Stack cut intarsia

[wdkits1]

Hi everyone
I was asked by our scroll saw group to put together a small intarsia project for the members who want to try intarsia. To make it easier I decided to put together a kit for each member and to demonstrate a simple way to make the project. By using stack cutting it almost guarantees a perfect fit every time. This is also a good way to use up some of the smaller scrap pieces that we all have in the shop.
Here is a pic of the blanks that I used for this little project which is an apple frig magnet; 1/8" Lebanon cedar for the backer,1/4" Walnut for the stem, 1/4"bloodwood for the apple and 3/16" poplar for the leaves. I used double-sided tape to hold the blanks together and a glue stick to attach the pattern to the blank.



The blank is arranged so that as the pieces are cut, they are removed from the stack and set aside.
Backer on the bottom--walnut for the stem is next, then the bloodwood for the apple and because I will do some carving for the leaves the pattern is attached to the poplar on the top. The grain direction for the walnut and the bloodwood runs up and down and the poplar for the leaves runs side to side. All of the pieces are 2 1/2" square



I used a # 5RT blade to make all of the cuts starting with the perimeter which after the cut is complete the backer is separated from the stack. Then the walnut stem is cut and the remaining walnut is separated from the stack . The poplar leaves are cut and while the pattern is still attached I use the dremal tool with a 5/64" high speed cutter to make the accent lines on the leaves. At this point I used a black marker to darken the edges of the backer and did all of my shaping for the pieces of the apple.



I used Ca glue to attach the pieces to the backer and spray on satin poly for the finish.



Here is the stack of little intarsia kits for the scroll saw group.



Fun little project

[Russ C]

Nice tutorial wdkits1. Thanks for posting. I am sure forum members will enjoy and be inspired to give it a try. 

[julief]

Awesome starter project.  Thanks for the lesson.

[Marcellarius]

that's a nice project. like the result.

for the stem you only use a small part of the walnut, doesn't this way of staked cutting give a lot waste?

[wdkits1]

Thanks all for the comments
To Marcellarius.-- This technique does generate a small amount of scrap but for the most part what is left over is still big enough to be used in another project. In my shop if I can see it and hold it then I can use it. LOL

[KarlB]

That is a neat beginning intarsia tutorial.  I may try it myself since I haven't finished one intarsia project yet. (I've started one though.  )

That is a mighty fine website you have there Mike.  Your projects are impressive.  It's good to see someone making a living doing something they enjoy doing!

Good job!

Karl

[Dawie]

Mike that looks great. Thanks for sharing.
David