I would like to build a “Go” board (if you’ve never heard of the game, check out <a href=”http://www.ymimports.com/Go/”>This site</a>.)
Instead of painting black lines on the wood to create the grid, I would like to cut grooves and (possibly) inlay a darker wood.
The grid must be quite regular (evenly spaced) and I’m a bit stumped on how to properly index my router (with a 1/8″ or narrower spiral up-cut bit) precisely 3/4″ of an inch (or so).
I do not own an Incra jig and do not intend on purchasing one.
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Mark
Measure it with a Micrometer,
Mark it with Chalk,
Cut it with an Ax.
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Replies
If I were going to try it, my first experiment would be with 2 clamping straight edge guides and a precisely machined spacer. Once you've made the first cut with one of the straight edge guides, put the spacer against the guide and slide the other guide against the other side of the spacer and clamp it down. Remove the spacer, then slide the first guide up against the 2nd and clamp it down. Then remove the 2nd guide and repeat... There a bound to be quite a few ways to do this - this is just the first one that pops into my mind (other than telling you to go get a MicroFence edge guide :-) ).
BTW, the slots on the board on your link look to be 1/16". You can usually even get these at the big bit display cases at HD, Lowes, etc., but buy a spare. It's real easy to snap these. Make very shallow passes (1/32, or 1/16) until you get to depth and you should be able to avoid breaking it, but crossing your fingers wont hurt either.
If you build it he will come.
So it sounds like a "leap frog" method - then all I really need is two well machined spacers and some clamps. (I can machine the spacers out of hardwood on my planer)ANd yes 1/8 is too thick. I need something like 1/16th or so...Clever. Thanks,
Mark
Measure it with a Micrometer,
Mark it with Chalk,
Cut it with an Ax.
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Mark - I was re-reading your original post and spotted the part about using an upcut spiral. My reference to being able to find 1/16" bits at the Borg was for straight bits. I'm sure someone makes a 1/16" spiral, I've just not run across them. Not sure I'd want to pay the extra money for a spiral seeing as how easy it is to break those 1/16" bits. Most of the accent inlay I've done in the last few years has been 1/16" so I've snapped 2-3 over time. I just sort of developed a taste for the thinner lines. The straight bits work well for cutting, but you do have to keep removing sawdust buildup out of the slot. Those dental type picks with the blunted hooked ends work really well for pulling the dust out of the slot.
I had one other thought. If the dimensions of the board aren't critical, you might want to make it a tiny bit oversized and set your pattern up centered on the board. It might be easier to cut the excess off to match the pattern rather than try to come up with spacers exactly sized to result in a pattern for a fixed size board. Even a hair too wide on the spacer could result in the final row or column being noticeably too narrow.
Hope you show us some pics when you get this done.
Doug
If you build it he will come.
Mark,
You could rip a bunch of 3/4" MDF or melamine strips, 1" wide. Enough to match the number of rows on the board. Stand them on edge, stack them together, place the stacked strips on the board, offset by half the width of the router base, push the whole shebang against a fence or block to hold it steady. Each time you rout a groove, remove one strip.
Andy
Said least is often said best,
but said best is often said least.
If I understand right, this is your first attempt at inlay work and fine woodworking. Build a table saw sled and you can adjust the spacing any width you want without a lot of set-up changes. All the adjustments are done on the feed side fence and you can do it in a minimum of time. Jim Tomlin's "Table saw Magic" is the reference you need to get the most out of your table saw. You can order this on-line or go to Barnes and Noble and order on line. If you become an annual member at Barnes and Nobles you get a nice discount on the regular price of any reference book you buy, it is well worth it. The method you are describing is very time consuming, do everything on the table saw.
Actually, I've done inlay, just not in the volume required by the Go board, or the precision in parallel lines... Mark
View ImageMeasure it with a Micrometer,
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You have proven that you can do inlay, and it really looks sharp. The 1/16th inch inlay is very time consuming and using the router at it's high speeds could prove dangerous with broken bits. My reference to the cut-off sled is the reason for a highly uniform spacing. With a thin kerf blade you acquire a useable width for the inlays. For the go board I would use a half lap joint for the inlays. To gang the inlays you would have to make the spacing uniform with the spacing of the board. By cutting the kerf 1/2 the depth you would be able to lay the inlays out and have fine joinery on the board. From the gang board simply rip to the width of the intended inlay on the board. Using the gang board method eliminates cutting all those short pieces between the long pieces. This has been the way I have finished inlays on several board games. It cuts the time down considerably. Hope this helps in your final decision for making the board. I do most of my inlay on black walnut, but the inlay materiel has been sumac. The golden-green color just appeals to me, over maple. The photo shows sumac in cherry for the bed frame I made for the grand-daughter.
Beautiful bed. But I'm just not "getting" your explantion. I'll re-read but I'm stumped am I slow??? (You know how my kids would answer that question :-)Thanks,
Mark
Measure it with a Micrometer,
Mark it with Chalk,
Cut it with an Ax.
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I should have explained my method better for gang cutting the inlays, so here goes. One, a thin kerf blade cuts 3/32nds wide, you still have the problem with an uneven groove on the bottom, but this allows the glue to bond to an irregular surface, therefore more surface for the inlay to bond to. More surface for the glue to bond to is a good thing.
To make the gang inlays you would start with a board of the inlay materiel at least 6" wide by the length of your inlays in the grooves. Even better if you make the length 2" longer. Crosscut the inlay board the same width as the horizontal grooves of the game board. Make this cut half the depth of the inlay groove. This gives you the half lap groove for the inlay. Here is where the inlay materiel is then ripped from the gang board. If you are very accurate with your inlay grooves on the game board and the same for the grooves for the inlay they should make a grid pattern identical to the game board. The horizontal piece would lay flat in the game board piece with the half lap groove up. The vertical piece would go with the half lap groove down. This interlocks the pieces and the final result is equal spaced inlays. I hope this explains my method. The inlay materiel is ripped slightly narrower than the game board grooves, so they fit snuggly, but not tight. Be sure you use a zero tolerance blade insert on the table saw when ripping the board to the final width. Using a feather board in front of the blade is a good idea too, plus one to hold the board against the fence. Let me know if this explanation is enough for you.
Not disagreeing with your suggestion/method but the lines on the boards Mark linked to still look much thinner than what a TK blade would leave. A 1/16" chipper blade from a dado set would get the right kerf width but I'd have to think twice and experiment before I tried it on a piece of good wood. I just think the cut would be too ragged. There may be 1/16" blades available with more teeth, but it may take some looking to find one. Stewart-MacDonald has a really thin one for cutting fret-slots on instrument fingerboards ( http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Fretting_supplies/Saws_and_slots/Custom_Table_Saw_Fret_Slotting_Blade.html ). Other than the kerf width, the TS method would certainly be quicker and just as good as routing. If he's going to be making a lot of these, the TS is definitely the way to go. As far as eliminating all the short pieces between the long pieces - I wouldn't have advocated doing it that way with the router. I'd inlay all the pieces running one direction, then cut the slots (across the first inlays) and inlay the other direction.If you build it he will come.
As long as the grooves are square on the game board and the interlocking inlay pattern are the same the thin kerf saw blade used with the cut-off sled is an accurate way to do it. It also saves a lot of time in the long run. Read my post to him about the gang inlay method, I'm sure you will agree that it would make the process easier.
Get a saw balde such as a plywood blade and make a jig. Cut a groove down the board on your jig at whatever the distance of the grid is from where you will come through with the blade and then slip in a spline in the groove and glue it in so that it sticks up slightly. That splie will act as your guide and runner. You can make grooves repeatedly all day long.
I use a pice of MDF or plywoiod that is about 24 to 30 inches and clamp the piece down to the tablesaw top. The very first cut you will make is on the jig is to establish how far apart the grooves will be.
The first groove you wil make is done by sliding the board up against the spline ot get tghe first groove. From then on the groove in the board will straddle the spline.
The second picture is drawn out of proportion to show what the arrangement looks like.
Edited 9/28/2006 1:31 am by gb93433
Mark,
I have your solution. I made a Pente board a while back that is played on the same board as Go (see pict "Board").
The lines are 1/32" thick; very close to a veneer thickness. I made the board background (veneer) and pressed (glued) it to the substrate. I made a jig to guide a dremel tool, with a base like a router and a 1/32" bit, to make the grove for the veneer to lay in. I spent about 45min+ making the jig. BE EXACT!!! A pair of dividers aided in laying out the positions of the groves for the jig. The board is 19x19; I split the board in half and then each half into thirds and then each third into thirds again, and you've got a 19x19 grid.
I cut all the lines running horizontal first and used white elmer's glue to lay in the veneer on edge. I used dyed maple veneer that I cut strips as long as the board-is-wide by about 1/8" wide or so. After the glue dried, I used a finely tuned block plane to level the veneer close to the board and them sanded it flush. Then I cut the vertical lines and repeated the gluing process.
Make a practice piece first.
--------------------------
--Descriptions of photos--
Board: clear enough...it's a Pente/Go board
Jig 1: the frame to the jig. I cut the all the groves in one board and then ripped it into two
Jig 2: this is the fence over the frame. notice the blue tick mark (center line)...this is your first cut down the center of the board. this cut takes care of any gap in the book-and-butt veneer joint.
Jig 3: fence aligned on frame
Jig 4: jig position on board. clamp it down of course! NOTE: the fence will be offset to one side; the distance from the bit to the outside edge of the dremel base.
------------
If you have any questions, let me know.
-Kevin
Edited 9/29/2006 9:22 am ET by grainwise
Edited 9/29/2006 9:25 am ET by grainwise
Thats spectacular. Now *I* want to make one.I've been wondering what good a dremel tool was in the woodshop. Now I know.
Fantastic...I had been thinking about some sort of "frame" but I hadn't come up with the indexing grooves - great solution...I also think that laying in long pieces then cutting across and laying in long pices again makes the most sense (I think of gluing in all those short pieces an my eyes cross :-)Did you freehand the dremel against the "fence"?Mark
Measure it with a Micrometer,
Mark it with Chalk,
Cut it with an Ax.
Visit my woodworking blog Dust Maker
Used the fence in the picture (previous post) and rode the dremel along that. Used a base kinda like this one: http://www.dremel.com/en-us/attachments-and-accessories/attachment-accessory-detail.htm?H=188575&G=69679&I=69793...and I went SLOW with the 1/32"bit! Also only went about 1/16" deep.When I get home later tonight, I'll post picts of the rest of the project. The Pente board is just one of four game boards for a table I designed and built.Glad I could help.-Kevin
Mark,Here are a few picts of the "Game Table" that I told you about. The primary woods are air dried walnut and quilted maple. It's 25"x25"x31"tall. The legs are bent laminations.Good luck on your board. Take your time and be precise and it'll look great. Let us know how it comes out.Take care...
-kevin
GW,
A truly beautiful piece of work. Thanks for sharing. I love the legs that start on one side and work their way across...I have a similar design in mind that I have never built...MarkMeasure it with a Micrometer,
Mark it with Chalk,
Cut it with an Ax.
Visit my woodworking blog Dust Maker
Very cool looking table! What kind of joint or connection is at the point where the legs meet?If you build it he will come.
Doug, Thanx.Each leg is let into its neighbor, all the way around. It took a fair amount of coping and fitting to get it right. The joint is held together with epoxy.-Kevin
Very impressive leg work. Did you get the idea from the self supporting spiral staircase in the church down in New Mexico? With a steamer you can do almost anything when you have patience, and the right bending jigs. This must have taken you a long time, and the right angles etc.
Edited 10/1/2006 4:09 pm ET by GENERATION FURNITURE
GF, I got the idea strait from the drawing board. I was toying around with different shapes and configurations and this was the result...after MUCH refinement, of course. Do you have a pict of the church staircase to which you referred? I'd like to see it.Very true about the steamer. It opens up a lot of design opportunities.All in all, it took me about 500 hours. Half of that was on the design side. I built it in cad before a piece of wood was milled.-Kevin
I wish I had a picture of the staircase. It was made for a Franciscan Nun in the mid 1800"s. Nobody knows the carpenters name. They had a movie made about it, and I think it was on the Hallmark Channel a while back. Many artisans tried to replicate it, but failed. Either the type of wood was wrong or the moisture content was off. I believe the movie was named "A Staircase For Sister" The carpenter was played by the lead of CSI. This is very interesting because of the date it was made. Wish I could be of more help. Your design of the legs is similar to that of the work I saw in one of the American Woodworker Magazines. Are your legs self supporting or are they fastened at the junction of the curves? Your design should be published in one of the magazines, maybe you could make a deal with one of them and be a contributing editor for their magazine. Your knowledge of woodworking and CAD would come in handy in many ways.
GF, Found a pict of the staircase. Damn it's kewl! It has been added to my list of things to see. http://www.lorettochapel.com/stair.htmlTo answer your question about the legs, they are glued at the center where they join and again where they meet the apron. Both intersections are simple (but tedious to cut) glue joints with no other fasteners. The pict included is after I cut the joinery and before glue-up. -Kevin
Some of the details about the staircase and the movie were not accurate from my end. Now you can see why I asked if your table legs were patterned after this staircase. Unfortunately I haven't been to the chapel, but it would be a must see for wood-workers that know a challenge when they see it. Excellent job of finding the info on the chapel. I certainly hope you make the journey to see it, it must be impressive. With what you have provided I intend to get the dvd. I always enjoyed a mystery and documentary of something like that. May gentleness and caring guide your hands with whatever woodworking you do.
That table is a beauty. Those legs don't actually twist, do they? It is just the illusion in the way they lay across their neighbors. Great work.AndySaid least is often said best,
but said best is often said least.
Andy, Thanx. The legs do not twist. Just a curve and recurve along the same plane.-Kevin
Go Board Dimensions
I corrected the table. Sorry about the mess earlier.
I have been considering making an inlaid Go Board also. I think I'll have to use the scratch method outlined in this month's Fine Woodworking magazine (3/30/13).
I got these dimensions off of Sensi's web page (Wikipedia has it too).
From Wikipedia/ Sensi's Library
Dimension Japanese Boards
(mm) (inch) (shaku - 尺, bu – 分)
Board width 424.2 16 23/32 1.4 shaku 尺
Board length 454.5 17 29/32 1.5 shaku 尺
Board thickness 151.5 5 31/32 0.5 shaku 尺
Left-Right Margins - - - bu 分
Top-Bottom Margins - - - bu 分
Line spacing width-wise 22 7/8 7.26 bu 分
Line spacing length-wise 23.7 15/16 7.82 bu 分
Line thickness 1 1/32 0.3 bu 分
Star point marker diameter 4 5/32 1.2 bu 分
Stone diameter 22.5 29/32 7.5 bu 分
The Go board, called the goban 碁盤 in Japanese, is the playing surface on which to place the stones. The standard board is marked with a 19x19 grid. Smaller boards include a 13x13 grid and a 9x9 grid used for shorter games that are often used to teach beginners. Some 19x19 boards have a 13x13 grid on the reverse side. 17x17 was used in historical times. Chinese boards are generally square; Japanese and Korean boards are slightly longer than wide, so that they appear square when viewed from a normal playing position. In Asian go parlors, the tables are slightly lower than the typical game table so that the players can clearly see the positions of the stones.
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