The entire drawer face was in a sad state. Not only did this need major veneer work, but the underlying wood was damaged.

The first step was to remove the old, damaged veneer so repairs could be made underneath.

I removed the damaged wood and made room for new mahogany.

The new mahogany needed to be shaped to match the cockbead detail on the perimeter of the drawer face.

The new veneer is in place - now time to color it.

This veneer was brand new, but it had to be colored and aged to match the rest of this 150+ year old piece.

Once the coloring was done, all that was left was a fresh polish to bring the drawer face back to life.

Marquetry is one way to decorate wood by inlaying designs, typically of natural objects.

Once all of the cutting is done, the tiny pieces need to be sorted and assembled.

Two contrasting marquetry panels are complete.

Parquetry is also a way of decorating wood with inlay work, but it typically is created with geometric shapes.

Here you can see what is six rows of tiny pieces arranged into a geometric shape (atop a special clamping surface).

Here is a picture of the completed parquetry, inlaid into a piece of mahogany.