Decorate the lid of the jewelry box or furniture with a wicker pattern, giving it a unique and elegant look. Like many other carpentry methods, this one only at first glance seems too complicated. However, once you understand the basic working principles shown in our article step by step, you will see that this is done very simply.

Pattern markup

To create a braided pattern, I use maple veneer squares, painted black, and light cherry rectangles.

The main secret of constructing a pattern lies in the ratio of the sizes of squares and rectangles. The rectangles should be twice as wide and four times as long as the squares. With a 1:2:4 ratio, you can build a braided pattern of any size.

In the example shown here, the 20x40mm rectangles correspond to 10mm squares. A 5 mm wide black stripe and a 25 mm wide walnut border surround the braided pattern. After gluing, the edges of the set are cut flush with the edges of the cover with dimensions of 216 × 280 mm.

Cutting strips of veneer

This pattern requires 63 squares and 62 rectangles, but it doesn't hurt to have a few extra details. To cut out the details, you will need a sharp knife, a metal ruler and a working gloss. The work board can be made from a piece of plywood or laminated chipboard, adding a wooden rail-stop to which the edge of the veneer is pressed. First, make a 10mm template out of scrap at least 12mm thick.

Press a piece of black veneer against the stop rail and, using the template, position the ruler parallel to the stop with an indent of 10 mm (photo A). Cut a few strips with a total length of at least 60 cm to make squares (photo B). Then cut two more strips 300 mm long and set aside. Join the edges of the previously cut strips, fasten the strips with tape and cut into squares (photo C).

To make a template for light rectangles, tape the two black strips that were set aside with adhesive tape, joining their edges.

Cut several 20mm light strips with a total length of at least 2400mm. As before, join the edges of these strips, fasten with tape, cut one end at a right angle and press this end to the stop rail. Tape the two 20mm strips together and use them as a ruler template to cut the strips into rectangles.

Fast firing will change the color of the veneer

Using hot sand, make the ends of the rectangles darker, as if fading into shadow, to create the illusion of intertwining stripes.

Set the heating control of the electric hotplate to the middle position and place a small cast iron pan, 2/3 filled with fine sand. Practice with veneer scraps and determine optimal time exposure of light rectangles in the sand until the desired color is obtained. Darken both ends of each rectangle (Pic D).

Assemble the pattern

To keep the flying patterns in place and you can continue assembling, lay a sheet of so-called contact paper with the sticky side up, placing a piece of cardboard underneath (photo E). Mark on the contact paper two perpendicular lines intersecting in the center of the sheet. These lines will help neatly

arrange the flyers so that the finished pattern is rectangular. Stack squares and rectangles face down (photos F and G).

If some parts move or are loose on the sticky layer of the contact paper, secure them temporarily with transparent tape. Having collected the pattern completely, cut off its edges (photo H, I, J).

Add a beautiful border

Cut 5mm strips from the black veneer and 25mm wide strips from the walnut veneer in the same way as before. Attach these strips to the edges of the pattern (photo K) with an overlap at the corners. Cut the overlaps obliquely from inner corner to the outside (photo L). After making diagonal seams at all four corners, turn the set over and stick strips of masking tape on the border. Remove the transparent film from the front surface.

Brief advice! Apply clear tape diagonally to all corners on both sides to avoid cracking when cutting the veneer.

Apply gummed tape

Before gluing the finished kit to the base, the masking tape must be removed. To do this, first moisten the strips of gummed tape and paste them over the entire front side of the set (photo M). Raw paper tape will shrink the veneer when it dries, and the set may warp. Do not panic! It will become flat again after gluing to the base. When the tape is dry, carefully peel off the masking tape by tearing it off at a 45° angle to the grain direction. Pull the tape along the surface of the kit so you don't accidentally tear off one of the pieces.

Brief advice! If one of the pieces of veneer falls out of the set when removing the adhesive tape, insert it into place and secure with a drop of glue, rubbing it with your finger into the seams

Lightly moisten the gummed tape with a wet sponge and stick it on the front of the kit. As it dries, this tape will tighten the joints of the veneer parts more tightly.

Stick the set on the base

To glue the set to the base, you can use a vacuum press, a veneer press, or simply clamp the work with clamps between two thick plates cut from 19mm plywood or MDF board. I usually use traditional bone glue as it allows you to carry the set even after the glue has dried by simply heating it with an iron, but any carpentry glue can be used. Saw to size the base of a strong and stable material, such as MDF or plywood. Then cut a piece of veneer of the same size to stick on the back of the base. Choose a veneer that will look good inside the box. It is glued to the underside of the base so that the finished panel does not warp.

Apply glue evenly to the base and stick the veneer sheet. Then turn the base over, apply glue and carefully stick the set with a wicker pattern (photo N). Glue should be applied only to the base, not to the veneer. Place the panel in the press and press firmly (photo O). Leave the panel under pressure for several hours, then remove and wait another day to allow the adhesive to dry completely.

Do-it-yourself mosaic veneer - step by step description and photo

Parallelism without measurements and markup. A primitive template will help you quickly and accurately position the ruler.

Cut the strips. Holding the ruler in place, guide the knife along its edge. Make a few cuts with a little pressure to separate the breakage of the veneer.

Connect and cut. Tape a few black strips of veneer together and cut one end at a right angle. Use the template to set a ruler, then cut the strips across to make squares.

Darken the ends of the rectangles. Empirically set the exposure time of the cherry veneer in hot sand, immersing the end of the part by about 3 mm. Try to keep them all looking the same and avoid charring.

To assemble the pattern, prepare a sticky surface. Tape the contact paper to the table with the sticky side up.

Start from the center. Align the first rectangle along one of the guide lines and place the black square next to it, also aligning it to the line. Add a second rectangle, placing it across the first and aligning it to the center to form a T. Add another black square on the other side.

From the middle to the edges. Continue to make T-shapes from light rectangles, filling in the free gaps with squares.

In the course of work, regularly check the squareness of the pattern with the help of guide lines.

Apply masking tape. When finished assembling the pattern, completely remove the transparent tape and cover the entire back side with masking tape.

Trim the edges of the set. Using a sharp knife, cut out a rectangle measuring 180 x 240 mm along the ruler. Do not worry about the accuracy of these dimensions. You can change the final dimensions by adding a border of veneer strips.

Remove paper. After cutting off the edges of the kit, carefully peel off the contact paper, but leave the masking tape in place.

Outline the pattern. Fasten with transparent tape black and walnut stripes edging. Then attach this border to the edge of the set.

The perfect bite. With a few light cuts diagonally, cut the edging strips at each corner.

Stick on and fasten. Glue the veneer to the back of the base first, then the pattern, don't forget to tape all the pieces together so they don't move under pressure.

Place wax paper between the panel and pressure plates to prevent them from sticking together. Thin layer The cardboard between the waxed paper and the plates compensates for small differences in veneer thickness by applying even pressure to all parts of the set.

Often in books or articles you can see the words "inlaid" or "inlay". It happens that they write about furniture and various products: “inlaid with gold” or “silver”, or “beautiful stones”. Well, what does that mean? Having figured out what it is and how to make wood inlay with your own hands, you can make amazing masterpieces.

basic information

Inlay is one of the types of mosaics, when patterns from plates of other material, mainly precious metals, are applied to a wooden base by cutting. The name comes from the old word "incrustatio" which means "covering".

Inserts in this work should be on the same level with the entire surface of the object. For coverage, the most different materials : metals, precious stones, marble products, ceramics, wood and mother-of-pearl. Inlay is an art that has been popular since ancient times and is still developing beautifully.

Work materials

The first step is to prepare materials for work. To create an inlay, you will need special tools:

• Cutters.
• Chisels and chisels of various types.
• Thickness gauges, drill.
• Special marker and compass.

Material for making the ornament:

• Pear.
• Maple.

For inserts, material of a natural shade is most often used and only sometimes it is painted. From one type of wood, you can choose not only different tones, but also colors. If black is required, use dark walnut and pickle in oak bark with iron particles or rust for several days. You can display any color of the tree, close to the natural color if you cook thin plates of pears in certain dyes. To create an inlay, the bars of the selected wood are cut into plates two mm thick. To do the job well, it is still worth using a blueprint, wire, veneer and plywood.

Stages of inlay on wood with metal

The procedure for performing inlay: an ornament or other selected pattern is applied to the taken board with a compass or a special marker. After transferring the image to the object and markings, they proceed to inlay. Straight lines are drawn first., between which it is necessary to place a strip of other wood, and select the material between the slots to a depth of two or three mm.

Straight lines on uniform planes of the object are cut with a special tool with a thickness gauge, two cutters are placed in its movable block at a selected distance.

With this device, with a prepared board of the same color, the strip is made a little longer than necessary, then, using a chisel or knife, it is cut to the selected length. The finished strip is processed special glue and insert into the prepared nest. To make flower petals or "wheat", a round chisel is used. The arc is cut off on both sides, then a recess is picked up with a thin chisel.

In the same way, an insert is made of colored material. Having smeared the element with glue, insert it into the prepared nest and tap it with a mallet or hammer.

To insert a rounded insert, prepare paired drills of the selected diameter for the outer cut, make a circle on the object with the inside, and insert from another wood with the outside. Pick up the cropped circle with a chisel of small dimensions.

If it is necessary to lay out a couple of block circles, then first a circle of huge diameter is inserted on the glue. It is better to lubricate only the edges in these circles, so that it is easier to remove a certain nest.

Then they cut and pull out circles of smaller radii. This manipulation is done as many times as the circles will be inserted, beads are folded into the central part. Adjacent parts are lubricated with special glue and finished off with a hammer. When the adhesive dries, the protrusions above the surface are cleaned with files and special paper. After sanding (small sandpaper) the surface of the object is varnished or polished. So the topic of making mosaics on wood products has been disassembled.

Creating Strokes and Patterns

At the end of the work, strokes and patterns are applied to the mother-of-pearl, which complete the image.

First, they are depicted with an ordinary pencil, and then they are cut with a device with sharpening in the shape of a triangle with the tip down. The sharpening angle of the engraver is about forty-five degrees, which is due to the good strength of mother-of-pearl.

The methods of working with such a device differ from engraving with a drill, which makes lines in any direction. They work with a chisel somewhere along the axis of the hand, and the workpiece, together with the vise, is turned over on the table so that the cut takes place in the easiest direction for a person. Wherein thumb one hand rests on the finger of the other, which helps control the device: it cannot run forward and make a real scratch.

They sharpen the device on a special disk inserted into the drill.

The first to perform large lines that create the main pattern. Next, mark small lines with a pencil and cut them with a thinner engraver. At the end, points are set with an electric tool (matting, it is very similar to a small jackhammer and produces blows with a point). When all the lines and dots are done, finish painting the mother-of-pearl with black paint on alcohol based, which can penetrate into parts of the sections and soak into them. Unnecessary dye is removed from the mother-of-pearl planes with a dense rubber band.

On this work on the product is almost completed. It remains to wipe the wood with linseed or some other drying oil, and you can take the item to the customer or transfer it to a new operation. Well, in the end, many should remember that do-it-yourself wooden mosaic for walls is suitable for decorating rooms in the style of Country, Provence and is considered a great alternative to wallpaper.

To decorate products, you can still use the wood marquetry technique for beginners, it is performed in a similar way and does not require any special skills.

Attention, only TODAY!

Master class on marquetry "Mosaic from wood" for beginners in 1 day in Moscow!

The master class is intended for everyone and does not require special professional knowledge or skills. During master class You will create wood mosaic (veneer different breeds tree) reverse set.

Mosaic is such a versatile art that it can be made not only from smalt, natural stones, glass tiles, but even wood. This type of wood mosaic, in which a mosaic set is made from pieces of veneer of different types of wood, is called marquetry. The art of marquetry originated in antiquity, but wide use received only after the invention in the second half of the 16th century of a machine for the production of sawn veneer. The marquetry technique is used to decorative design furniture and interior decoration.

In our master class, we will teach you the technique of this amazing view mosaics, we will tell you about the materials and tools needed for work. You will learn what intarsia and facing are, and most importantly, create your own work, which you will take with you.

Mosaic made of wood has high decorative qualities, since it uses only natural materials. Mosaic made in marquetry technique is a real drawing of nature itself.

• Master classes are held on all days except Friday;
• The task is designed for 1 day (5 hours);
• The maximum number of students in a group is 6 people;
• Pre-registration is required to participate in the master class;
• The master class runs from 12.00 to 17.30;
• 3-hour lessons by agreement with the teacher;
• Everything necessary materials available in our workshop, nothing extra to bring

We will provide you with sketches of mosaics to choose from. In the master class you will simple figures(butterflies, flowers, ornament, fruits) from veneer of different types of wood.

Master class cost 4000 2500 rub! For two 7000 4000 rub.

See photo reports of master classes in the group