In our search for the simple life with its mission furniture, etc., inlaying has become almost a lost art, but it is so easily done, and if used in moderation so pleasing to the eye, that every boy ought to try it at least.

If simple designs are adhered to, the results are bound to be satisfactory. The materials required are a few pieces of veneering of different thicknesses and two or more kinds of wood. Veneering can be obtained from ¹/₈ inch thick down to ¹/₆₄ inch, but for ordinary work the thickness should be ¹/₈ inch, ¹/₁₆ inch, and ¹/₃₂ inch, and the woods, ebony, holly, walnut, mahogany.

A good collection for simple designs is:

The tools required are a mitre box, back saw, socket chisel, and mallet.

The process consists of building up the design, cutting out the opening, gluing the design in the opening, and dressing down.

BUILDING UP THE DESIGN

It pays to make a full-sized drawing of the design, as the relation of the inlaid work to the space it is to occupy is important. For a box proportioned like the one just described, 11 × 7 inches, the inlaid design should be in about the same general proportion. A square centre piece in such an oblong space would not look well; it should be about one and a half times as long as the width. The best plan is to draw the box top full size and then carefully work up the design.

This sort of designing will be a new experience, as the veneering is all cut in a mitre box, no tool but a saw being used, and this fact limits the designs.

Several pieces of the veneer are glued together and placed in hand screws over night.

Suppose the combination shown at Fig. 182 is used. Five thicknesses composed of two ¹/₁₆-inch walnut, next two of ¹/₁₆-inch holly, and in the centre one ¹/₈-inch ebony, will make a strong combination ³/₈ inch thick.

The dimensions should be about 18 inches long by 3 inches wide. These five pieces when glued together make a solid piece 18 × 3 × ³/₈ inches. This built up board is sawed into strips ¹/₈ inch thick, and these strips ³/₈ × ¹/₈ inch form the basis of the design.

In drawing the centre piece, border, or whatever form the inlay is to take, it must be constantly kept in mind that ³/₈ inch is the width of the pieces. Fig. 182 shows the shapes possible on a 45-degree mitre box. Four pieces like a make a square. To make an oblong design from this shape, ten pieces will give b. Four pieces like d will give a hollow square, in which may be fitted a piece of fancy wood such as rosewood, snake wood, satinwood, or some other South American wood.

The Greek cross is a favourite figure, and it is composed of twelve pieces, eight like f, and four like a. Some of its variations are shown in c c.

This design can be elaborated as shown at e. Some of the most pleasing combinations are extremely simple. An oblong piece of beautiful wood such as bird's-eye maple, with a simple mitred frame, is far more satisfying than the more complicated figures.

The Swastika is a favourite among boys, and it is shown at Fig. 183 applied to an oblong box design. In such a figure the border strips are not put on until all the pieces for the Swastika are cut out, fitted, and glued.

In many of these designs two, three, and sometimes four gluings are necessary. The pieces, having been cut and fitted, are all brought together on a piece of paper and glued with liquid glue. The hot glue dries too quickly. The paper holding the design is laid on a piece of pine ⁷/₈ inch thick, and wire brads driven into the pine up close to the inlay to hold the design together while it dries. Two nails should be used against each piece of the outside border. These nails may be used to exert pressure by bending them with the fingers over the design to force the pieces together.

When each piece has been pressed into place, allow it to stand over night. Next day bend the nails back, and lift the design, paper and all, out of its nail fence, tear off the paper and cut away any glue that projects beyond the edges with a knife or chisel.

You now have a solid inlaid design ¹/₈ inch thick ready for use. Find by measurement the exact place where you want this figure, lay it on the surface and with a sharp knife scribe a line around the design. Place the inlay to one side, and cut out to a depth of ¹/₈ inch the whole space inside the knife lines. This can be done with socket chisel and mallet, or with a router. The final cut should be made with the chisel, bevel side in and straight down.

You now have a space cut in the surface the exact size of the design, except possibly the depth. Coat the bottom of this space with glue, press the design down into the space and hammer it tight with the mallet and block of soft wood.

Allow the glue to harden thoroughly, plane the design down to the surface, scrape, and sand-paper.

This is one of the things much more easily done than described on paper.

Instead of the solid designs just described, an inlaid border is sometimes preferable. Fig. 182 at g gives a good idea of a very neat one. In this case, the groove to receive the inlay is drawn directly on the surface of the box, and cut out to the usual depth, ¹/₈ inch. The pieces of inlay are sawed out in the mitre box and fitted into the groove individually, but not glued until the entire border has been fitted. They are done all at one time, and then a piece of board is laid over the whole top, and it is placed in hand screws over night.

The number of combinations which can be obtained from three or four veneers of different thicknesses is astonishing, but perhaps the most interesting form is called built up work. Fig. 184 shows several forms of built up borders. The method of making a is as follows:

Ebony and holly ¹/₈ inch thick are required and two separate combinations are glued up, one containing two pieces of holly with one ebony, and the second two of ebony with one holly.

When dry, saw out of each combination a strip an inch or an inch and a quarter wide. From strip No. 1 saw a dozen or more pieces an inch or so long. To make these pieces exactly alike, drive a nail into the bottom of the mitre box an inch from the 90-degree saw cut. By pushing the strip up to this nail each time a cut is made the pieces must be the same length.

For combination No. 2, shift the nail to ³/₈ inch from the saw cut, and saw out an equal number of pieces as from No. 1.

By gluing these pieces together alternately, border a will result. It is necessary on these built up combinations to add an outside retaining strip of thin veneer to hold the pieces rigidly together.

When the final gluing has dried, the usual ¹/₈-inch strip should be sawed out. This is best done on a power, band, or circular saw, but it can be done by hand if the rip saw is good and sharp.

Other built up combinations may be handled in the same way. For square spaces, the checker-board is a great favourite. It calls for a dark and light veneer of ¹/₈ inch thickness. Glue up four light and four dark pieces in alternation as shown in Fig. 185. When hard, saw out eight strips as wide as the veneer is thick. Glue these eight strips together, reversing four of them, so that the black and white squares come together. The result will be a solid piece one inch square, and by sawing off ¹/₈-inch slices, each slice will be a checker-board composed of ¹/₈-inch cubes.

The very best glue obtainable is needed for this work, especially if the woods are ebony and holly, as these are so hard that the glue cannot penetrate.

When a 30-60-90-degree mitre box is used to cut the strips, an entirely different class of designs is obtained. Fig. 186 shows some of the endless possibilities of these combinations. They are suitable for the top and shelf of an hexagonal tabourette, and the oblong figures are suitable for the top of an oblong box or the space between the wells of an inkstand.

Some of the simplest yet most effective forms give the impression of overlapping shown at a, Fig. 183, this being an oblong piece of fancy wood with a narrow mitred frame around the four sides; b b are pieces of the same kind of wood but different from a, with a narrow frame on three sides; a appears to be laid over b, and c c, still another kind of wood, both cut from the same piece.

It looks more uniform and harmonious if the frames of the five pieces representing three distinct kinds of wood are the same.

It is important in choosing these borders to see that the outside veneer be in marked contrast to the surface into which the design is to be set.

A very simple centre piece may be made interesting by surrounding a plain oblong or rectangle of rare wood with an interlaced border.

Inlaying of curved designs means some difficulty in accurately cutting out the opening to fit the design; but this is overcome by reverting to the ancient art called marquetry work. Three or more veneers ¹/₁₆ inch thick are glued together at the corners and the design drawn or glued on the top layer.

Suppose the figure is that of a butterfly. Assume that the veneers are holly, mahogany, and rosewood. With a fine fret saw cut or saw directly on the lines. The three thicknesses being sawed at one time, the pieces must exactly fit. The rosewood may be used for the outer edge of the wings, the holly for the main part of the wings, and the mahogany for the body. As all these parts fit accurately, they may be glued to a ¹/₄-inch backing piece and dried under the pressure of hand screws. Flowers, birds, etc., in infinite variety, and even landscapes, can be cut out and used in this way. Veneers coloured green are on the market and may be used for leaves or foliage effects.

A great deal might be written about this old style of ornamental woodwork, but it would deal almost entirely with questions of design, as the method would be practically the same in every case. One form of this interesting art is called buhl work, in which sheet brass, German silver, or even the precious metals are used. Brass and ebony were a favourite combination at one time, the two layers being glued together with paper between. The design was sawed out, and then a sharp knife blade inserted into the joint to separate the brass from the ebony. That gave two distinct designs. In one case it was a brass background with ebony inlay. In the other, an ebony background with brass inlay.

There will always be as many resulting combinations as there are original layers of material. A backing of cheap material is always necessary to support the finished work to which it must be securely glued. In polishing the finished surface, a steel scraper must first be used, followed by fine sand-paper; then polish.

Some of the newer forms of decoration, while lacking the richness of inlaid work, admit of greater freedom. Pyrography, for example, is closely akin to drawing, and in the hands of a careful worker may be made to produce very artistic effects. Like all arts, it also has its limitations. In woods of the pine family, it will not do at all, on account of the pitchy sap. In dark-coloured or very hard woods, it is equally unsatisfactory, so that it is used almost exclusively on basswood, because of the white colour, softness, even grain, and freedom from pitch.

Outfits for pyrography may be purchased quite reasonably. They consist of a glass bottle containing benzine; the vapour from this is forced through a rubber tube by means of a bulb held in the left hand out to a platinum point. This point is first heated in the flame of an alcohol lamp sufficiently to ignite the benzine vapour as it comes out through openings in the point.

While the left hand keeps pumping the vapour, the right hand guides the point along the lines of the design, which has been drawn or traced on the wood.

Many articles made and stamped with designs are to be had at the art stores; but the joy and satisfaction in achievement come from making the articles and originating the designs.

Basswood is very easily soiled by handling and a coat of white shellac should be applied after the burning is finished. Sometimes staining is used on certain parts of the design, as for flowers or fruit, and in that case the staining must be done before the shellac is applied.