Design and piece cutting
This is a real-time blog, that is I am blogging as I am working on the project. As it is my own design I respectfully request that anyone wishing to copy it waits until I have posted the finished project.
I've made this design using part of the Fibonacci series of numbers; that is specifically 1,2,3,5,8, as proportions for the parts of this mosaic box. It's going to be an EZ Mitre box so here is the plan for the initial board
Starting at 1 for the diameter of the central circle, the successive rings are in proportions 2,3,5,8 going outwards (that is 8 to the far corner at the bottom of the side in the final box). In each quadrant of the design the number of segments per ring are also in these proportions. The final design should look something like this paper model
The mosaic pieces will be Ebony, Purpleheart, Bloodwood, Yew and Pau Amarello with a white dyed two pack resin 'grouting' in between them. I am used to seeing mosaics made with less than perfect tiles so I am not overly worried about the perfection of the cut pieces. The resin should accommodate this well. I have not experimented with this method and I'm winging it. It either works or fails miserably. If you don't risk things in life you can't expect to grow.
First thing to do is print a full sized template for the piece cutting, on clear plastic, from the TurboCAD drawing.
The whiter sections of this are windows cut in the template in order to place and mark out pieces on the relevant woods. The woods are 5 to 6 mm thick (allowing for sand down to a 3 to 4 mm flat surface later) to be mounted on a 3 mm Birch ply base. I also printed out a full sized colour pattern to allow for initial placing of pieces as they are cut.
At the top of the picture are the various woods pencil marked with the pieces
I'm cutting the pieces on a scroll saw.
I have neither the keen eye nor dexterity of either Scrollgirl or KnotCurser so there should be enough inaccuracy in the pieces to satisfy the 'rough finish' required.
I started with the easier woods, Yew, Pau Amarello and worked onto the harder to cut ones later. Near the beginning
That's supposed to be a straight line!
This is with all the pieces cut
and that's where I am up to now. Next time I hope to be gluing the pieces to the base board and if it goes really well I might try the grouting technique.
Be seeing you.
This is a real-time blog, that is I am blogging as I am working on the project. As it is my own design I respectfully request that anyone wishing to copy it waits until I have posted the finished project.
I've made this design using part of the Fibonacci series of numbers; that is specifically 1,2,3,5,8, as proportions for the parts of this mosaic box. It's going to be an EZ Mitre box so here is the plan for the initial board
Starting at 1 for the diameter of the central circle, the successive rings are in proportions 2,3,5,8 going outwards (that is 8 to the far corner at the bottom of the side in the final box). In each quadrant of the design the number of segments per ring are also in these proportions. The final design should look something like this paper model
The mosaic pieces will be Ebony, Purpleheart, Bloodwood, Yew and Pau Amarello with a white dyed two pack resin 'grouting' in between them. I am used to seeing mosaics made with less than perfect tiles so I am not overly worried about the perfection of the cut pieces. The resin should accommodate this well. I have not experimented with this method and I'm winging it. It either works or fails miserably. If you don't risk things in life you can't expect to grow.
First thing to do is print a full sized template for the piece cutting, on clear plastic, from the TurboCAD drawing.
The whiter sections of this are windows cut in the template in order to place and mark out pieces on the relevant woods. The woods are 5 to 6 mm thick (allowing for sand down to a 3 to 4 mm flat surface later) to be mounted on a 3 mm Birch ply base. I also printed out a full sized colour pattern to allow for initial placing of pieces as they are cut.
At the top of the picture are the various woods pencil marked with the pieces
I'm cutting the pieces on a scroll saw.
I have neither the keen eye nor dexterity of either Scrollgirl or KnotCurser so there should be enough inaccuracy in the pieces to satisfy the 'rough finish' required.
I started with the easier woods, Yew, Pau Amarello and worked onto the harder to cut ones later. Near the beginning
That's supposed to be a straight line!
This is with all the pieces cut
and that's where I am up to now. Next time I hope to be gluing the pieces to the base board and if it goes really well I might try the grouting technique.
Be seeing you.