Schürch Woodwork FAQ

Alfred: I really like your work and I’m new to marquetry. Where do you get your “green” wood? What species is it? I’d like to add some variety to the floral pieces I am planning to do.

Paul: The wood type is called ‘tulpier’ an Italian poplar which is naturally green, which is then bleached to a uniform shade, then dyed the proper green color with an acid base dye, which is relatively light fast. it will not discolor with UV as much as natural colored green woods such as poplar heartwood.

Bob: Would you suggest keeping the marquetry work on furniture pieces, out of the sunlight? I am not sure if I should be concerned about the veneer fading because of the direct sun or even indirect sun in the house. Does the colored veneer and natural veneer fade?

Paul: Yes, veneer does fade with exposure to direct, or indirect UV. Just look at any antique piece of furniture and notice the honey brown coloring of the different woods. UV lacquer will help, but keeping it out of direct sunlight is best. The dyed veneers fade a bit less, and the greens, reds, and blues fade the quickest out of the dyed woods. If the piece is refinished, some of the color will be restored.

Bob: You mention in your DVD, stretching and compressing the veneer when putting together the cartoon with the veneer. Much of the time my veneer pieces are smaller than the area they need to fit into, even with rehydration. What is your method of stretching or compressing the veneer pieces to fill the gaps?

Paul: You can stipple the veneer along the grain with a chisel edge to spread, crack or stretch the veneer widthwise to close up any gaps from fitting or the saw kerf. In my experience, gaps up to 1/16″ will not be an issue during glue-up since the glue itself will expand the veneer and fill most of the gaps when the project is pressed up, sanded and finished.

Gary: I was wondering if you knew where I might find info on how to set up or make adjustments on the old Milwaukee Delta scroll saw? I have one that was my Grandfather’s 24″ from the 50s. It has a spring-loaded top and a 4 pulley drive speed. The top tube that has the spring inside has graduation marks 0 to 22 on it not sure where that should be and the only thing missing is the center cut out plate.

Paul: The main issue with your saw that it needs top and bottom blade clamps that are able to easily hold 2/0 standard length blade. Depending on the spring age, I usually run a pretty tight blade, with the spring plunger set about ½ capacity (Hi C note, (one octave above middle C on the piano) when the blade is at max tension. Re make the center plate from proper thickness aluminum and you are set to go. I have a custom hold-down on mine for extremely intricate work, and it is still my favorite saw for detail work.

Wayne: I have a marquetry piece 6×10 inches to inlay into a solid maple tabletop. The table is routed out, the piece fits and its ready to put in the vacuum press. Which of your glues would you use?

Paul: I always laminate the Marquetry to two other cross banded backing veneers (perpendicular to each other) and make a three layer plywood using Urea glue, then inlay that ply sandwich into the table top and glue it in with PVA, Urea or Polyurethane glue. The sandwich with marquetry on the top surface will be much more stabile and not crack when the solid wood moves seasonally.

Craig: I have a project coming up using black and white veneers in a Marquetry pattern and need something black to fill with. I have dyed Famowood with India ink before but it still has a grayish color when dry, any thoughts? Also, what color glue would you use to glue black marquetry with a holly background? I am going to try a sample with dark glue but am not sure what it will do to the holly. It is kind of an Art Deco project, no sand shading or any other colors.

Paul: I have found dying the famowood works best with universal tints, which are found at a paint store for coloring a variety of paints. The glue color is a tough one… If the holly is denser than the black dyed, try it dark, but the last time I did it, I used no color in the glue, and applied a layer of glue for minimal squeeze out, and filled gaps with famowood after well sealing the finished sanded surface.