How hard is Marquetry?

[Frederick Skelly]

I'm getting a tad bored and have been thinking about ways to embellish simple pieces. Earlier today, I was reading old issues of FWW and came across an article on Marquetry.

* How hard is it to learn Marquetry? I'm not looking to make Mona Lisa's. Maybe just simple geometric designs on boxes. Is it hard to learn?
* Does it take special tools?
* Any books, tips or advice for a beginner?

I'd really appreciate any experienced advice you can give me. As always, thank you folks!
Fred

[Mike Henderson]

It's not hard. Look for the Paul Schurch video on marquetry and do the exercises and you'll have an excellent start. You do need a scroll saw. I've done some marquetry but my problem is drawing the design. I just don't have a lot of talent in that area.

I took a course with Paul but I think I could have done almost as well with just the video. The class is a week and it's a real push.

Mike

[Mel Fulks]

Mike does great work and has shown a number of pieces here. I find all of them lovely and artful.

[Frederick Skelly]

It's not hard. Look for the Paul Schurch video on marquetry and do the exercises and you'll have an excellent start. You do need a scroll saw. I've done some marquetry but my problem is drawing the design. I just don't have a lot of talent in that area.

I took a course with Paul but I think I could have done almost as well with just the video. The class is a week and it's a real push.

Mike

Thanks Mike!
Fred

[Mike King]

You don’t need a scroll saw, you can use a birdsmouth bench and a fret saw or a knife. I just took a class with Jim MacDonald and learned the fret saw method. Personally, I use a hand operated scroll saw I built from brake tubing, a drawer slide, and bits of bolts and nuts. If you are on the Front Range of Colorado, our guild, the Rocky Mountain Marquetry Guild, offers a free workshop where we offer instruction, a hand powered scroll saw, veneer, coffee, and doughnuts on the first and third saturday morning each month.

if you aren’t able to make it to our workshop, there are a couple of books that can help. Silas Kopf’s “A Marquetry Odyssey” is an incredible book that delves into the history of marquetry dating back to 3000bc as well as his own pieces. There’s a bit of detail on technique as well. Craig Thibodeau “The Craft of Veneering” has a decent chapter on marquetry but is an excellent reference on veneering in general. There a book to teach both the double bevel and the window method called “Marquetry Course” by Jack Metcalfe and John Apps. And other textts, such as the by Pierre Raymond, who was probably the most influential educator in marquetry of the past half century.

[Frederick Skelly]

You don’t need a scroll saw, you can use a birdsmouth bench and a fret saw or a knife. I just took a class with Jim MacDonald and learned the fret saw method. Personally, I use a hand operated scroll saw I built from brake tubing, a drawer slide, and bits of bolts and nuts. If you are on the Front Range of Colorado, our guild, the Rocky Mountain Marquetry Guild, offers a free workshop where we offer instruction, a hand powered scroll saw, veneer, coffee, and doughnuts on the first and third saturday morning each month.

if you aren’t able to make it to our workshop, there are a couple of books that can help. Silas Kopf’s “A Marquetry Odyssey” is an incredible book that delves into the history of marquetry dating back to 3000bc as well as his own pieces. There’s a bit of detail on technique as well. Craig Thibodeau “The Craft of Veneering” has a decent chapter on marquetry but is an excellent reference on veneering in general. There a book to teach both the double bevel and the window method called “Marquetry Course” by Jack Metcalfe and John Apps. And other textts, such as the by Pierre Raymond, who was probably the most influential educator in marquetry of the past half century.

Thanks very much Mike, for both the invite and the references. I wish I was closer and could stop in. I will order the Metcalfe book. By chance, I recently received the Thibodeau book as a gift and haven't opened it yet. I may order the Schurch video Mike Henderson described too - I always find it beneficial to have more than one source of instruction.

I'm curious - what is a hand operated scroll saw? I didnt see anything simple that matched what you describe when I googled it. Would you have a link or a picture? (I enjoy making tools too!)

I appreciate your help!
Fred

[Mike King]

Fred, make sure to open Craig’s book. It is simply the best book out there on veneering and a great achievement. And if you can find Silas Kopf’s book, snap it up. It is incredibly inspiring even if you are not looking at the marquetry. The piece in FWW was clearly influenced by Silas.

If you have the chance to take a class with Jim MacDonald, don’t pass it up. He was Silas Kopf’s assistant for a few years and taught with him hen Kopf was still teaching. Jim teaches periodically at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship and at Marc Adams.

Mike

[Tom Trees]

Steve Latta has at least one video, which would be worth watching also.
Tom

[Mike Allen1010]

Fred, I started trying Marquetry a couple years ago for the same reasons you mentioned. I encourage you to give it a try- great way to add some creative and colorful detail to projects.


Tools that work for me: birds mouth, fret saw for smaller pieces and scroll saw for larger(size of marquetry pieces is limited by depth of your handsaw), small saw blades(there is nomenclature for blade size but I can't remember it-reference sources will help), magnifying glasses, move light source, carbon paper and stylus. Powered scroll saw is MUCH easier.

I find thicker veneers easier- I like to glue inexpensive veneer at 90 degree grain angle to back of commercial show veneers to avoid splitting smaller details. Bevel sawing technique is pretty easy to learn. Biggest challenge for me is getting the sequence of which pieces to saw when correct. This matters when you have adjacent/overlapping pieces

To get started larger pieces in simple shapes are best.

Cheers, Mike

[Mike King]

Fred (and others interested),

The plan we use for building a hand operated scroll saw is on a CD in a PDF file titled "Build Your Own Hand Operated Scroll Saw" by John Angus Eifler. It used to be sold by B&B Rare Woods, a supplier of veneer to some marquetarians (https://www.dyed-veneer.com/ (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwic7c709YDkAhUNVc0KHf20BCgQFjAAegQIBBAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dyed-veneer.com%2F&usg=AOvVaw3y61fbaN1bSXjjJaHW-sxZ)) -- I don't see it on their website any longer, but you could call Dave and ask if he still sells it. It is a simple saw to make, and requires only a bit of work. One nice thing is that you can make a large saw (mine is 30") -- the depth of the of arm is the limit on the size of the marquetry piece you can construct.

We generally use 2/0 skip tooth scroll saw blades. Olson makes some that are just fine. I'm also using 4/0 metal cutting scroll saw blades from Switzerland, but they break easily so the 2/0 are generally better. For double bevel work, you want about a 14 degree bevel. The first rule is that you under cut whatever piece is on top. If you overcoat it, there will be a gap between the infill piece and the field.

Certainly Wood sells a "Marquetarian Package" of veneers that is fantastic value -- $50 for 100 sq ft of veneer, and there's a lot of very interesting stuff in the pack they sent me. Shipping is a bit, but it's still value for money.

You will need to get your pattern onto the packet you are cutting. Jim MacDonald put us onto 3m 9425 double sided tape -- it has about the perfect amount of adhesion to repeated transfer your pattern to the packet. It's much better, IMHO, than the rubber cement that I was introduced to use. It's pricey and not readily available -- about $80 for a roll. I bought mine on eBay. You can also get it from Uline, but you have to buy 2 rolls there.

Here's a few photos of my saw.
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[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks again everyone! I'm going to try this. I'll let you know how I do after a few practice efforts!

Best regards!
Fred

[Robert Cherry]

Another text is The Fine Art of Marquetry by Craig Vandall Stevens. Craig teaches at the Philadelphia Furniture Workshop. I took the marquetry class last winter and really enjoyed it.

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks Robert!

[Andrew Seemann]

Marquetry is like carving for me. I have the skills and tools to do it, but not the patience. I always marvel at people who can do that sort of thing. The end result looks so neat, but the process looks so tedious. It must be a personality fit type of thing cause it definitely doesn't fit mine.

[Charles Guest]

Technically, geometric designs are parquetry. This is marquetry:

https://silaskopf.com/

[Frederick Skelly]

Technically, geometric designs are parquetry. This is marquetry:

https://silaskopf.com/

Wow! I see why Kopf is considered such an authority on this stuff!

[Charles Guest]

Wow! I see why Kopf is considered such an authority on this stuff!

A good marquetarian has not insubstantial artistic skills. You can go pretty far with parquetry with basic drafting/layout skills.

[Andrew Gibson]

Geometric inlays can be made with as little as a sharp marking knife and a couple drawing tools like rules compass and triangles.

I have done some non geometric inlays as well with a fret saw, basically the same as using a scroll saw just slower. I think it is something anyone can learn to do. I am by no means a sketch artist but I certainly can duplicate using a picture as a template.

[Mel Fulks]

Andrew, good point about starting with geometric straight lines , and the compass rose is always ...a star. The book of
Chinese lattice designs would be a good design source too. Great chair. Has a dignity and specialness that children
love.

[Mel Fulks]

Charles, thanks for correction. Years ago I did know the difference. Think it fell off the chart when they stopped PARKAY
margerine commercials.

[Jen Joy]

Am I missing something here? I got "The Marquetry Course" from the library and it doesn't seem to teach double bevel. It does teach the window method. The Paul Schurch website no longer sells any videos or anything online. What style of marquetry does he do? Part 1 of his video is on youtube, but it's just an introduction.

I learned double bevel in a weekend class and I'm trying to finish my project there, but I wouldn't mind some other resources for ideas and practice in that style. What style of marquetry are you guys using out there and is there a reason why you picked one kind over another? I've tried to understand the pro/cons of various styles, but it's a little challenging. In the UK they seem to favor thin veneers and knives (that seems a bit tedious but it produces amazing results). I learned from Matthew Werner who like David J Marks use double bevel -- they both are in the Northern California region. Is it regional or whom you learned from? One of my favorite artists Kagen Sound also uses double bevel, so I'm thinking, maybe I should just keep on this path, but I'm wondering why you chose the style you use (whoever is willing to tell me).

[Mike King]

I highly recommend the Silas Kopf book mentioned above. He is probably most known for his double bevel work although he trained (at Ecole Boule") under Pierre Ramond in Boule and piece by piece as well. His book covers technique in a variety of methods. . The "Marquetry Course" book is by a couple of Brits, and the British seem to favor knife work. Pierre Ramond's book is considered to be a foundation piece in technique.

It seems that every marquetarian has their own approach, technique, and method of work. I think it is useful to try several and figure out what resonates with you and in what circumstances you might do something different. Our guild seems to favor double bevel work, although there are a couple of members who do knife work pretty much exclusively. Even within double bevel work, there are different methods of work. Most of our guild member lay pieces into the overall composition. James Macdonald taught me to start with assembling the work by joining pieces together and minimizing the laying in. Both work. There are advantages to both -- it depends on the piece what the best course of action is.

I tried to attach a list of books on marquetry and veneering with notes on them by members of our guild but the file is too large for the forum. If someone wants a copy, send me a private message and I'll pass it along.

Mike

[Christopher Charles]

Hi all,

I've found double-bevel marquetry to be a pretty straight-forward magic trick--seems amazing but not that hard once the curtain is pulled away. The Kopf book is a remarkable survey and has a good section on double-bevel techniques, though I found the Craig Vandal Stevens book to be a fabulous step-by-step guide with many tricks that demystify the process (though I don't remember it being quite as much as it is now!):

https://www.amazon.com/Craig-Vandall-Stevens-Marquetry-Hardcover/dp/B01FMW1GM6

Hope that helps,
Chris

[Mike Allen1010]

[QUOTE=Jen Joy;2947275]Am I missing something here? I got "The Marquetry Course" from the library and it doesn't seem to teach double bevel. It does teach the window method. The Paul Schurch website no longer sells any videos or anything online. What style of marquetry does he do? Part 1 of his video is on youtube, but it's just an introduction.

I learned double bevel in a weekend class and I'm trying to finish my project there, but I wouldn't mind some other resources for ideas and practice in that style. What style of marquetry are you guys using out there and is there a reason why you picked one kind over another? ...


Hi Jen,

I'm sensitive to the implied confusion/frustration in your question. Sounds to me like experience I've had many time - "I'm interested in learning this skill, but don't really know where to start".

Knife vs. double bevel is very fair fundamental question that regretably I can't answer (although I'm also interested in why someone choose one over another). Pic is recent project done using double bevel sawing method w/ fret saw /bird's mouth. Given the small diameter curves, I don't know how that could be done with a knife? I'm sure there is probably a way to do it - I just know I couldn't.

Best, Mike




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[Frederick Skelly]

Wow! This thread is becoming a real jewell of information!
Thanks everyone!
Fred