A bride-to-be will spend countless hours searching for the perfect gown to wear on her wedding day. This is to ensure all will be stunned by the first glimpse of her as she walks down the aisle. Matching grain and patterns in a panel glue up is very similar. We need to spend time searching for the right boards that will produce enough wood for the special project. Start with boards that are the same cut from the saw mill – don’t mix quartered sawn with plain sawn or rift sawn. Checking grain patterns to make sure they all flow in the right direction is a must. The same color and shade is also necessary to make any glue line disappear. Don’t be afraid to make an angled cut on a board to get the grain pattern you need. Using a template opening to view the finished size will help train your eye to see the grain and color match for the final dimension. So, if we all take the time searching for the perfect boards for a glue up then we too can stun the viewers when the project is complete.
Enjoy your shop time!
Jerill
enjoy tips and articles
I find, as an artist, that mixing grain patterns and colors tends to make a piece more interesting. Lets say that I want to make a raised panel for a cabinet door. I would use 4 different wood types. Lets say for instants a 1×4 burl maple board in the middle, some 1/4″ strips of black walnut as borders on each side, a 1×3 cherry on each side of the walnut and then 1″ quarter sawn oak incasing the whole panel. Then running it through the router to make your panel. When you incase your panel with the rails and stiles you’ll have a 3/8 – 1/2″ reveal of the quarter sawn oak. Much like having matting in a framed photograph. It’s much like having a mixed species cutting board with in a cabinet door. It really draws peoples eye to the craftsmanship. Of coarse I tend to be a little odd with my art!! ~ JT