2024-03-02 March Monthly Meeting & Minutes

This presentation will feature Bob Van Dyke, Connecticut School of Woodworking Director, who will demonstrate how to create a shaded fan inlay. Bob’s work with shaded fans has been featured in Fine Woodworking magazine and online at Finewoodworking.com.

Shaded fans were a common decorative motif in Federal (or Neoclassical) furniture of the late 18th century. They were often inlaid into the corners of table tops and drawer fronts. The segments are shaded using hot sand and then put together to create a three-dimensional effect. But ¼ fans are just the beginning and only a small part of this demonstration.

Building on the basic sand shading technique, Bob Van Dyke has researched 18th century furniture that had more interesting oval and round inlays featuring “curvy” lobe segments. The possibilities are really fascinating. The inlays can be used in all sorts of projects from a tabletop, a door panel or a drawer front to a box top or tray.

Do not miss this chance to learn some new techniques that you can add to your woodworking projects.