Nice explanation, Steve
.
StevieB":1lwwcczl said:
Course, others may have a different opinion!
Did you have someone in mind :wink: ?
I've cut a lot of segmentation in the past and encountered passive derision for it from some (
very few) scrollers who regard themselves as accomplished intarsians. Generally speaking, intarsia is a more difficult technique to master than segmentation because the components are cut separately, as Steve describes, then fitted together. The difficulty in achieving a perfect fit, however, is such that intarsians recognise a gap of 1/64" (0.5 mm) as being tolerable. Marquetarians (who work with veneers rather than pieces of wood) require a perfect fit. Then again, marquetry pieces are so thin that they can't be shaped or contoured in the same way as segmentation or intarsia.
Strangely enough, some patterns are more difficult to cut successfully using segmentation techniques rather than intarsia. A little while ago Sue Chrestensen made a pattern available which a number of intarsians attempted successfully but was not suitable for segmentation because of the number of internal cuts. It's relatively easy for intarsians to fit internal pieces tightly, but much more problematic with segmentation because the effect of the blade kerf becomes more noticeable.
Another point is that if an intarsian makes a mistake, only one component is affected and it can be discarded without affecting the whole project. If a segmentation cut goes wrong, the whole project is affected.
Despite their differences, both techniques call for high levels of skill and accuracy. Most intarsians and segmenters acknowledge this and have a mutual respect for each others work, although you'll always find some troublemakers.
Gill