My First box

 

As I mentioned a while ago, it is my intention to use Marquetry to make a Jewellery/Keepsake box for my granddaughter. Having settled on which method I shall use, and having done a practice piece of the main 'character' for the box, it is time to turn my thoughts to the box itself. 

Being a novice I have many questions about how to veneer a box so clearly the sensible course is to do another practice run. To that end I picked up a small and extremely cheap plain soft-wood box from a local discount store. 

To start I removed the imitation brassware, measured the box carefully, and then spent several hours drawing out a design on paper, a task that proved to be less easy than I expected. Obviously, had I thought this through properly, I could have used the 'character' for the lid and covered BOTH practice sessions at the same time, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Cutting out the veneer shapes from the template was relatively straightforward and I applied them to the sides first and the lid last. I sanded the edges as I went and ran into a zillion issues I hadn't expected. At times I was wrestling with glued shapes and getting more on me than the box. 

Gradually the box took shape and all that remained was to apply a polish and reattach the brassware. 

The end result is far from perfect and there is no question that a practice run was well worth the effort. There are things about this box I definitely want to get better the next time around.

Here are previous posts on Marquetry

Second attempt
Different technique

Flower design
for drawer front

Practice
for Major Project

Practice for major project

While I was working away on my last Marquetry piece I was pondering the way 'pictures' can be made using wood veneers and my mind drifted to decorated antique boxes. The thought processes went round and round, as they do, and I thought it would be nice to buy a couple of small plain wood boxes to decorate. From there, how do you veneer boxes; veneer the sides first or the top; what designs could I do; what to do with the finished boxes ... and on, and on. 

Out of the melee of sparking brain impulses came the idea that I'd like to decorate a box for my 6-year Granddaughter. Knowing that I didn't have sufficient knowledge or experience to just dive in and produce a nice box, I decided I'd have to do some practicing first. My final target was to produce for her a jewellery box with a picture of her favourite cuddly toy on the lid, with sides decorated with Unicorns, Ice Skates and her name. So the first objective was to have-a-go at creating the cuddly toy.

I'm quite pleased with how it turned out but there's a technique called Sand Shading that would help give the face more definition. I'll have a go at that when I'm doing the box proper. 

Here are previous posts on Marquetry

Marquetry
First attempt

Second attempt
Different technique

Flower design
for drawer front

Flowers design for drawers

A while ago I bought a small set of plain wood drawers for my study. I'd originally thought I might paint them, or maybe varnish them, but my new found interest in Marquetry has opened up another option. 

For my next adventure into Marquetry (every project is an exploration at the moment) I decided to decorate one of the draw fronts. I chose a photo of a Fuchsia from my considerable collection (what do you expect from a keen photographer and Fuchsia grower - LOL) and used image editing software to create a suitable design.

I found choosing a nice mixture of veneers was more difficult than I'd expected and with the benefit of hindsight I think my choices weren't the best. Still, I cut out the various elements of the design, pieced them all together, applied them to one of the drawers, sanded and finally polished and waxed. 

The remaining drawers offer me plenty of future practice opportunities but I won't be sticking to a coherent floral theme. The finished cabinet will be a mish-mash of whatever takes my fancy and will be an eclectic record of my Marquetry progress.

Here are previous posts on Marquetry

Marquetry - My first attempt

Second attempt - Different technique

Second attempt - A different technique

I've now had a second go at marquetry using a different technique. Without getting technical, the first one was done using the "window" method and this one using the "Double Bevel" method. This technique involves cutting two veneers at the same time, but that ensures the shapes fit together better, with much fewer gaps and a much tighter fit. So that I had a sound comparison between the two methods I used the same Robin picture as before, but reversed. What I hadn't expected (though I should have) was the huge effect the veneer choices had. The two Robins look quite different from each other and although I'm happier that this piece is more technically sound, I prefer the overall look of the first piece despite its faults. Lots to learn, that's for sure.  ;)

Marquetry - my first attempt

I've always liked the look of wood, especially polished wood with pronounced grains. I have a very old wooden model boat that I wanted to restore and while researching online how I could strip it back and polish it up, I stumbled across Marquetry. Though I put it out of mind initially, the idea of making pictures from wood veneers kept niggling at me. Obviously it was an itch that just had to be scratched.

Many hours were spent watching online video's and reading articles on the subject, but I've never been one to learn that way. I'm very much a hands-on, trial-and-error, figure-it-out-as-you-go sort of guy, so I sent for a small pack of mixed veneers so I could have-a-go. Though many sites suggested very simple shapes to begin with, I thought I'd learn more by trying something a bit more testing. 

From my own collection of photos I chose a picture of a Robin that I've painted and drawn many times, and I traced over it just in very approximate outlines. I played with various veneers considering the direction the grains should run and the overall 'tonal value' of the wood. Viewing the photo in greyscale helped a lot when choosing lights and darks.

There are a number of different techniques with Marquetry. As a beginner I chose the "Window" method as it looked the easiest. The first thing I learned when cutting is how easily the knife slices through the wood when going with the grain, but how hard it can be when cutting across the grain. Cutting irregular shapes proved harder than I'd expected and the very thin veneers often split. I'm hoping experience will help me get better at that.

Finally I had all the pieces taped together and I glued the whole thing onto a scrap of wood. I gave it a good sanding and several layers of Shellac varnish to finish it off.

Though this isn't an accomplished piece of work, I'm not disappointed in it. The gaps between the  various pieces leave much to be desired and the veneer choices could have been better, but I learned so much from the process. Next I will try a different method to see if that suits me better. If YOU have experience of Marquetry I'd love to hear from you.

As for the model boat.... I'll be covering that in a future post.