by Earl Misanchuk

Modern intarsia begins with creating a pattern to guide cutting. This is a skill that some will find easier than others; fortunately for the artistically-challenged, there are numerous commercial producers of patterns and a number of books providing projects with a wide range of difficulty -- beginner to expert.

Shapes in pieces can be either traced onto the wood or the pieces can be cut out from a photocopy of the pattern and glued onto the boards. It is at this point that the careful selection of wood comes into play, paying attention to both color and figure. Cutting is done by hand with a fretsaw or using a (powered) scroll saw or bandsaw. The blades used are very fine, measuring only a few hundredths of an inch thick, yet having as many as 15-25 teeth per inch or more!

Once all the pieces have been cut, they are temporarily fitted together on a backing board. Unless you are extremely skilled with the saw, chances are you will have to use sandpaper, files, or sharp tools to adjust the fit between and among pieces, making the joint as narrow and as uniform as possible. Each piece is individually cut, fitted, shaped, sanded, and finished. When all pieces fit properly, the backing board is cut to match the outline of the whole project and the pieces are glued into place. At this point, there is a choice: either the individual pieces can be finished with an oil or varnish finish, then glued into place; or the pieces can be glued onto the backing board, then a finish applied to the whole work. We prefer the former method, since it avoids unsightly accumulations of finish in the cracks between pieces.