Hexagonal box

Recently I saw a small, very cheap (£3), hexagonal wooden box in an art store and it just screamed at me to buy it. I had no idea as to how I would decorate it but eventually decided on marquetry to create a multi-coloured star-burst effect. The lid would be made up of several pointed pieces all meeting up in the centre. The sides would be matching veneers but running vertical from top to bottom (as most 'vertical' things do).

Obviously, work on the box began with the removal of the hinges and catch. To help with the positioning of the pieces I marked out the lid of the box and the next job was to cut 18 triangles, each with a 20 degree angle.

I laid out all my veneers so I could choose colours that are varied but that also work well with each other. It took a lot of swapping and moving sheets around until I found a combination that I was pleased with. Learning from previous mistakes, I numbered the veneers.

These veneers are extremely thin and it's very easy to break them while cutting due to the blade catching in the grain. One way I've discovered to reduce the instance of splitting is to stick masking tape on one side of the veneer. It also helps in that I can make pencil marks, etc, on the masking tape rather than on the veneer itself.

So my present process is to stick some tape onto a piece of veneer and then carefully mark out a 20 degree triangle. This was then cut out with a sharp scalpel. The triangle was then positioned on the lid of the box and I put a piece of masking tape, sticky side up, to hold the pointed ends in place.

I decided to cut opposite triangles from the same veneer and the work I put into selecting and arranging the veneers at the outset is now paying off. Obviously, at this stage, I could easily swap veneers around again but I don't see the need as I'm quite happy with the scheme as it is.

In addition to the lid I also glued the veneers to the sides of the lid and to the main box, paying close attention to making sure I get them in the right order. 

Each piece was numbered to make it easier, and I also marked an arrow on each piece to show me which way the grain runs. It was a slow process because I could only work on one side at a time, and I  needed each side to set before moving on to the next.

The box was sanded using varying grades of sandpaper and the surface was cleaned with a tack cloth to remove the fine particles of dust trapped in the grain. I applied a couple of coats of Shellac Sanding Sealer which fills the pores and grain of the wood. This process was repeated a couple of times, sanding between each coat with extremely fine sandpaper, until I felt it was ready for varnishing.

So here is the finished box. The Sanding Sealer was followed by 3 coats of water-based polyurethane varnish (Clear) with a light sanding after the second coat. The process was finished off with 2 coats of Finishing Wax polish, with a good buffing between each.

Every time I've done some marquetry I've finished off with a different varnish, polish or process because I've never been completely satisfied with the result. I've been aiming for a high gloss finish that doesn't yellow the wood. I think with the above process and products I've finally found a result I'm happy with.

Tess & Sally - a tribute in wood

When I last posted about the small wooden storage unit I am using for practicing my Marquetry my closing words were "... only one more drawer left to do.... and that's going to be rather special".

For the last drawer I was stuck for a subject because of it being so wide, and in the end I decided to do portraits of my two dogs. I wanted a difficult subject to stretch my learning as much as possible, and in that regard I chose wisely .... they were very difficult. LOL.

As a novice, and trying new methods and techniques, I had the usual mix of successes and failures, and the end result is a culmination of many rescues and fixes along the way. I've learned that perfect circles are extremely difficult to create using a saw. I also found creating the right shades, tones and textures was very challenging but in that regard I'm fairly happy with my wood choices.

This storage unit was bought primarily as something for me to practice on and as such it's a perfect record of my Marquetry journey so far. I'm very pleased with it. It sits beside my desk and I look at it often, reflecting on the journey and the things I've learned, and I feel very proud of what I've achieved. 

Tess and Sally - both much loved and fondly remembered ....

Previous Marquetry posts

Daffodil

Oak Tree

3D Pattern

3D Pattern

Some of you will be aware that I am using Marquetry to decorate the drawer fronts of a small, plain wood, desk storage unit. The drawers serve as my 'practice canvas' and allow me to learn and try various marquetry designs and techniques. 

I've now tackled the 5th drawer of the unit and decided to try my hand at a repetitive geometric design. The 'stacked cubes' design is a common one in marquetry so I thought it would be a good one to try.

Although you would expect designs with cut out irregular shapes, like flowers, to be the hardest, I actually found this to be the most difficult so far. Unless every single diamond-shaped piece is identical, the pieces won't align exactly. 

Thoroughly enjoyed the process though and only one more drawer left to do.... and that's going to be rather special.

Previous posts on Marquetry

Tulip

Daffodil

Oak Tree

Combining Marquetry and Pyrography

It has occurred to me many times that it ought to be possible to combine my two new interests of Marquetry and Pyrography, so I decided to have a go. I grabbed the next draw from my small unit and drew out a design. I chose a piece of very plain veneer for the middle section, and a grained but similarly coloured veneer for panels either side. My plan was to burn an old Oak tree onto the plain middle section and cut some shapes to create acorns in the side panels. I chose a grey veneer to use for an edging. 

The initial burning of the tree went well and I glued all the pieces to the drawer but as I sanded the wood for a smooth finish I found the tree getting fainter and fainter. I'd half expected something like this to happen but, as a novice, I needed to see the effect unfold before I could decide what to do about it. The answer was to go over the tree again with the burner and darken it throughout. Though it was much harder burning on the raised draw front rather than a flat surface, I achieved an acceptable result.

The French Polishing process has yellowed and darkened the wood much more than I would have liked, which is disappointing, but overall I found the process quite successful and I'm now happy that I can add 'pictures' to my marquetry designs.

Previous posts on Marquetry

Pyrography
Wood burning a Lion

My First Box
just to work out how.

Practice
for Major Project

Daffodil in wood

I've decided to decorate the next drawer of my small storage unit with another flower bloom, and this time I've chosen a Daffodil. I began by finding a suitable photo and converting it to Grayscale as this helps me with the tonal values when I'm choosing the veneers. I then drew out on a piece of tracing paper a very simplistic view of the flower head, reducing it to as few 'pieces' as I could manage. I was quite pleased that I reduce it down to just 9 shapes.

The next job was to choose the veneers. For each 'element' of the flower I looked for a piece of wood that was the right tone, with grain running the right way, that would sit well next to other pieces.

For those interested, the method I use is the "Double Bevel" method. I tried the "Window" method early on in my marquetry journey but couldn't get very accurate shapes. I'm not saying it's a bad method, just that I get on better using Double Bevel.

Once I had all the elements cut out the next stage was Sand Shading. As you will see from the photo, I have a pan of fine sand on a very hot hot plate. I dip each piece of the flower into the sand where I think it needs some shading. The hot sand 'burns' the thin wood, which gives the effect of shading. This is a process that I'm not very good at, so I'm doing it whenever I can, to get the practice. As I mentioned in my previous post, there are many variables involved and I haven't yet got the experience to be sure of getting the right result.

So with the shading done I am disappointed to see a couple of places where the wood has singed, but on a positive note, there are some places where I'm really pleased with the shadow created. All of the pieces I'm making for this storage unit are for practice only, and this is the reason why. If you compare the flower before and after shading, you can see that the shading does add another dimension to the design, so it's worth persevering to get this technique right. 

From here to the finished article is just a case of applying Shellac Sanding Sealer (4/5 coats) and then French Polishing (6-10 coats or more), sanding with a high grit sandpaper between every coat.

Here are a couple of photo's of the finished piece. I'm very pleased with the marquetry side of things, though wood grain choices still need more thought, but I'm still struggling with the polishing process. The shine isn't as shiny as I wanted, nor as even. Much more practice and learning is needed in that regard.

Previous posts on Marquetry

My First Box
just to work out how.

Flower design
for drawer front

Practice
for Major Project

Tulip in wood

It's been quite a while since I last tried doing any Marquetry but a few days ago the urge took me to get out my veneers and have another go. As you may recall, I have a cheap, plain wood, Ikea storage unit and my plan is to use the draw fronts as practice pieces as I try and learn new techniques. 

This time I decided to try and create a Tulip flower and to also use Sand Shading to try and define the petals. You can see the result below. 

The Sand Shading is extremely difficult to master because the sand temperature, depth of sand, temperature of hotplate, softness of wood, length of time wood is exposed to sand, etc, are all variables that we need to try and understand. As you will see, though I've got the basics, some parts of the petals are over-shaded and burnt. Getting the right degree of shading without burning the wood, is the skilful part. As well as a photo of the new draw front I've also included a photo showing it in place in the unit. 

Previous posts on Marquetry

My First Box
just to work out how.

Flower design
for drawer front

Practice
for Major Project

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.