Standing Desk Part 2: Marquetry Accent

What better way to embellish a simple slab top standing desk than with a little marquetry. In this video I add a company logo using the Boulle marquetry technique and then inlay it over top of the racing stripes I created in part 1 of this project.
Marquetry is a fun way to dress up any piece and not nearly as complex as you might think at first glance. I show the simplest and easiest entry point to marquetry here using just a fret saw blade with a 2/0 blade and a bench appliance called a Bird's Mouth. Add some patience and a stack of veneers and you can make beautiful paintings in wood.

[@mikeminnick9712]

Hi Shannon I enjoyed watching this video all the way through. I have been doing some marquetry for a couple of years as a hobby (with other projects). Have done Boulle and double bevel. I have found using yellow frog tape to hold the cut pieces into the background works pretty well. That tape is for delicate surfaces and isn’t so difficult to remove like the regular blue tape.

[@margaretmclaren4685]

It's like quilting with wood. Beautiful!

[@eggster71]

Stunning job and a really informative how to as always!! Thanks!

[@bobbabcock3847]

Outstanding inlay, makes me think I could learn that.

[@congruewoodworks1474]

This is so informative! thank you!

[@damiencwalker]

Nice work, mate. To get a good fit for the plywood disc, I turn the disc over and shape it to fit face-down. That way the finished face is more likely to fit snug around its circular housing. Bevel the back edge to make sure it seats well. I also cut a few grooves in the back of the ply when I think the glue needs somewhere to go.

[@RenaissanceWW]

Yes but when the circle is shaped by hand you cannot guarantee you have a perfectly uniform circle. So once you flip it over the shape changes and you risk mis-shaping the recess.

[@donwight5806]

I cannot wait to do that with my desk and my brother's

[@davidpeterson5186]

I don’t know how your bosses wouldn’t have you make some more desks for them.

[@whittysworkshop982]

Is there anything you cant do Shannon 🤔😂 this was seriously good, I enjoyed every second of it 😁 ..... every second apart from where ya were smoothing around the inlay, the hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end watching that 😳😂 I chanced planing around a veneered surface before to flush up adjoining parts, and it worked....... until one day I done it with a Pomelle Sapele veneer and it tore chunks out 🤦‍♂️😂 This was VERY impressive Shannon, that table is a beauty 😁

[@RenaissanceWW]

With a sharp blade and a light setting you shouldn't worry about tearing up veneer or blowing through it. In truth most of what you saw me removing in that shot was glue and the backer veneer that I used to assemble the pattern. Still at less than .001 shaving thickness you have some room to play with.

[@PowderhornWild]

Ha, that's a pretty clever sales pitch.

[@nielstherkildsen3790]

Making it look easy :)

[@GlennBrockett]

It looks better with the holly ring. A great woodworker know how to cover their mistakes.

[@paulkeogh1396]

Awesome project Shannon! Love your work. FYI you have offline media at 19:17

[@RenaissanceWW]

dangit!

[@imager8763]

Any thoughts of dyeing the glue for color (a black outline).

[@RenaissanceWW]

yep, check out the video at the 15:50 mark, kzbin.info/www/bejne/onjbpJuff6tlitk

[@imager8763]

@@RenaissanceWW Got it, thank you!

[@JasonRSpenny]

YOu get a thumbs up AND interaction becasue holy crap how did I not know/realize how to set the depth stop on a router plane. 🤦‍♂️

[@chrisherald2338]

If you used dye to make a dark mastic, how do you keep from staining your woods? Seal them with shellac first?

[@RenaissanceWW]

first you use very little dye. Second the dye is held in solution with the glue and won't soak into the veneers. Kinda like dying epoxy and using it to fill a knot. It fills the gaps but doesn't stain the surrounding wood.

[@chrisherald2338]

Thanks. Sounds like I need to start experimenting. This has been really helpful.

[@behonestwithyourself3718]

Great video. Thank you. Can you or anyone here recommend any books or other resources on marquarty? I'm strictly hands tools. What's the double bevel technique? Again thanks for posting this.

[@RenaissanceWW]

Well my obvious answer would be by joining The Hand Tool School where you will find a comprehensive lesson on the different types of marquetry...but admittedly I haven't covered it much there outside of that yet...yet. Silas Kopf's book "A Marquetry Odyssey" is great. Also Craig Thibodeau's book "The Craft of Veneering". David Marks is a master practictioner of the double bevel technique using an electric scrollsaw. It can be done with a fret saw and I have created a supplemental table for my birds mouth fixture that is canted at a 7 degree angle for it. Its an effective technique when you want to blend species together seamlessly like when choosing similarly colored woods to create a shadow or organic feel. Silas Kopf has a video that comes with his book that covers this in great detail. But honestly I would start as I have done here with the Boulle method. It will help you wrap your head around the process and get a feel for working with veneers and improve your fret sawing technique. The piece by piece method and double methods can come later.