What tools did early marquetry craftsmen use?

Early marquetry tools looked simple compared with modern workshop equipment. Craftsmen relied on bow saws, frame saws, knives, chisels, glue pots, clamps, burnishers, and hand planes. Veneers from the 1600s often measured far thicker than modern sheets, where workers sliced them by hand from solid timber. Sand shading became popular in France during the 1700s. Cabinetmakers heated sand inside metal trays, then dipped veneer edges into the hot surface and burn marks created shadow effects on flowers and leaves.

Animal glue ranked as the standard adhesive for centuries, as workshops heated glue over charcoal fires and some cabinetmakers kept personal tool kits worth several months of wages. Apprentice contracts from London and Paris survive in archives today, as many boys entered workshops around age 13 or 14. Training could last seven years and a skilled marquetry cutter needed steady hands and sharp eyesight. Museums still hold original saw frames from the Georgian age. Modern craftsmen still copy many old hand methods, mainly during museum restoration work and high-grade furniture reproduction.