marquetry

Xác vờ gởi mặc kiền khôn,
Tẻo teo hạt thóc trong cồn bể xanh.
Thoáng một chốc kiếp sinh là mấy?
Khen con sông nước chảy khôn cùng!

on’t expect myself to become a marquetry craftsman & artist, but decided to try anyhow. The first reason: to decorate my upcoming boat with some mother – of – pearl inlays, the second reason: to train myself the patience and detail – oriented characters which I apparently quite lack of, the third reason: just for the beauty of the extremely fine art of wood marquetry. It’s too early to say at the moment if I can produce good results, but let just try and see!

First, some preparations need to be made, tools and materials. Image 1: metal working files, compasses, and the thickness gauges. Image 2: some woodworking chisels and carving tools. Image 3: the extremely sharp Tamiya knives. Image 4: the jewelry jig saw, with 4 blade sizes, the smallest being as thin as a thread of hair. Image 5: three different types of mother – of – pearl, or the like, with 3 shades of color: white, reddish and jade. Image 6: my marquetry workbench.