Contrary to what some think, most hardwood
medallions are made entirely piece by piece. None
are stained
and today all individual pieces are cut
either by
CNC laser or CNC routing machines, with the
exception of some simpler designs that can be made
on the jobsite. Our preference of tool is the CNC
router, as lasers have a tendency to show
minuscule burning on the edges of lighter hardwood
species.
Programming
What does CNC stand for? CNC is the acronym for
computer numerical control. In other words a
design is programmed into a computer. With the
click of a mouse, the whole system performs its
automated cutting of patterns. I first saw the
routing system through a cabinet maker friend in
the early 90's and exclaimed..."I gotta get me one
of these gadgets!"
I've only had the chance to see how medallions are
made by laser but look for the opportunity to see
how they are done by a router system. The photo
above was provided by friends in the Ukraine
showing a portion of the CNC routing process.
Assembly can be seen in another photo towards the
bottom of this page. Such small pieces, yet
incredibly precise.
Assembly
The next image shows how delicate pieces can be
until they are assembled into the pattern. The
outer band
in this design are the pieces being cut out in the
photo above. Made from natural Wenge, an African
hardwood, you can barely make out the seams in the
photo (click for larger view).
The
directional letters in this compass medallion is
what caught my eye especially. Shown is one
inserted and another set aside for the next
medallion to be constructed.
Finally once all the pieces are assembled the
medallion is placed in a vacuum gizmo with a
backer board applied with adhesive.
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