A very 'TEAK' African Elephant Intarsia

[FrankEV]

Quick story.  My Lady went to NC to be with her daughter to help during recovery from hip replacement surgery.  Her Granddaughter also came to help.  Her daughter also has a son and their house has only two beds and a sofa for sleeping purposes.  Fortunately, the next-door neighbor had a spare room and offered it to my Lady to use at no cost for the nineteen days she was there.  This neighbor has visited Africa, and they have a collection of African Art pieces on display.   Upon returning home, my Lady asked if I could make a Scroll Saw African Elephant, that she could send them as a thank you for their hospitality.  I searched, found, and procured a ‘Woodenmann’ Intarsia Pattern of an African Elephant bust that I felt was appropriate, and I interrupted a Christmas project that was in progress to make the Elephant.

A finished ‘Woodenmann’ piece was shown online, that was done in two contrasting, dark and light, colored wood’s.  I decided I would prefer to do it in a single, “more” Elephant colored, wood choice.   I had just gotten a few pieces of Teak in the box of cutoffs I purchased, and it seemed like it would be a good choice.  Of course, the Tusks are Aspen, and the Eyes are ‘Sharpie’ Black - sorry, no Eboney in my wood collection.  Due to the limited amount of Teak that was available, I was not able to arrange all the grain-direction as I would have preferred.  However, the wood has enough character that it is not too distracting or noticeable to an untrained eye.

As I’m sure you are all aware, Teak is quite hard, so the cutting was slow. I did a decent job of cutting as the fit-up was quite good, with just some minor sanding adjustments needed.  However, even though I attempted to cut to the outside edge of the lines to maintain the pieces full size, due to the fit-up shrinkage of this “top to bottom” pattern, the length of the Tusks had to be adjusted significantly.  Shaping and fitting of the two Tusks took more time than almost all the other pieces, put together.

I did add a 1/8” thick shim to elevate the head and trunk.  I tapered the shim towards the bottom of the trunk.  The backer is 1/8” thick BB Ply with edges painted Black.

The assembly was protected with five coats of Clear Gloss Acrylic Finish spray with light sanding and buffing between coats.

This will be shipped out early next week with a thankyou note from my Lady.

Comments and critiques always welcome. 

[barb.j.enders]

Frank,

I think you have this Intarsia stuff down pat.  That is beautiful. 

It seems to me I had read that someone else had the same issue with the tusk.  I did go back to look closer at the grain. Not sure what you would have done differently.  I couldn't detect any "errors".

[Jim McDonald]

Magnificent work on this one. As Barb said, you seem to have a firm grip on the technique. 

[daveww1]

great job

[FrankEV]

36 minutes ago, barb.j.enders said:

...I did go back to look closer at the grain. Not sure what you would have done differently...

The grain in the left side ears are oreinted diagonally top to bottom right to left.  Due to the wood size I had, I could not oreient the grain in the right side ear in the opposite diagonal.  Thw wood coloration is stronger than the grain so, as I said, not noticable to an untrained eye.

[jerry walters]

WOW Frank.  The recipient of this gift is going to be impressed.  What you do with wood is magical.  I'm sure it will be in a very prominent place in the home.

Jerry 

[Peter N White]

Very good project and a great thank you present.

[rjweb]

That is beautiful piece, you are excellent with the intarsia, how long have you been doing intarsia, RJ

[FrankEV]

1 hour ago, rjweb said:

...how long have you been doing intarsia...

I did my first "real" Intarsia piece this past July.  Shortly thereafter, I made a bunch of painted Christmas segmented pieces for my family.  I used Intarsia techniques to make the segmental pieces more sculptured. Since then I have done a few more Intarsia pieces...this Elephant is number 6.  Each was a learning experience.   Unlike my SS flat Art Panel projects that I would have multiple project working at the same time (i.e.; cutting, painting, framing, etc.), complicated Intarsia pieces, like this African Elephant, takes a lot more time to produce a finished piece, and so far I can only manage one at a time.

 

[ScollSaw Slasher]

Excellent job Frank. Having done many over the years I can appreciate the work involved and the attempts to get that grain just right. And whether it is 10 pieces or a 100 pieces, there is always one or two that will drive you nuts. Keep it up!

[barb.j.enders]

22 hours ago, FrankEV said:

Thw wood coloration is stronger than the grain so, as I said, not noticable to an untrained eye.

I guess I have an "untrained" eye. I did notice that, but didn't think it was a detraction.

[TAIrving]

23 hours ago, FrankEV said:

The grain in the left side ears are oreinted diagonally top to bottom right to left.  Due to the wood size I had, I could not oreient the grain in the right side ear in the opposite diagonal.  Thw wood coloration is stronger than the grain so, as I said, not noticable to an untrained eye.

Beautiful job Frank!  I did not notice the right ear / left ear thing until you mentioned it.  

[wombatie]

You certainly have mastered Intarsia, but I would not expect anything less from you.  My mum was an elephant lover, she would have been over the moon to receive this one.
Well done.

Marg

[Norm Fengstad]

I have never cut teak your intarsia skills are tops

[Scrappile]

Well done, Frank!

[Scrolling Steve]

Awesome job!....One good deed deserves another, and that is a Good Deed !

Edited Monday at 04:42 PM by Scrolling Steve

[Montserrat]

It looks fantastic. The recipient is a really lucky person.

[timelett]

Very well done