Replies

1. 
   RMillard | Jul 15, 2003 02:10pm | #1

   I faced the same problem when I started to inlay furniture. Unfortunately I came up more or less empty on the subject. Through trial and error ( more of the latter) I was able to figure it out. If you have a particular question or questions, I might be able to answer them.

   I have attached a photo of a card table showing my shop made inlays. This photo is not the best, my camera was dusty and the white balance is wrong.

   Rob Millard

   
1. 
   SparrowHawk | Jul 16, 2003 12:50pm | #2

   Hi Rob,

   This discussion  caught my attention because inlay is something I really want to understand. You do some wonderful and inspiring work to say the least and your recreations are in line with the style I would like most to learn. I'm guessing the material for your inlays is basically a veneer (how thick?) To create the place for it to go in the larger piece you must use a router and some sort of guide. Which bit? Some of the inlays you show are far more intricate than just a stripe and show tone variations (in folds for instance). This appears to be done using heat to discolor the wood - maybe hot sand? I am sure you haven't time to delve into a deep discussion of inlay for beginners but is there some printed material to your knowledge that would get a beginner off on the right foot so I could avoid the typical beginner pitfalls and jump right into personalized mistakes of my own? :+)

   Thanks,Ken

1. 
   RMillard | Jul 16, 2003 01:38pm | #3

   Ken

   There was an excellent article by Steve Latta in the October 1999 issue of Fine Woodworking on making the pictorial inlays. Mr. Latta did one thing that I don’t, and that is he uses the bevel cut method for some areas. This bevel cutting makes for an outstanding inlay, but would not have been use on period work. Period inlays were stack cut, which allows you to make quite a few inlays at once. I most often scan inlays from books and use a computer program to print them out full size. Before the computer I had to draw then free hand ( thank you Mr. Gates) The inlays are made from standard factory veneer, which after cutting and shading , I glue to a stable piece of veneer, with its grain running at 90 degrees to the inlays grain. This makes the inlays easier to work with, and really helps when wrapping the edge.

   I do use hot sand to “burn” the edges of the inlays to give it a 3 dimensional look. I use the sand sold as an additive for paint, because it is extremely fine, and gives good control. The process of shading couldn’t be simpler, you just grab the piece with tweezers and dip or drag it through the hot sand until you get the desired effect. Small pieces are better dipped, while larger ones ( like rays of a fan) can be drug through the sand which make things proceed much faster, because some air gets to the wood.

   For inlaying, I cut a clamping block the same shape as the inlay but slightly smaller, and use this to clamp it into place. I then scribe around it with a fine knife and use a standard router and bit to remove most of the waste. A knife and various gouges take care of the rest. The only real difficulty in this process is that your depth must be perfect, since the veneer is so thin there is little room to scrape or sand it. I have attached a photo showing an inlay up close. You will notice that the inlay is not prefect, but this is typical of period work.

                                           Rob Millard

   
1. 
   SparrowHawk | Jul 16, 2003 06:03pm | #4

   Rob,

   Thank you for taking the time to explain your methods in more detail ... I believe I can visualize what you are doing and the photo helped a lot. Like everything, it's mostly a matter of taking the time and jumping in to make the mistakes and build skill. I've got lots of veneer here, plenty of carving knives, gouges, a good rotary carving tool, routers, bits, clamps, saws and glue. Now if I could only find where I left the time ... I thought I stashed it in the scrapbox ... I know it's here somewhere ... :+)

   Thanks,Ken