Marquetry help

[Jared Cuneo]

I recently did some of my first marquetry projects using beech and walnut burl which were fairly easy to cut.

I went to attempt some purpleheart pieces and had a rude awakening. It (and several other woods I had on hand) are VERY tough and my knife keeps wandering off line. I try to use a light touch but this stuff is so tough that you need to bear down fairly hard on it.

How does everyone handle these hard wood veneers? I'm using new blades and a self healing mat.....

Thanks!

JC

[Dewey Torres]

1st: NOT all veneers best cut with an exacto.

2nd: Any time you bear down like you describe, the knife will tend to wander. You want light successive passes and with some woods it will seem like it takes forever to cut all the way through but have patience.

3rd: The double bevel technique is done on the scroll saw and (I find) it works far better for super hard woods.

Also look at your veneer and you will notice that it is not all the same thickness. Some woods because of hardness and other because of thickness will vary in how easily they are cut.

Additionally varied grain will cause a knife to wander so when using an exacto so you have to pay particular attention to the grain... especsially around curves.

[Lawrence Smith]

1. Try a nonsurgical scapel in lieu of an exacto knife. I have found that it cuts better.

2. Try a one or two inch chisel. Cock it so that you are using the corner of the chisel and make sure it is super sharp. I use this mostly when I am making straight cuts.

3. If you have a good scroll saw, set the table at a slight angle relative to the blade, use a very thin blade and cut exactly along your guide lines. I have found it is best to determine the angle by trial and error using scrap veneer of the same thickness. This method will take care of any hard to cut veneer.

Hope this helps,

Larry

[Mitchell Andrus]

Laser
....

[Dewey Torres]

Laser
....

Mich,
I love your work and have even given you a shout out in the Morris chair thread but hey...

"laser"

is not always the answer!

Still got love for you though!