Any body know anything about....

[Dull Knife]

Lath art??? I know this isn't wood carving but I'm looking for instructions on how to do lath art. thankx

[Claude]

Lath, or lathe? Lath is 1/4 inch thick by 1.5 inch wide stick that used to be put on a wall so you could then plaster over it. Lathe is the machine that you rotate wood on to make spindles, bowls, etc. I've heard of lath sticks being used to make artistic lattices for patios...is that what you meant?

Claude

[CarverFromNoWhere]

I to am wondering what you mean, I work with a lathe a lot (wood turning) and I think a number of other board members do to. Or the thing Claude said
Carl

[Dull Knife]

Originally Posted by Claude

Lath, or lathe? Lath is 1/4 inch thick by 1.5 inch wide stick that used to be put on a wall so you could then plaster over it. Lathe is the machine that you rotate wood on to make spindles, bowls, etc. I've heard of lath sticks being used to make artistic lattices for patios...is that what you meant?

Claude

Like I said: LATH art is pictures made from pieces of wood lath that are glued together and then pieces are sawed out to create unique pictures.....I've made a few from plans that I had, but now I want to find info to do this my self.

LATHE is a machine that machinist use to make parts from metal.

[chuckbolton]

i think i know what you are refering to-- several years ago woodcraft had samples and kits of this- the closest thing i can compare it to is intarsia-- but much more primitive and because its lath-- had a rough texture to it-- i liked it-- never followed thru with a purchase and had forgotten about it until i read your post-- i have never seen patterns for this--

[Claude]

I've never seen any examples except the patio lattice work for sunscreen/windscreens. If you have any, I'd like to see photos of them...
Claude

[chuckbolton]

in this part of the world (mid america) we can buy lath in bundles of 50 --its unpainted and 4 ft long-- we use it normally for stakes-- the surveyers use them often for marking corners when surveying property.

when all else fails-- try google--i did and found several sites regarding lath art-- very similiar to what im familiar with-- and even one site that says it has plans-- hope this helps.

[Claude]

I just checked Google and found this as the first site listed:
Pictures made of Wood Lath

Lath art appears to me to be a form of intarsia...

Claude

[Dull Knife]

Originally Posted by Claude

I just checked Google and found this as the first site listed:
Pictures made of Wood Lath

Lath art appears to me to be a form of intarsia...

Claude

Intarsia and Lath art are entirely different. With Intarsia the pieces are cut from various woods like western red cedar and then glued down to a backer board....some of the pieces have shims under them to add interest by adding different depth and all the pieces have their edges rounded off as well.

Lath art is wood strips/slats that are glued together and then pieces are cut from the glued up slats, and the direction of the slats are at different angles to form the picture.....I made both of the patterns that were in the Wood Magazine issue a number of years ago...they came out quite nicely too.

There's not much out there about Lath art....I wish some one of the experts would write a book about it, like Judy Gale Roberts did with Intarsia.

Some folks have kits available....and I made one, but I don't think that it looked as good as what I made from plans. The commercial versions are too neat while the ones made from plans have a rougher texture to them and I think that enhances their look.

I believe that Lath art was developed back in the 30s, during the Great Depression....It may have been referred to as 'Tramp Art' back then....lots of home less souls were looking for some thing to help pass the time, and having some means to make some money.

[Kenny_S]

That be the lath art Claude. Pretty big in this area of the US.

Lots of businesses have these type of pictures as their decor. Kind of like intarsia in how you lay out the work piece. No rounding off the edges though.