In search of a small piece of birds-eye to finish a special project
 

My sister is getting married in August. For their wedding gift I'm
building a blanket chest. Oak frame with walnut veneered panels and
cedar bottom, and dovetailed corners that took about a year off my
life. On the front of the chest I've made the center panel come in,
and added a ledge in front to create a niche where I'm putting a scale
model of the gazebo where they had their first date (which they now
live about 1/2 mile from). And did I mention that it turns out it's
just about the most complicated gazebo on the planet? I mean
seriously, why does a gazebo need a curved three-tiered roof?

Anyway, they also have a thing with the moon, so what I'd like to do
is put a birds-eye maple moon on one of the panels on the top over the
gazebo. The problem is I've scoured ebay and all I can find is big
pieces that I can't afford, and tiny pen blanks and what not that are
too small. I've tried writing to the guys selling the pen blanks to
see if maybe they could put up a larger piece but so far no joy. The
one piece I found that would work the guy wants $6 plus $7 shipping
for this little chunk of wood that isn't even quite what I had in
mind.

I have some regular ol' hard maple that will do if I have to, but I
figured I'd take a shot and see if anyone out there might have an
offcut or something they could part with, or failing that perhaps
suggest an alternative wood that might work that I might have better
luck finding (and affording). I'm looking to end up with about a 4"
diameter circle, 1/4-3/8" thick. I would of course be happy to pay a
fair value plus shipping. If you want to reach me privately my email
is

Thanks for reading,

-Leuf

On Tue, 21 Jun 2005 00:18:01 -0400, Leuf
wrote:

I have some regular ol' hard maple that will do if I have to, but I
figured I'd take a shot and see if anyone out there might have an
offcut or something they could part with, or failing that perhaps
suggest an alternative wood that might work that I might have better
luck finding (and affording). I'm looking to end up with about a 4"
diameter circle, 1/4-3/8" thick. I would of course be happy to pay a
fair value plus shipping. If you want to reach me privately my email
is

Couple of questions, I might have what you need- first, is bird's eye
the only figure you're interested in? I've got a 4.5" wide plank of
nice tiger maple with strong figure that I'd be willing to shorten a
little. Second, the tiger maple in question is 4/4 (about 3/4" thick)
Can you surface it yourself somehow? I've got a planer, but I'd
rather not shave down 13" of figured maple to get one 4"x4" square.
For something that small, I don't really care if you pay me anything
for it, but if you want it, and can wait a week or two for the postal
service to deliver it, contact me directly at
, and I'm sure we can figure something out.

On Tue, 21 Jun 2005 04:48:26 -0500, Prometheus
wrote:

On Tue, 21 Jun 2005 00:18:01 -0400, Leuf
wrote:

I have some regular ol' hard maple that will do if I have to, but I
figured I'd take a shot and see if anyone out there might have an
offcut or something they could part with, or failing that perhaps
suggest an alternative wood that might work that I might have better
luck finding (and affording). I'm looking to end up with about a 4"
diameter circle, 1/4-3/8" thick. I would of course be happy to pay a
fair value plus shipping. If you want to reach me privately my email
is

Couple of questions, I might have what you need- first, is bird's eye
the only figure you're interested in? I've got a 4.5" wide plank of
nice tiger maple with strong figure that I'd be willing to shorten a
little.

I was thinking of the birds-eye as sort of looking crater-like for the
moon. If I was going to use something else I think it'd probably have
to be some kind of burl. I think you can probably find a more
appropriate use for the tiger yourself, though I really appreciate the
offer.

Second, the tiger maple in question is 4/4 (about 3/4" thick)
Can you surface it yourself somehow?

Yep. I keep all manner of tiny scraps that I think just about everyone
else would toss, so I've gotten adept at surfacing them. For that I'd
run a groove on 4 sides on the TS and then finish with a hand saw and
then use the cut side as the back.


-Leuf

Time to do some veneer perhaps? You can get small packs from Rockler or
Woodcraft if memory serves. Also try http://www.woodworkerssource.net.
Hard to buy figured pieces sight unseen but these guys will sell very
small quantities.

On 21 Jun 2005 11:30:44 -0700, "SonomaProducts.com"
wrote:

Time to do some veneer perhaps?

I had thought about this, but I've never done marquetry before and I
try to limit the number of new things I introduce per project, and I
figured trying to do a perfect circle wasn't a good thing to try
first. At this point I already have the top panels veneered so I
don't think it's an option anymore.

You can get small packs from Rockler or
Woodcraft if memory serves. Also try http://www.woodworkerssource.net.
Hard to buy figured pieces sight unseen but these guys will sell very
small quantities.

Hmm, well woodcraft does have reasonably small pieces, but it's still
at 20 bucks by the time you factor in shipping. The little sample
pieces from the other place comes so darn close...


-Leuf