Shaping a Simple Intarsia Rose

Is the the best way ?

No, it is the way we do it.. That does not make it the best for you. Try several until you find what you are comfortable with.

We start by gluing the pattern to the board, we use rubber cement

We choose the grain and color selection to cut

The piece we are working with is then cut out of the pattern

The saw we use is the DeWalt with a 20 throat

After the piece is cut, the pattern is peeled off

The uncut part of the pattern is peeled and used on the next piece

The pattern is then transferred to the next piece of the project

Each piece is added to the project as cut

Cutting continues

Cutting continues

Project completely cut out

The glue residue is removed from the cut pieces

Project with the glue removed

Leaves are marked to lower them

The leaves are cut or sanded to achieve the desired thickness

Leaf thickness has been reduced to add depth to the project

First flower petal is being shaped by sloping from outside edge

This shaping adds depth to the flower.

Second Petal is shaped, again sloping from outside edge

The third piece is rounded to give outside curve .

This piece is rounded from the Left and only slightly on the right

Notice the third piece appears to tuck under the piece to its right

The fourth piece is marked so it will stay above the third piece

This piece cups outward on the bottom and inward on the top

The outward curved bottom forms the base of the rose

The inside curve on the top of the piece forms the back petal

The fifth petal is shaped again from the outside to the inside

Remember this petal is reversed from the first petal

The sixth petal forms the back of the rose center

It is again formed from the outside sloping to the inside

The seventh petal is formed the same way

The eighth petal follows suit

The ninth piece if formed the same way, but because of size

A dremmel tool is used to form the slope

Ninth petal in place

The center of the rose is rounded over to fit the petals around it

The bottom petal is marked to fit against the previous pieces

It is then shaped to slope outwards from the center

It shapes with a short round over on the bottom side to show a fall

A flap sander is used for final sanding and to soften edges

Each piece is finish sanded

Special care is used to soften the edges

The flap sander works well to follow the contour of the petals

The finish sanding on the flower is completed

A light pencil mark is made as a guide for wood burning the veins

The veins are wood burned to give more movement to the leaf

The rose is ready to glue

The outline of the project is marked on the backing board

It is then cut out

On the roses, we do not edge glue, we glue only the backing

A coat of glue shown on the backing

The flower is placed onto the backing

Care is taken to make sure each piece is down firm on the backing

After the glue is dry, the backing is trimmed and beveled

We use Bartley Gel Varnish to finish our products

We find the paper rags are best for us they are cheap and lint free

We apply the varnish with a brush starting on the edge

The varnish is worked down into the rose to get complete coverage

We then wipe the gel off of the surface

Low air pressure melts the varnish that collects in cracks

The rose is complete