Making a Federal Style fan

[Phil Mueller]

I’m in the process of making a Federal Style table and needed a traditional fan inlay. Thought about buying one from a supplier, but really?, buy one? So I ventured into new territory. As it turns out, it’s not difficult, and quite fun to do. For the price of a bag of sand and a little veneer, it was a fun project.

For those interested, here’s the process I used:

First a template is made with segments measured out:

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Then a bunch of small squares of veneer are cut. Given this was my first time, I decided to make a few and experiment with maple and birch.

Once the squares are made, a skillet of sand is heated to high. I found just a 1/4” of sand is best, otherwise the entire piece gets charred vs just the edge.

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The template is then transferred to a “cutting board” and segments are cut using the segment lines with a plane iron.

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These are then assembled onto a piece of veneer tape.

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[Phil Mueller]

Then the template is used to trace the pattern onto the veneer segments.

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A carving gouge is then used to cut out the scallops around the outside of the segments.

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Using the same gouge, sections of black veneer are cut and taped into place using veneer tape.

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A different, smaller radius gouge is used to cut out the center piece, and a piece of black veneer is taped in place.

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[Phil Mueller]

Then the entire thing is glued to a piece of veneer. I also glued it to a second 1/16” piece of veneer to give it more stability while working on it.

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They were cut apart, and then using the template, the pattern was again transferred to the piece and cut out using a fret saw, and refined with a riffler and file.

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I wanted to outline the fan with a piece of stringing. I pre-bend these by soaking in hot water, and then wrapping it around a piece of PVC.

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The stringing is then cut, glued and taped until dry.

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After a little light sanding, they are ready to be inlayed.

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I’m glad I made a few...you’ll notice a couple with uneven segments, and the shading seems better on some.

[Gerald Schram]

phil thanks for posting how you did that. ive alway been afraid of making banding and marquetry but that looks very doable jerry

[Joe A Faulkner]

Very interesting post Phil. I’m not seeing the photos of the last post. Not sure what is up with that. The fan looks great.

[Phil Mueller]

Not sure what’s up with the photos on the last post either. Tried editing, but couldn’t get it to change. Hopefully a Moderator will come along and fix it for me.

[michael langman]

Phil,Is the charring in the sand just for asthetics, or does it make it easier to cut the wood?

And are the tapered edges of the veneer glued together?

Thanks for posting this. I may try it in the future.

[steven c newman]

I have been getting the same troubles with photos I tried to post yesterday....had to go back and re-size all the "bad" photos down to the size of a Postage stamp....THEN they showed up

[Phil Mueller]

Good call Steven. Thanks. Resized, and now showing.

Michael, the charring (or shading as it’s called) is to give the pieces a more 3D look. It’s meant to be a shadow line against the adjoining piece.

[Mark Rainey]

Nice demonstration Phil! Good to see handwork in Neanderthal land

[Jim Koepke]

Great post Phil and looking forward to more on this project.

The 3D effect from the shading and scalloped fan blades is fantastic.

jtk

-pun wan't intended but was fun to realize.

[michael langman]

They came out really nice. Thanks Phil.

[Christopher Charles]

Hi Phil,

Those are impressive, especially the sand shading. I also like the black bordering, which really makes the fan pop. How thick is your veneer?

[Lee Schierer]

Not sure what’s up with the photos on the last post either. Tried editing, but couldn’t get it to change. Hopefully a Moderator will come along and fix it for me.

Which post specifically and what needs to be fixed?

[Phil Mueller]

Hi Lee, thanks. It was the third post, but after resizing, they loaded fine.