intarsia techniques

What equipment is used to make an intarsia picture?

It would I suppose, be possible to make an intarsia picture using no more than basic hand tools such as a fretsaw, some sandpaper and a knife. However, this would be a very laborious, time consuming and not very enjoyable experience. I therefore, use some power tools such as a powered scroll saw and a belt sander to help speed up production and facilitate handling and working the thicker pieces.

What woods are used?

All of my projects use close grained spruce. There are several reasons for this, the main one being cost - to make an intarsia picture in hardwoods would not only be more difficult, it would add to the cost quite considerably. Cedar is an alternative which produces pictures of outstanding natural beauty, but the timber is not readily available in the UK at present.

How is an intarsia picture made?

The pieces of the mosaic are individually cut out in the required thickness of timber, ensuring that the grain runs in the correct direction for each piece. These pieces are then assembled and their fit adjusted until they align closely together. The individual pieces are next rough shaped on the belt sander to achieve the desired 3-D effect. Fine sanding of the pieces is then carried out to produce the desired surface finish, after which the pieces are stained, if desired, and the finish applied. The pieces are then assembled onto a prepared plywood backing sheet and if all is well they are then permanently fixed with wood adhesive. The process takes rather longer to do than to describe!