confused again

[normded]

I'm confused what is the difference between segmentation and intarsia I thought that intarsia used exotic woods for color and seg used stains and paint for color but basically they where the same but then i read Jim Mex say he cut the jester out of pine for an intarsia but could be used for seg. thats where i get confused if it was pine wouldn't it be a seg. just wondering because this seems to come up alot.

Jerry

[Sally]

I think - Segmentation is taking one piece of timber (as John calls it), lay your pattern on it and cut the whole thing from that one board - pieces -one at a time/side by side. Intarsia is cutting the pattern apart, laying pieces on different woods to create a picture using the colors/grain of woods - then shape either/both of them. I think of segmentation as easier because you don't have to deal with gaps. Both are beautiful techniques. I'm sure others will enhance this explanation.

[Ocelot]

You're correct. Technically, Intarsia uses no paints or stains and the pieces are cut from different woods to get the different colors. Doesn't have to be exotic though. Could just be cedar, oak, aspen, etc. and the wood grain direction is selected for effect.

Segmentation is usually cut out of a single piece of wood and in my opinion is much easier since the pieces automatically fit well since it's cut from a single piece.

Ray

[Ocelot]

Just to finish answering your question.I'm not sure how Jim cut his project,but if it was all pine I would call it segmentation. I suppose you "could" do a project from a single piece of wood and call it intarsia if the pieces were cut individually with different grain directions.

Ray

[tony coleman]

as far as i know,he cut it out off scrap piecesand pieced it together and shaped it like a intarsia piece[secretly he considers himself as a intarsia artist.....lol]
if you cut the piece out of one board with the whole pattern laid down its segment.
honestly i dont see any difference myself...........
sorry all intarsia artists.

[Ocelot]

Originally Posted by tony coleman

honestly i dont see any difference myself...........
sorry all intarsia artists.

Honestly, I've done both and I think there's a big difference. There's still the shaping with segmentation, but the fit of the pieces is automatic on segmentation. It takes a lot more practice and cutting accuracy to get really good no gap (or at least as little as possible LOL) fits with intarsia.
Jim Does a wonderful job with his cutting. I've yet to be totally satisfied with my intarsia fit. Of course, It's probably a good thing that I want it to always be better.

Ray

[tony coleman]

ray,i have checked out pics on your photobucket,and i see nothing wrong with your fitting.you are up there with any one else as far as your work is concerned.

[Janette]

Sally hit the nail on the head! Now we have to come up with a name for the inbetween that some people do - using one kind of wood but cutting it for best grain orientation then painting or staining it. intarmatation? segtarsia?

[Lou]

Yep, Sally got it right. Segmentation is just as it says, cutting a board into segments, shaping and colouring them and then reassembling. I call anything where pieces are cut individually intarsia, stained or not. Wood grain is vitally important in intarsia; not so much in segmented work. Many of us call intarsia where all natural woods are used "pure" intarsia, for lack of a better phrase. Obviously, cutting pieces individually increases the difficulty level. Traditionally, segmented work also doesn't have as much shaping involved, but that's not cast in stone either. Both these art forms are evolving with time and certainly do sometimes overlap.

Lou

[journeyman]

I agree that anything where pieces are cut individually to rotate grain direction should be called intarsia. I say this because here in the UK, where different wood specie's are hard to come by and very expensive, using one species of wood is sometimes your only option. I do like Janette's word" segtarsia ". Kinda fits, if you'll pardon the pun.
Mick