The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California

Furniture Finishing

The depression is first cleaned, then lined with glue, and as soon as snugly fitted in, the inlay is clamped tight; when the glue is dry any surplus is washed off and the inlay is sanded smooth with the rest of the surface.

A typical inlay strip is generally from one-eighth to one-half inch in width, spaced at a suitable distance from the edge of the table top. cabinet panel, drawer front, etc., but may run as high as two, three or four inches in width. Again inlay may be used to form a geometrical pattern, a star, a sunburst or a checkerboard effect, using a lighter wood against a darker background or vice versa. Favorite woods for the purpose include alone or in combination, white holly, ebony, white mahogany or prima vera, zebra wood, rosewood, tulipwood, boxwood, etc.

All have a distinctive figure or coloring of their own, and being tight-grained for the most part as well, require neither staining nor filling.

They are therefore given a thin coat of white shellac before the rest of the piece is touched and so are protected, the shellac and subsequent lacquer or pale varnish finish bringing out the natural beauty of these woods to the full. Ebony may be imitated by running two scratch or vein lines spaced as given above for the widths of inlay, then staining between with jet nigrosene water or spirit stain in a strength of not less than six ounces to the gallon and using black filler if the wood is open-pored like mahogany or walnut. Thus, although there is no actual inlaying, the appearance of it is closely approximated, and if desired, the scratch lines may be lined with gold bronze to heighten the effect. Enamel inlay may be imitated by filling the groove with white lead-varnish putty tinted to pastel shades with oil or japan colors.

MARQUETRY

Marquetry is a variety of inlay distinctive in that two or more different woods, selected according to color and grain, are cut, pieced together and glued to a paper background so as to form a given pattern. This may be an arabesque, a conventionalized basket, floral or urn design or constitute an elaborate picture, reproduced from an oil painting. It is an ancient art widely practiced during the Italian Renaissance, when it was known as intarsia, and among the Dutch of the same period, who discovered many of the woods now used, and in the period of Louis XIV.