Project description
I am looking for a marquetry specialist for a single, well-defined piece: a coffee table top, 60 by 110 centimetres, with a geometric star built up from veneer. The centre should be a radiating star — walnut for the warm dark rays, maple for the light ones, and a few toned leaves so the figure reads from across the room instead of blurring into one brown surface. Before any cutting starts I would like a drawing to approve: the layout of the rays, the grain direction in every segment, and how the pattern meets the edge.
The substrate I have in mind is plywood of a suitable thickness with a balancing veneer on the underside. Without that backing the panel will pull and the top will sit like a propeller by the end of the first heating season. I expect the set to be laid with a veneer hammer and then pressed, not spot-glued: the joints must close tight, with no light showing through and no squeeze-out that surfaces later as a dark line under the finish. Sanding worries me most — the leaves are thin, and sanding through at the tips of the rays would ruin the whole set.
The finish should be matte and quiet but genuinely durable: a mug of tea gets put down on this table, and I do not want white rings. The edge treatment is open to discussion; I lean towards a neat lipping to match the walnut. One condition on materials is not negotiable — veneer of legal origin only, with proof of supply, and no species from restricted lists. The drawing must be your own or built from freely licensed sources; we are not copying anyone else's work, and I will not accept a reproduction of someone's authored panel.
What I would like to see in your reply:
— a sketch and ray layout for approval before cutting;
— species and origin of the veneer, and how that is documented;
— how you keep the pattern repeating true across glued segments;
— your pressing schedule and clamping time;
— the finish system and its resistance to heat and moisture;
— price and lead time broken down by stage.
The substrate I have in mind is plywood of a suitable thickness with a balancing veneer on the underside. Without that backing the panel will pull and the top will sit like a propeller by the end of the first heating season. I expect the set to be laid with a veneer hammer and then pressed, not spot-glued: the joints must close tight, with no light showing through and no squeeze-out that surfaces later as a dark line under the finish. Sanding worries me most — the leaves are thin, and sanding through at the tips of the rays would ruin the whole set.
The finish should be matte and quiet but genuinely durable: a mug of tea gets put down on this table, and I do not want white rings. The edge treatment is open to discussion; I lean towards a neat lipping to match the walnut. One condition on materials is not negotiable — veneer of legal origin only, with proof of supply, and no species from restricted lists. The drawing must be your own or built from freely licensed sources; we are not copying anyone else's work, and I will not accept a reproduction of someone's authored panel.
What I would like to see in your reply:
— a sketch and ray layout for approval before cutting;
— species and origin of the veneer, and how that is documented;
— how you keep the pattern repeating true across glued segments;
— your pressing schedule and clamping time;
— the finish system and its resistance to heat and moisture;
— price and lead time broken down by stage.
Other / Miscellaneous Cash, Bank transfer
