Intarsia

[pixy]

evening all
Can anyone recermend a good uk book on Intarsia.One that really deals with the subject from scratch. I am interested in making dog intarsia,any infirmation in being able to find a wood surpllier for intarsia would be great ,up to now I seem to have drawn a blank apart from importing it from the USA
Mal

 

[StevieB]

Hi Pixy,

Most books on intarsia tend to be pattern books rather than in depth how to's. All will generally have a couple of pages in the front detailing how to set up your saw etc and thats it. Having said that, intarsia is really no different to any other cutting, its just that you choose wood grain and direction for artistic effect, something that is not possible with segmentation. You have probably done this already, but hit the web for inspiration, order a pattern and give it a go! I have seen (but now cannot find!) a video of a rose being formed, have also come across this link, also of a rose

http://www.intarsia.net/e-book2/e-book2.htm

which may be of interest. In terms of timber, its down to offcuts usually. Scrolling tends to use such small amounts of timber it tends to be the only way to go. A pallet or mixed sack from SL Hardwoods is an option but unless you have a PT and probably a bandsaw that may or may not be ideal. Carving blanks are another option if you can readily thin them down. I have also used redwood decking offcuts before as they have a distinctive grain pattern. Some people also use MDF or a pine and then stain or paint, not technically intarsia more segmentation but it might give you a feel for what you want.

One other thing to note which always gets me is the size of finished pieces. I always think they should be small and am continually amazed when I get a pattern and it says enlarge 300%! This does mean cutting innacuracies are minimised as small deviations show less than on a small piece, but I am not sure I really want a 4 foot bald eagle in flight on my living room wall! I would recommend starting simple with a beginner pattern and moving up from there.

Best of luck,

Steve.