Barn Workshop – Knotwork Banding Inlay

One of my favorite aspects of working on The Roubo Translation Project has been the replication of many of the techniques he described in L’art du Menuisier.  For a long time I thought that intricate banded borders were dauntingly complex and fussy.  Then I did it the way he said and I realized that the artisans of the period had standardized the process so as to make them near idiot-proof.  Voila’, a method I can work with.

The knotwork banding  illustrated in Plate 287 is a perfect case of this.  Using a set of sawing and planing jigs to produce an infinite number of perfectly sized and fitted pieces the design pattern is a piece of cake.  But, as with most things, the set-up is crucial.  And that is what we will be doing in these three days; making the banding, laying out and creating the jig block, and making knotwork corners to your heart’s content.

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The complete 2018 Barn workshop schedule:

Historic Finishing  April 26-28, $375

Making A Petite Dovetail Saw June 8-10, $400

Boullework Marquetry  July 13-15, $375

Knotwork Banding Inlay  August 10-12, $375

Build A Classic Workbench  September 3-7, $950