Fig. 185. Method of making an Inlaid checker-board
When the final gluing has dried, the usual 1⁄8-inch strip should be sawed out. This is best done on a power, band, or circular saw, but it can be done by hand if the rip saw is good and sharp.
Other built up combinations may be handled in the same way. For square spaces, the checker-board is a great favourite. It calls for a dark and light veneer of 1⁄8 inch thickness. Glue up four light and four dark pieces in alternation as shown in [Fig. 185]. When hard, saw out eight strips as wide as the veneer is thick. Glue these eight strips together, reversing four of them, so that the black and white squares come together. The result will be a solid piece one inch square, and by sawing off 1⁄8-inch slices, each slice will be a checker-board composed of 1⁄8-inch cubes.
The very best glue obtainable is needed for this work, especially if the woods are ebony and holly, as these are so hard that the glue cannot penetrate.
When a 30-60-90-degree mitre box is used to cut the strips, an entirely different class of designs is obtained. [Fig. 186] shows some of the endless possibilities of these combinations. They are suitable for the top and shelf of an hexagonal tabourette, and the oblong figures are suitable for the top of an oblong box or the space between the wells of an inkstand.
Some of the simplest yet most effective forms give the impression of overlapping shown at a, [Fig. 183], this being an oblong piece of fancy wood with a narrow mitred frame around the four sides; b b are pieces of the same kind of wood but different from a, with a narrow frame on three sides; a appears to be laid over b, and c c, still another kind of wood, both cut from the same piece.
It looks more uniform and harmonious if the frames of the five pieces representing three distinct kinds of wood are the same.
It is important in choosing these borders to see that the outside veneer be in marked contrast to the surface into which the design is to be set.