Paganus Akritas

Wood Inlay

Throughout history woodworkers have created fascinating ways to combine pieces of wood.  Early on humans discovered glue, then came nails followed by the screw.  However, each of these methods are secondary to the art and science of natural wood joinery.  When used skillfully, wooden joinery has the ability to hold wood together by itself without the need for glue, nails, or screws.  This method of pure wood construction has been praised throughout the centuries from the Byzantine to the Japanese. 

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To combine two pieces of wood using pure wood construction usually takes a semi-complicated to extremely complex system of matching wooden parts, often with wooden nails.  These nails are essentially wooden dowels that connect the two pieces together.  The complexity comes from pairing wood species of the nail with wood species for the board, the nail diameter and length, the difference between the hole size and the nail size, the moisture content of the board and nail, and the hole depth.  When properly matched the strength is undeniable.

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My major areas of woodworking interest include wooden joinery using pure wood construction and in wood inlay.  Below are a few example to demonstrate this work.