Inlay, veneer...or?

[bignoise]

Hey, my girlfriend would like me to make a table for her dad's boat. It's going to be a surprise for his birthday. She says he would like something nautical inlaid on the table top.

I was thinking about inlaying a compass star on to a plywood (for stability) table top.

I'm looking for advice on how best to go about this. Do I follow something similar to the technique that Mark used on his inlay video using 5mm thick sections of wood? Or should I make up a compass roll using thin veneer strips and then glue it to the table top? And if I do it that way wont there be a noticeable difference in level between the top of the plywood and the top of the compass?

Any help advice would be great, I'm not sure how best to tackle this

[Beechwood Chip]

There's this article that Marc did.

[areynoldsre]

I'd do it as veneer - marquetry. But then I've recently discovered the fun in doing marquetry. Either way can be good. With a veneer you'd create a piece that would cover the plywood (or MDF) sub-strait and you'd never see it so the height wouldn't matter. You just need to make sure the veneers you get are all the same thickness.

[jhl.verona]

Chris, there's a tutorial on the Italian forum: http://www.arcadileg...php?f=51&t=7963 but of course it's in Italian. There are lots of photos though. Actually, the translated version, http://translate.goo...3D51%26t%3D7963, is readable - you only need the first page, though page 4 is also worth a look.

I think he used strips about 2mm to 3mm thick - so a little thicker than some veneers, probably bandsawn. All the pieces were cut using a modelling knife. Then inlaid using a router followed up by careful chiselling. Then hand planed, I believe.

HTH

John