make a couple of additional comments on scroll saws. I own a 16" Dremel and a 26"Hawk. And at Paul's I got to use the 20" DeWalt 788. The Dewalt is a great saw, very low vibration. But the 20" throat is a problem for marquetry. I was able to do my project on it just fine, but I did a second project with a partner and we had problems with the throat length. I think it would make a great second saw, but when you're buying your first saw, get a long throat. You can do small work on a long saw, but you can't do big work on a short saw.

Paul took a picture of the class holding their work but he hasn't sent it to me yet. I'll post it when he does. The thing that's impressive about the picture is the amount of work (projects) that the class did in just five days.

I'm including a picture of my project. I don't have a picture if my partner project (it's covered with tape) but when I get it laid I'll post a picture. It didn't come out as well as I'd have liked because of the choice of veneer colors. Given more time, I'd have chosen a different background to have more contrast between the background and the design. I am satisfied with my first (individual) project. It just has a coat of shellac on it right now.

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Bonus picture - Several of us went to dinner Saturday night. Here's a picture of Paul and me. I'm the good looking guy on the left :)
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So, one more thing: What's the use of marquetry? Woodworking is a field that has been plowed over and over. It's VERY difficult to build furniture that's really unique and that has an appeal to a large group of people. Marquetry allows you to add an additional dimension, and uniqueness, to your work. You can build a table that might be very much like every table, but if you put marquetry on the top, it suddenly becomes something special, and your work stands out from the crowd of woodworkers out there. The biggest effort in marquetry is the design portion. But once you develop a "library" of designs, you can start pulling elements from one design, and elements from another design, and suddenly you have a new, unique design. Once you have the design, creating the marquetry is just another woodworking task, similar to hand cut dovetails in complexity. If you enjoy working with veneer, "kick it up a notch" and learn marquetry. Your work will begin to stand out and bring more money when you sell it. You'll be selling "art" instead of woodworking.

If I think of any more things, or if any of the students send me suggestions, I'll make a follow up post (I sent the other students a pointer to this thread).

Mike

[Update: Here's a picture of the class and all of our projects]
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And here's a picture of the project my partner and I did.
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[Sean Hughto]

Each method has it's pluses and minuses, but for what it's worth, double bevel is very accommodating to tiny pieces and thin lines.

As for the saw, I have the Excalibur 21 inch. I suppose if I,m doing a dining table top or really huge panel, it will be a problem, but even then I think I could figure out how to do sub assemblies that come together at the end. I'd have trouble fitting a much bigger saw in my crowded shop. Also, seems one's saw needn't outsize your press capabilities.

Just some thoughts.

Thanks for the informative post.

[Mike Henderson]

Each method has it's pluses and minuses, but for what it's worth, double bevel is very accommodating to tiny pieces and thin lines.As for the saw, I have the Excalibur 21 inch. I suppose if I,m doing a dining table top or really huge panel, it will be a problem, but even then I think I could figure out how to do sub assemblies that come together at the end. I'd have trouble fitting a much bigger saw in my crowded shop. Also, seems one's saw needn't outsize your press capabilities.Just some thoughts.Thanks for the informative post.
I don't disagree with you but let me point out to people that the throat length is the length of the diagonal of your work, not just the length. When you're cutting on one side of your work, you'll have to swing your work to make the next cut and that swing has to fit through the throat of the saw. So a 20" saw, for example, is not sufficient for a 20" project if you have certain design elements on the ends of your work.

Paul did spend some time talking about how to segment your work so that you can fit it in your saw. He had a bench back, for example, that was maybe five or six feet long with marquetry essentially across the whole thing. That work had to be divided into segments so it could be cut out, then the segments put back together. The larger your saw, the less segments you have to make, and the less work putting things back together. On big work like that you need an auxiliary table to support your work while you make the cuts.

Mike

[Sean Hughto]

For anyone reading along, I'm far to new to scrollsaw work to know much of anything. I know a bit more about the lathe, and there I will say that buy the biggest you can afford! Probably true of scroll saws too.

Also, as with many tools, it depends upon the kind of work you will be doing. On the lathe, for example, it all you're ever gonna turn is chair legs, you likely don't need a 30 inch swing.

[Harry Hagan]

Mike,

I watched Paul demonstrate marquetry on Tommy Mac’s show yesterday as well and the whole process made sense but left me wondering: How do all those pieces fit together so nicely when material was lost from sawing? The only thing I know about Marquetry is that I like the way it looks.

Harry

[Jerome Hanby]

I'm pretty sure that marquetry is Latin for "something I'll never be able to do". Your pictures look great! As for that comment about anyone with a scroll saw..., well I have two scroll saws and once I pick one up and set it back down in a new spot, I've pretty much exhausted my scroll saw skill <g>. ...but I do live near a Holiday Inn express...

[Mike Henderson]

Mike,

I watched Paul demonstrate marquetry on Tommy Mac’s show yesterday as well and the whole process made sense but left me wondering: How do all those pieces fit together so nicely when material was lost from sawing? The only thing I know about Marquetry is that I like the way it looks.

Harry
The pieces don't fit together exactly - as you pointed out, there's a saw blade thickness of wood missing (of course, that saw blade is pretty thin). Paul uses a dark UF glue which comes up through those gaps and makes the finished piece look like everything fits. That is, the piece looks like it has a dark border so you don't notice the gap. Another way to fit marquetry pieces together is with a bevel cut where one piece is cut into the background at a time. Because of the bevel cut, the piece fits "exactly" into the background. The disadvantage is that the bevel cut method is much slower.

The packet cut technique is ancient - our ancestors used a device called a chevalet de marqueterie (http://www.wpatrickedwards.com/EtudeMarq.htm), which allowed them to cut many pieces at the same time. That technique was used when the pattern on a piece repeated many times, or when the marquetrian wished to make several pieces of furniture at the same time. The only difference when a scroll saw is used is that the blade is moved by a motor. On the chevalet the marquetrian moves the saw by hand. On those old pieces, the glue used was hide glue which is dark and functioned visually the same as a dark modern glue (such as urea formaldehyde) - it filled the gaps.

Mike

[Harry Hagan]

Mike,

Thanks for the explanation.

It seems proper placement of each piece is the key; especially where two light-colored pieces like your flower petals abut. Maintaining an even glue line around the perimeter helps to distinguish one petal from another on your piece and darker colors like the background tend to blend with the line giving the illusion of an exact fit.

[Randall Alan Child]

I was great seeing ya at the class Mike.. It was a blast..my piece went on for a full 7 days.. 2 days more than anticipated.. but wow..did I have a lot to do..I left with the radial done and the marquetry inlaid and the border on..it was all gumtaped and ready for my drive back home..I want to tweak the design a little more before I glue it up on the substrate.. I also need to make the ebony panel for the underside still but that won't take long..

[Mike Henderson]

Why don't you post a picture of your marquetry, Randy. Your's was quite complex.

Mike