Generally when you shop
for wood, you are really looking for three things, colour/species,
grain/figure and machineability. These issues are interrelated.
In other words you may want a beautiful exotic red wood,
only to find out that with the machinery that you have,
you can't cut it.
When selecting wood for
intarsia, you must keep in mind the artistic considerations
and the technical problems in dealing with each species.
Machineability:
If you are a beginner,
it is particularly important to chose woods that are easy
to work with. Many exotic woods have wonderful colour and
figure but can generate a great deal of frustration, when
it comes to cutting and sanding. They generally cut better
on a bandsaw, than a scrollsaw and are too hard to get a
good cut, without burning, on the lighter duty machines.
Will this be an issue?
Light coloured woods are
relatively easy to find, like basswood, poplar and pine.
All of these will machine easily, with basswood the least
likely to splinter. Some customers will use some of the
construction species, because they are relatively available
and cheap (like spruce, red pine), but most of them are
very splintery, ooze a fair amount of sap and difficult
to find dry.
Of the dark woods, cedar
would be on the top of the list for cost and ease of use.
It cuts nicely, but it does have a strong fibrous grain,
so it is not good for cross grain cutting. Walnut and cherry
are good substitutes. They are both significantly more expensive,
but their tighter grain will hold together better, when
cutting fancy pieces. Both woods are softer than oak or
maple, and as such, easier to cut.
For small projects, consider
using wood that is thinner than 3/4". It will be easier
to cut and more in proportion with the overall project,
... particularly if you are using it to decorate a large
wood project...ie a toy box.
Colour & Species
of Wood?
When you are choosing a
particular wood, be aware of the variations in colour between
sap and heartwood. For example, sap maple is very white
but the heartstock can be gray black or reddy brown. Specify,
if possible, whether you need the heartwood or sapwood.
Some woods (often western
red cedar) have interesting gradations of colour from light
to dark, in one board, that can be effectively used to show
depth in your work. Keep a selection around to chose from
as you work.
Many woods will actually
change colour as they age. Cherry is the best example. It
is quite light in tone when it is fresh cut, but ages to
a medium to dark shade quite quickly when it is exposed
to sunlight. Eastern White Pine is pale straw coloured when
freshly sanded but ages to a more golden colour with time...
consider this in your project.
Finishes applied to your
work, usually darken the natural colour of the wood and
often the finish itself ages with time. The caution is not
to fight with nature and try to prevent these changes from
happening, but rather predict their behavior and allow for
it in your design.
Grain & Figure
of the Wood:
Pick grainy woods (like
ash and oak), for parts of the project that you want to
show action or direction, but use non-grainy wood (like
maple or basswood) for surfaces that are metallic. Before
you cut, place small sample pieces in the middle of your
project, to get a feel for the appropriateness of each species.
Avoid using most figured
woods. It is usually a waste of money, because the pieces
are too small to make good use of the beautiful grain patterns
of figured woods. The exception, although this is not truly
a figured wood, is when I chose wood with interesting knots.
Sometimes you can incorporate a knot or other "defects"
into a strategic position on your pattern (see the eye &
breast of the loon).
As with most things in
life, you get better with practice. Be bold, there will
always be choices you don't like, but with time you will
develop a good eye.
