Who has built a Chevalet for Marquetry?

[richard poitras]

I am wondering if anyone has one or has built a Chevalet for Marquetry. Please chime in if you have built one or have one and how you like it. Here is a lick to a school that uses them to teach this old art form. Also has anyone been to this school as well?

American School of French Marquetry - W. Patrick Edwards (http://www.wpatrickedwards.com/newschool.htm)

www.wpatrickedwards.com/newschool.htm

Thanks Richard

[Mike Henderson]

I know a woman who built a chevalet from the kit that Patrick Edwards sells. It came out well and worked fine. She also took a course at Patrick Edwards' school. But once she built the chevalet, I'm not sure she ever did any marquetry again. I think she was more interested in furniture construction than marquetry (she enjoyed building the chevalet). She also used to joke about where to store the chevalet. She said she was going to put it in her living room as a conversation piece (it's pretty big).

There are different kinds of marquetry, both in design and technique for cutting it out. Before you choose a school, make sure you know that the way they teach marquetry is the way you want to do it. If you're looking at schools on the west coast, check out Paul Schurch's school, also. He offers a marquetry course every November, if I recall. Patrick Edwards is very traditional and teaches people how to do the marquetry patterns that were popular back in the time of Boulle. Paul Schurch is much more modern.

On the east coast, it's Silas Kopf. He does some amazing stuff (modern, and very difficult).

If you want to do modern marquetry, you'll have to be creative. It's all about coming up with a good design (design turns out to be maybe a third of the project time). I've encouraged Paul Schurch to sell some of his designs - for people who want to do marquetry but don't have design ability - but so far he's not chosen to do that.

Mike

[Before you dive too deeply into marquetry, try a few parquetry patterns to see how you like working veneer into intricate designs.]

[richard poitras]

Mike, PM .... sent

[doug faist]

Richard - there is one progressing on a different forum.

http://www.woodcentral.com/woodworking/forum/messages.pl/page/1/md/read/id/460033/sbj/chevalet-de-marqueterie/

[richard poitras]

Doug thanks for the tip. He also posted it on the Lumber J. Forum as well.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Can one of you guys tell us what it is?

[Mike Henderson]

Can one of you guys tell us what it is?
Here's (http://www.leevalley.com/en/newsletters/Woodworking/4/5/article2.htm)a good explanation (click on the link).

Basically, it's used to cut a packet of many sheets of veneer into pieces that can be used in a marquetry design. In the time of Boulle, the marquetry was often a repeating pattern with many of the same pieces in the design. It's a difficult process because the background is cut separately from the pieces described earlier, so it takes great accuracy in the cutting so that things fit without gaps.

The chevalet (or donkey) has a foot operated clamp, and a blade that is carried in a mechanism that keeps the blade "square" to the veneer packet. So each piece cut from the packet is exactly the same size. The blade cannot be turned so the packet has to be turned for a cut around a curve. The operator would release the clamp pressure (foot operated) turn the packet, re-clamp and cut some more. People who are proficient at it can do those motions pretty quickly.

You can do the same thing with a scroll saw, and if you use a variable speed scroll saw, you can slow it down to mimic the operation of the chevalet.

It's mostly used for marquetry in the Boulle tradition. Most people who do modern style marquetry use a scroll saw.

Mike

Here's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_Charles_Boulle)a link to Boulle in Wikipedia. Do a Google search on "chevalet de marqueterie" and you'll find more about the tool.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Thanks Mike, I just learned something!

[Steve Friedman]

Have you seen the Inlay Razor that was designed by Geoff Noden (Adjust-a-Bench)? I know nothing about marquetry, but I have seen him demonstrate this at shows and it looks pretty cool.

Steve

[richard poitras]

Steve I have seen the videos on the Inlay Razor. It looks pretty cool for doing inlay bandings. It is somewhat limited in the designs you can do. As you can only make profiles out as big as a razor blade but it looks like you can get pretty fancy all the same. I think it has a place.

[Mike Mason]

I am a newbie here, and I realize that this thread is old, but I have just completed a chevalet de marqueterie.

[Bill Dindner]

Congrats, let's see some pics!

[Mike Mason]

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[John Sincerbeaux]

Beautiful job building your chevalet.
I learned Marquetry from Paul Schurch many years ago. His method is what I still use today. I have researched and considered taking a course from Patrick Edwards and learning his methods. I definitely think using a chevalet for Marquetry results in superior results. But, I have a hard time wrapping my noggin around cutting with such a huge and archaic device? I have seen some very amazing Marquetry that was produced simply using a fret saw and a "V" board mounted to a bench. I am sure I would be sold on a chevalet if I took a course and realized it's potential.

[richard poitras]

Mike great job on the chevalet. I end up going to San Diego a few years back and took a class with Patrick Edwards at his school “American School of French Marquetry”. It was a great experience and would highly recommend his class for anyone interested in Marquetry and using a chevalet. I built a chevalet as well. I made mine out of Ash. What kind of wood did you use on yours?

John cutting on the chevalet defiantly does not feel like you are using a huge or archaic device. In fact you have more control than with a fret saw and can cut a piece as small as your eyes can handle with or without a magnifying visor.

[Mike Mason]

I also used ash for my chevalet.

A major difference between a fret saw and chevalet is that the chevalet mechanism of adjustable parallel rods ensures that the blade is always perpendicular to the packet. That is critical when using multiple layers in a packet so that all pieces are identical. You can't hand hold a fret saw without being a few degrees off from vertical, so the pieces won't be the same.

[Mike Mason]

Beautiful job building your chevalet.
I learned Marquetry from Paul Schurch many years ago. His method is what I still use today. I have researched and considered taking a course from Patrick Edwards and learning his methods. I definitely think using a chevalet for Marquetry results in superior results. But, I have a hard time wrapping my noggin around cutting with such a huge and archaic device? I have seen some very amazing Marquetry that was produced simply using a fret saw and a "V" board mounted to a bench. I am sure I would be sold on a chevalet if I took a course and realized it's potential.

John, I just saw your website and the marquetry is beautiful! If you are doing one-off things without repeating pattern elements, then the advantage of the chevalet may only be in ease of use - the small angle that the fret saw blade would have with the veneer packet would have less of an effect. If you have a packet of veneer layers, then any small angle will result in the pieces each being different from each other. If you want to cut a pattern once and then get the pieces to make 8 or 10 items in which the pieces all fit together accurately, then the chevalet might be the way to go. Most powered scroll saws don't actually have perfectly vertical blade motion, the blade is also rocking forward and back, so that doesn't work all that well for very small, accurately cut pieces.

If you ever have the chance to try a chevalet, you might find it easier to cut accurately and it is also less tiring - you only lightly guide the saw frame using two fingers, you aren't lifting the saw up and down. However, it might be easier to move a pattern around when it is horizontal (as with the fret saw/bird's mouth method) than when it is vertical (as with the chevalet), especially a larger packet of veneers. Also, gravity is not trying to pull the tiny pieces out of the packet as they are released. With the chevalet, the blade is horizontal, not vertical, and when small pieces are released from the pattern, you have to take a needle and poke the various layers out from front to back. They tend to get caught in the curved piece behind the rear jaw, rather than falling on the floor when using a birdsmouth.

Keep in mind that I am not an expert at any of this, just relaying some observations. Maybe in a few years I will be better qualified to discuss this topic.

[John Sincerbeaux]

Thanks Mike for the compliment. I have revisited Patrick's school website and I am pretty sure I am going to take a course from them. The level of work they do is second to none.
John

[Mike Mason]

Patrick Edwards also teaches a class at MASW in Indiana, if that's closer for you. They have eight chevalets there that Mark Hedin built (I'm not sure what the plural of chevalet is) and so they are therefore limited to eight students in the class, which is usually offered just once a year. I believe that this year's class is already full, but maybe you can get on a waiting list in case someone cancels.

Mike

[richard poitras]

I have been to Marks school a few times and it’s a great school and plan on going again, but going to Patrick's school has its upside over Marks school as when I was there he had multiple projects he was working on and various other things in his shop that you don’t get at Marks school. Also San Diego has a lot more to offer in regards to site seeing at night and like I did stayed the weekend for other activities. But either way Patrick class if very informative.

[Robert Engel]

There's a guy on LumberJocks named shipwright who is a wealth of information.

[richard poitras]

There's a guy on LumberJocks named shipwright who is a wealth of information.

Shipwright had gone to Patrick's school and is now a master in his own right and also has opened a school for Marquetry and use of the chevalet. If you check him out on LJ review his project page for some excelent work.