Marquetry & Inlay Part 1

[@akeemwaite]

One of the best woodworking videos I have seen in a while. Very cool!

[@ramonartful]

Thanks a ton! This was a challenge but I knew what I wanted 😬 That always helps to figure things out!

[@cdbflynow]

Very good subject matter for a post. Look forward to the rest. Paul

[@ramonartful]

Great to hear…thanks for the feedback!

[@MESTER47]

Really good teacher, you can teach a class for people who want to build things from wood.

[@ramonartful]

Thanks a ton. I actually do teach marquetry…I love the technique!

[@tomtomisek]

Thanks for sharing this stuff with us, Ramon! Its fascinating to be taught how this stuff is done professionally and expertly!

[@ramonartful]

Thanks Tom! I’ve always been fascinated with marquetry!

[@Sbregher]

Beautiful stuff Ramon! Great video! Thanks much for sharing your technique!

[@ramonartful]

Thanks for checking it out!

[@waterboy8999]

I was hoping you would show us this sometime. Great process and fine work Ramon!

[@ramonartful]

That’s great…glad you like! 🙏🏼

[@davidbedrosian1567]

Fascinating to watch you work so quickly and accurately, Ramon. I love the design of this piece. Did you ever think that you would be using what you learned in geometry class all these years later :-) Your pivot point with the measuring tape under your arm is a classic Ramon trick. So simple and so useful as well. One of these days, I'm going to have to try some marquetry. Thanks!!

[@ramonartful]

Thanks David! I do remember loving geometry in high school! 😆 I also called my algebra/trig teacher after I had graduated and thanked her 😬 Anyway…marquetry is such a fun and absolutely satisfying craft to learn! You would excel at it!

[@Finewoodworkingofsc]

Absolutely loved these two videos on marquetry and inlay. Can you share how you determine the table angle for different veneer thickness ?

[@ramonartful]

Great to hear…thanks! It’s really trial and error. Of course when I learned, the thickness was 5/64” with a related angle of 7°…so I was informed of that relationship. Since then, I’ve used a few different thicknesses. 1/32” requires 20° 3/64” requires 15° 1/16” requires 10 1/2° (my favorite) 5/64” requires. 7° I’ve use 1/42” (industry standard of commercial veneer) and the angle is high, but I don’t remember exactly. It’s a little too thin for my liking. 25° seems about right. Hope that helps.

[@henrysscrollsawworks6917]

Great video and instructions

[@ramonartful]

I appreciate the feedback!

[@brenon4766]

Great instruction as always.

[@ramonartful]

Thank you…I appreciate you always checking em out !

[@matonmacs]

This is frickin’ insane-just gorgeous. I was kind of thinking about a scroll saw for making kid related projects (and even letting kids use it). Seems like lots of scroll saws are in the 16-20” range. Do you think that’s too small for this kind of work?

[@ramonartful]

Thank you tons! One can do a lot with a regular scroll saw. As a matter of fact, I’ve used just a fret saw for years. Max distance from frame to blade is about 11”. Hope that helps.

[@davecurda2350]

I would love to learn how to do this.

[@ramonartful]

It’s a fascinating process to me ! I do have a course via a flash drive, and all the necessary items, tools, tilted platform, saw, blades, tiny hand drill, etc to learn the craft. It’s called Marquetry Class 101 on my website. But I gotta warn you…marquetry is very addictive! 😬 Thanks Dave

[@randsipe224]

Where do you get 1/16” veneer. All my sources are for much thinner stock. I can slice my own on the band saw but I’m limited by species and size.

[@ramonartful]

Try Ocooch Hardwoods. I’ve purchased tons from them! Thanks

[@Hatchmade]

Did I miss where you explained how to figure out the angle you need to set your saw at relative to your veneer thickness or do I need to buy your course for that bit of info? :)

[@ramonartful]

Yes, of course you need to buy my course! 😬 I’ve never found a formula (I’m sure that it wouldn’t be too hard to figure) to find the relationship between angle, saw blade size (2/0 or 3/0 is what I use) and veneer thicknesses. I just learned a few by trial & error. Here they are from thick to thin: 5/64” needs 7 1/2° 1/16” uses 10 1/2° 3/64” = 15° 1/32” = 21° Those are the thicknesses that I’ve used. I learned with 5/64” but thought it was too thick. My favorite is 1/32” but a more substantial thickness well suited for furniture is 1/16”. I’ve done marquetry with the commercially available 1/42” (I don’t remember the angle…probably 25 or so degrees) but it was just too thin for my liking. Hope that helps

[@markscheiner3952]

Nicely done Ramon. Excellent video as always. Do you tend to cut your own veneer when its this thick or is it fairly easy to source thicker veneer in the States? Do you do much with thinner (0.4-6mm) material?

[@ramonartful]

Thanks Mark! I like 1/16” (1.5mm) thickness for a couple of reasons. A) I can easily find that thickness in many species…or cut it myself…I have a good inventory. And 2) I like the substantial thickness for furniture. It can be sanded without worry! I’ve used .9 mm with good results and am currently working on a project with .6mm (1/42”) and it’s more challenging for sure. The only reason I went with this thickness is because it’s all dyed and thicker veneers that are dyed (in the colors I wanted) were not available. Thanks for the questions!

[@markscheiner3952]

@@ramonartful appreciate your reply Ramon.

[@davidbedrosian1567]

I've got a drum sander question for you (actually, I have 2 questions). Is yours a double drum sander and if so are you using both drums? Do you find that you get a consistent thickness coming out of the sander? I've got a similar looking sander and I only use a single drum typically with 80 grit paper. I don't always get consistent thickness of the material coming out. The drum is aligned perfectly so I am wondering if the varying density of the wood is causing the problem. Any thoughts from your experience?

[@ramonartful]

Interesting. Mine is not the highest quality but it does surprisingly well! (Woodtec 25”) Generally, I keep100 grit on both drums….if I’m doing a lot of “thicknessing” I’ll switch both to 80 grit. Like when I use to cut all my own veneers for my Marquetry Class 101 course. ( I now purchase most of those veneers) I don’t typically use mine for sanding …mostly for sizing veneers. This drum sander can’t handle much more than a 1/4 turn at a time….more like an 1/8 of a turn is what I do. But it does sand consistently and very accurately. I do think that varying wood densities could create a problem. But since I sneak up on the target thickness, it seems to work well. Thanks a ton David. Hope that helps.

[@zohranbloedjes9770]

I don't believe wanted to show the trick with the pivot point you just wanted to show of you tatoos😂😂💪

[@ramonartful]

Ha ha…maybe 😬

[@brock2306]

First

[@ramonartful]

😊🙏🏼