The original intention of Walter Dolly was that his "salver" should not be awarded to the same person more than once (see the Awards Definitions page for a complete description of the Walter Dolly award). However, this ruling has subsequently been changed to allow ANY INDEPENDENT member to receive the award regardless of whether they have won the award previously or not. The Executive Committee decided that it was unfair to eliminate a brilliant piece of work from achieving the award just because the maker had received the Walter Dolly Salver at sometime in the past, so, in consequence, this ruling was overturned and every entry is now eligible for a chance to receive the award.

We will try to set up a "Buddy System" whereby an Independent Member can be put in touch with an experienced member from the nearest Group to offer advice, support and encouragement. Group leaders are in favour of such a system but the Independent will need to make the first move. In the first instance anyone interested should write to me and I will arrange for someone to get back to you from your nearest group. If you prefer you can always contact the web site by using one of the many e-mail links dotted about the site and the editorial team will pass your request on to me, the choice is yours.

We were very disappointed that the Harrow Independents Day had to be cancelled due to lack of support, perhaps it being a holiday time of the year and a spell of unusually bad weather that may have had something to do with it. Nonetheless I would have thought that there were enough Independents within striking range to have made it a very useful and interesting day. Undetered the Chelmsford Group have agreed to run a similar event sometime next year. Keep your eyes open for details on this page and in the Marquetarian. I do hope that you will respond to the efforts that go into putting on such an event which I know will be very interesting to even the most accomplished Independents.

A questionaire is being prepared to try to find out what additional help / information / service would be of most interested to Independents, it is hoped to include this with your next Marquetarian (unfortunately this questionaire only applies to registered Independent members of the Marquetry Society - if you would like to join the Marquetry Society as an Independent member click the following link for a: printable subscription form )
I would earnestly request that you complete the questionaire and return it to me. We can only provide the service you require if you tell us what it is you would like from the Society.

Ben Bedford.
Independent Secretary Marquetry Society.
Telephone: 020 8658 3958
October 2006

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Did you know: The Independents branch of the Marquetry Society has now grown into becoming the largest single section of the Society. We, the Independents Group, have a large proportion of our membership residing in many countries world wide and we are happy to say that we are acquiring even more new members to our ranks on a regular basis.

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I have received an e-mail from one of our American cousins and feel that the topics may be of general interest so I will start a question and answer section for this page. I hope it will stimulate a lot of interest and be very pleased to receive any questions you may have. I will do my best to answer to answer your questions, but if I am unable to do so “I know a man who can”.

Unfortunately my e-mail is not working at present but if you e-mail our Web Master Alan Mansfield he will pass it on (there’s a pre-addressed e-mail link on the Marquetry News page you could use if you wish)

Question 1: Should the flat/flush surface of the picture be on the glue side or can one use a filler to get the top surface flat to minimise sanding?

Answer: Always keep the glue side flat. Good adhesion is most important and this is achieved by keeping the glue side flat, any variations in thickness being pushed to the top face. This may mean some problems in sanding/scraping the surface flat but it is worthwhile as the alternative may lead to disaster. The use of some sort of filler to even up the glue side has been suggested but I know of no such material that would give you an equal bond and would most likely result in delammination due to the stresses between the glue and the veneer with drying and temperature changes. I understand that this problem may be worse in the USA as their standard veneers are thicker than in the UK but I still recommend keeping the glue side flat.

Question 2: Is there any system of filing veneers that will make selection of the right piece for the next bit of your picture quick and easy?

Answer: Not that I know of. It was suggested that an alphabetical system might work but as I don’t know the names of half the veneers I have it would be difficult and there can be such wide differences between leaves of the same wood that the name alone is not enough. My own stock is graded into several stacks basically by size of leaf, from small pieces about A4 to whole leave 12in by 12 ft. and within the stack by tone, light to dark. All serious marquetarians spend considerable time sorting through their stock for the right piece only to find that it has not been grown yet. In the end it is a compromise in what you have available and the time you want to take to find just the right piece.

If anyone knows of a system that speeds up the finding of the best piece of veneer from their stock please let us into the secret.