Intarsia, how is it done?

[Rockytime]

Having looked at some of the intarsia I can understand the cutting and various woods to make the project. What I wonder about is: Is part of the shaping carved, is all sanding done by hand, are mechanical sanders used? Looks very exacting. The projects are amazing. Don't think I would ever have the talent.

[Sycamore67]

Sanding is done by any and all means.

 

Kathy Wise has written a book called "Intarsia Woodworking For Beginners". It is an excellent guide to start out with and gives some step by step instructions....

 

You do not know if you can do it until you try. Like many others, this is how I started but there were still a few that ended in the scrap bin.

[Montserrat]

I call it painting by the numbers using wood.    I use a drum and belt sander after cutting!

[Rockytime]

This must require some very serious dust control.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

This must require some very serious dust control.

Oh yea!!!!  That art is a lot about sanding and shaping. Then you need to learn how to build levels to give the 3D look. It is an art and when done correctly it is amazing. You do need an artists eye. there are patterns and usually helpful hints on those patterns but your imagination is also put to the test. Hats off to those that do it and do it well. 

[Lucky2]

Intarsia, how is it done? That;s an easy one to answer, it's done one piece at a time. Maybe this is not the answer you were looking for, but, I just couldn't resist.

 

Len

[trailfndr]

Dust control is a must.  I NEVER hand sand.  I use a belt sander, a flexible drum sander, a Dremel, and a Sanding Mop.  For proper shaping, its important to understand the subject.  For instance, If I am shaping a dogs face, its important for me to have a visual understanding of how it is supposed to look.  I hang photos on the wall in front of my bench as I work, I can look at the pictures to see what is closer and what is further away from me, how the muzzle curves into the face, etc.. I have a dust collector connected to my machines, and a air filtration unit mounted on the ceiling that recirculates the air in my shop several times each hour.  A dust mask is also a must.

 

And as someone said...its done one piece at a time.. 

[hawkeye10]

Having looked at some of the intarsia I can understand the cutting and various woods to make the project. What I wonder about is: Is part of the shaping carved, is all sanding done by hand, are mechanical sanders used? Looks very exacting. The projects are amazing. Don't think I would ever have the talent.

I don't have talent either. Shoot it's hard for me to follow a line.  

[Clayton717]

lots of patience and time. I use a belt sander, oscilating spindle sander, flexible drum sander, and a dremel with various bits and small sanding drums. There is a lot of dust so you must be careful. 

[NC Scroller]

Sanding to shape and contour the pieces bring the project to life but the real key to Intarsia starts PRECISION cutting. You are cutting pieces out of different pieces of wood and often times different thickness wood.  If you cutting is not right on the pieces will not fit together properly and all the sanding and contouring in the world won't fix that.     

[Dan]

What everyone else said. Plus, you can add the element of carving to add detail. It adds texture to animal fur and tree bark. Sometimes fine detail is easier a sharp knife and a little sanding.

[Rockytime]

Thanks for all the great responses.

[amazingkevin]

i was thinking about a lion i cut ,just his face at least 16" tall that i thru away because i lost the picture of how it all goes back together.i never finished it as i wanted to take a short cut on sanding with a router.I wanted to route all the edges first and then sand to get the basic shapes started with out sanding,but trailfndr

did'nt miss a thing on correct advice for you,you will be so proud of your first intarsia,don't forget to mark the backs so you don't mess up.

 

Having looked at some of the intarsia I can understand the cutting and various woods to make the project. What I wonder about is: Is part of the shaping carved, is all sanding done by hand, are mechanical sanders used? Looks very exacting. The projects are amazing. Don't think I would ever have the talent.

 

 

Dust control is a must.  I NEVER hand sand.  I use a belt sander, a flexible drum sander, a Dremel, and a Sanding Mop.  For proper shaping, its important to understand the subject.  For instance, If I am shaping a dogs face, its important for me to have a visual understanding of how it is supposed to look.  I hang photos on the wall in front of my bench as I work, I can look at the pictures to see what is closer and what is further away from me, how the muzzle curves into the face, etc.. I have a dust collector connected to my machines, and a air filtration unit mounted on the ceiling that recirculates the air in my shop several times each hour.  A dust mask is also a must.

 

And as someone said...its done one piece at a time.. 

 

 

I don't have talent either. Shoot it's hard for me to follow a line.  

[rdatelle]

Yea, I hear you all. I would love to try and do that but I guess I haven't gotten the nerve up yet. One of these days maybe.

[GrampaJim]

Yea, I hear you all. I would love to try and do that but I guess I haven't gotten the nerve up yet. One of these days maybe.

You can do it!     I didn't like my first couple of attempts, but then I didn't like my first fretwork attempts either. 

I am still a beginner, but the response from family and friends has been good.  I do not have the ability to take a class from Judy Gale Roberts or Kathy Wise, but did get the beginner books that each sells - they are a must have IMHO. 

[ScollSaw Slasher]

A couple of thoughts. In normal scroll sawing it's been said that lines of the pattern  are merely a suggestion as long as as long as you don't stray to far. But with intarsia, the cutting has to be precise for a good fitting project. So it's something that a novice shouldn't tackle until nailing the lines on other fretwork projects etc can be achieved. A great lead into intarsia is doing segmentation projects which can be done with once piece of inexpensive lumber and a little artist colors or stains.The pieces automatically fit and the art of using the sanders for shaping effects can be learned. Many of the sanders that one has to come up with to do this shaping have already been mentioned in this thread.

[NC Scroller]

Slasher welcome to the site.  One thing I find invaluable is a magnifiing light.  It really help with being able to cut the line. 

[MTCowpoke22]

I second pretty much all that has been mentioned above. I use a dremel a little for carving, but my main tool is a set of spindle sanders I attach to my drill press. I don't really have dust control beyond using the vacuum after I'm done for the day. 

[Rolf]

Dust Control is a must! IMO . That said I think I now have one of every sanding device made. But as stated above precision cutting is a key. For shaping practice I did some segmentation in cheap pine. All the pieces automatically fit and then played with the shaping until it appealed to me. 

When you get deep into to it a larger pneumatic drum sander and a sanding mop are my most used tools.  I also use chisels and other hand tools.

[Bpardue]

I'm self taught in Intarsia. I started out doing Fret work and getting very comfortable with the saw. Kathy Wise's Intarsia for Beginners is a great teaching book. That is the book I used to learn the steps about 5 years ago. With a lot of practice you can do things like the picture before. I have been told that Intarsia is like painting with wood.

This piece has over 25 different woods all which are shown in the natural color except for the bright white which is a whitewash.

 

[JimC]

I would love to be able to do the kind of work Brian and others do. You guys are real artists. Well, back to trying to cut a straight line.

[ScollSaw Slasher]

Brian, that's one beautiful piece of work. Inspires me to get more into Intarsia after I finish my current fretwork clock project. Your colors are superb.