Carpentry and Woodwork

by Edwin W. Foster

A very simple centre piece may be made interesting by surrounding a plain oblong or rectangle of rare wood with an interlaced border.

Inlaying of curved designs means some difficulty in accurately cutting out the opening to fit the design; but this is overcome by reverting to the ancient art called marquetry work. Three or more veneers ¹⁄₁₆ inch thick are glued together at the corners and the design drawn or glued on the top layer.

Suppose the figure is that of a butterfly. Assume that the veneers are holly, mahogany, and rosewood. With a fine fret saw cut or saw directly on the lines. The three thicknesses being sawed at one time, the pieces must exactly fit. The rosewood may be used for the outer edge of the wings, the holly for the main part of the wings, and the mahogany for the body. As all these parts fit accurately, they may be glued to a ¹⁄₄-inch backing piece and dried under the pressure of hand screws. Flowers, birds, etc., in infinite variety, and even landscapes, can be cut out and used in this way. Veneers coloured green are on the market and may be used for leaves or foliage effects.

Fig. 186. Designs cut on 30-60-90-degree mitre box

A great deal might be written about this old style of ornamental woodwork, but it would deal almost entirely with questions of design, as the method would be practically the same in every case. One form of this interesting art is called buhl work, in which sheet brass, German silver, or even the precious metals are used. Brass and ebony were a favourite combination at one time, the two layers being glued together with paper between. The design was sawed out, and then a sharp knife blade inserted into the joint to separate the brass from the ebony. That gave two distinct designs. In one case it was a brass background with ebony inlay. In the other, an ebony background with brass inlay.

There will always be as many resulting combinations as there are original layers of material. A backing of cheap material is always necessary to support the finished work to which it must be securely glued. In polishing the finished surface, a steel scraper must first be used, followed by fine sand-paper; then polish.

Some of the newer forms of decoration, while lacking the richness of inlaid work, admit of greater freedom. Pyrography, for example, is closely akin to drawing, and in the hands of a careful worker may be made to produce very artistic effects. Like all arts, it also has its limitations. In woods of the pine family, it will not do at all, on account of the pitchy sap. In dark-coloured or very hard woods, it is equally unsatisfactory, so that it is used almost exclusively on basswood, because of the white colour, softness, even grain, and freedom from pitch.

Outfits for pyrography may be purchased quite reasonably. They consist of a glass bottle containing benzine; the vapour from this is forced through a rubber tube by means of a bulb held in the left hand out to a platinum point. This point is first heated in the flame of an alcohol lamp sufficiently to ignite the benzine vapour as it comes out through openings in the point.