Interest in Intarsia

[Russ C]

I think I am going to try segmentation first, before I give intarsia a try. 

[cherie]

The lighthouse looks way nice there.  I will have to download some cartoon pages and try for my grand kids.

[ljfrompa]

http://www.sg-patterns.com/free-stained-glass-patterns.html

that site has like 30 or 40 pages of stained glass patterns...some very easy for segmentation...i think i got the lighthouse on that one....

[Becky]

The lighthouse looks great.  I neglected to write the the other night in my hurry to look for stained glass patterns, lol.

I got my book in the mail today.  I already know the project I want to make from it but I will do some of the earlier ones first to sort of work my way up to it.  Thanks for suggesting it, Dan.

[Russ C]

Never thought about stained glass patterns. Great idea. 

[daneklund]

You are quite welcome.  Dan

[Becky]

OK, here's a question for you more experienced folks. 

I made the bear door topper pattern (segmentation) from the current issue of Creative Woodworking and Crafts.  If you don't know the pattern, that isn't particularly important.  The question works for any pattern - or so I assume. 

When I had it all painted and glued to the backing, I sprayed it with Krylon for protection.  I spray in the garage with the door cracked to let out the fumes.  While I haven't ever had a leaf blow in and attach itself to my current project, it is far from a sterile environment.

What I noticed with the bear was that the areas where the segments come together gets horribly rough and grainy-feeling.  I sanded but wasn't sure how hard would be safe and it was pretty hard to get in there without oversanding the other areas.  So I am not satisfied with the final finish.

Now I have cut and am in the process of sanding the pieces for another project.  My question is should I spray them before gluing them to the backer board?   The gluing side would be down so it should be safe from the spray.  I am leaning toward doing that but I thought I'd go ahead and ask.  What's the way you guys usually do this?

[dgman]

Becky, I think what you are describing is the grain raising from using water based paints. To help eliminate this you need to raise the grain before you paint. Dampen the wood with a damp sponge. Let dry, then sand off the raised fibers.Then paint.

[cornishpisky]

You can also try using a sanding sealer, that will raise the grain, sand it back and then paint, also stops the wood absorbing too much paint and improves the finish, still a good idea to spray before gluing the peices to the backer though.

Ian

[Becky]

Thanks.  It could well have been the paint.  I thinned it down quite a bit so there was as much if not more water than paint.

I'll do as you advise.  I think I'll try the damp sponge this time.  It's cheaper and doesn't require a trip to the store.  And I will spray before assembly. 

Thanks!  I *do* love this site.  You guys really save me a lot of grief!

[cloetpatrick]

  hello friends! ...
To avoid this problem, I built a small cabinet with painting.
It is a cubic box open on one side. On top I placed a fan with a hose leads outside. On the outside I put a windbreaker to avoid the chimney effect.
At the base, I put a turntable driven by a small electric motor and a small multiplier speed from an electric oven (rotisserie), they are isolated from the cabinet.
From there, simply place the object to paint or varnish on the shelf, turn the tray, turn the fan (in the sense aspiration) and paint without the odor in the room. This does not obviate the need a mask anyway. 

[Becky]

So I played mad scientist tonight, lol.  I dampened some scrap of the same material and sanded off the fibers.  I must say, it felt exactly like my prior project did so I think you definitely nailed the cause.

Then I did a little painting with my well-diluted acrylics.  I noticed two things.  One is that new fibers seemed to rise up and it got rough again.  Ack!  But it was just scrap so after it dried I took some 400 grit sand paper and sanded them back down.  It didn't mess with the colors for the most part.

Would using the sanding sealer eliminate the re-rising of the fibers or is that something you just have to deal with?  I would definitely invest in some if it totally eliminates the problem.  Or did I just not wet it enough the first time?  You said damp so I didn't soak it.  After the wetting/drying I only sanded enough to make it smooth again.  I don't think I overdid it, potentially exposing previously undampened fibers though I suppose that is possible.

Sorry if I am asking too many questions.  I'm just really happy with how the cutting of this project went (not something I can say every time!) and I don't want to screw it up now.

[dgman]

Becky, I'm not a painter but my wife used to do decorative or tole painting. Her painting advise is:
Raise grain with damp sponge. Let dry.
Sand raised fibers.
paint, let dry.
Sand again.
Apply second coat of paint.
Good luck!

[boxmaker]

Becky, Check this guys video out he may be able to help you, the link is to the video on dealing with raised grain, he has others, the one before it tells you why the wood grain raises. Hope this helps.

http://www.ehow.com/video_4427240_smoothing-raised-wood-grain.html

[chips]

 For those looking for some videos on Intarsia here's one that will get you started. The 2nd video from the top showing the Rose isn't all that instructive but afterwards it lists several others that should be of interest.

http://www.google.com/search?q=wood+intarsia+video&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=7Rq&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=v&source=univ&tbs=vid:1&tbo=u&ei=_pYSTN3WFKLuMNmqyOMI&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CCgQqwQwAw

Pete