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The saluting Paw is one piece and sanded to shape.
All wrinkles are sanded to shape using my Horizontal Pneumatic Drum Sander.
I used 3/16"scrap plywood as shims to raise the pockets.
I've used a lot of different materials for risers, but I've never tried using cork when making Intarsias, however, I don't see why it wouldn't work as long as you also edge glue the pieces.