wood

[justmike]

Any suggestions for suppliers of wood for intarsia? I usually order from Ocooch but they don't carry certain types.

[scrollgirl]

When I lived in the States, I ordered from D & D Hardwood from time to time. They had a lot and the quality was good. That was a while ago but they are still going strong. Maybe others have had experiences with them as well.   http://www.dndhardwoodsonline.com/

Sheila

[pddesertrat]

Lots of wood on e-bay, but the shipping can kill you.  Not so bad if you buy several pieces from one vender that combines shipping, but individual pieces from individual venders, does not fly.  Got any local custom cabinet makers you can get close to?  I have a friend that has lots of cutoff and from time to time he sends me a box full, I just pay the shipping.  Helps him keep his shop cleaned up....  really helps me get some nice pieces of wood.

[justmike]

Thanks for the reply. I'll check both sources out. I just read about wookworkers going out of business, sad.

[don in brooklin on]

It would help if we know where you are located.

I am on a road trip next week and will be stopping at Exotic Woods in Burlington Ontario.

 http://www.exotic-woods.com/index.html

A friend who does a lot of Intarsia says this is great place.

If we have time, I try to visit Memphis Hardwoods as we are going to be in Rochester NY and it about an hour drive more.

http://www.memphishardwoodlumber.com/

Don

[dwssr2]

Hi, I hope it ok to post here instead of starting a new topic, my question is,,,doing intarsia, how do I finish wood?  spray polyurethane?  the reason I am asking is another question,,,,if wood if finished "NATURAL" will the color change?  the reason I am asking is because I got some different species of wood including blue pine, I got this wood form what I thought was a very good supplier.  Anyways the blue pine is not very blue.  I just wondered if it would change color when finished. 

Also another question, I have some thin wood, I believe it is cherry wood,  It is a board about 6" x  6', it is cupped a little.  Any suggestions how to make it flat again?  thanks for any advice.   dan in PA 

[Ray]

The finish I use depends somewhat on what wood I'm using.

For the most part, I use Danish Oil as a wipe on finish. I use that on intarsia and other scroll saw work when I'm using real wood. On intarsia pieces where I need white wood which I use aspen for, I use satin lacquer since lacquer doesn't change the wood color much at all. Often, I've used the danish oil on all the none white pieces and just lacquer on the white or blue on the same piece.

Danish oil has pretty much become my main finish though since I love the way it brings out the highlights and grain in the wood. I've almost totally gone away from gloss .

On Baltic birch plywood, I use Deft spray lacquer, mostly satin.

I'm not sure if you saw my deer on a maple slab that I posted yesterday. That wood was so beautiful, I did it a little different. I used the danish oil first and then hand rubbed about 3 coats of Tru-Oil gun-stock finish. Tru-Oil builds up hard like a poly finish but is a polymerized oil finish. Once it dried hard, I used an old 220 grit sanding mop that is worn down to probably something like 1500 grit to knock town the shine some and smooth it out to a nice hard satin glow.

Ray

[don in brooklin on]

I just got back from my road trip to Rochester and didn't get a chance to get to Memphis Lumber but did get to Exotic Lumber on the way back.

Lots of cool stuff but not inexpensive.  It was like being a kid in a candy shop.

I bought the attached pic (Bloodwood, Chatke-kok, lacewood, Sapele, Osage, Fir). Not cheap.  I also bought aspen rough at 3 bf which is okay.

 The 2 long pieces are Peruvian Walnut from Rockler (cheap 2.75 each)

I total I spent close $100 Cdn +tax. 

Don

[AwesomeScroller]

Thanks scrollgirl for the info on D & D Hardwoods. I've past their sign many times and never looked into it. It's great they are 5 minutes from my house. It is time to try Intarsia.

[scrollgirl]

Glad you like them!  As I said - it was several years ago when I ordered. They were wonderful then and I am happy they still offer great service.

Sheila