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Hi all,
I was thinking of inlaying a 1/2″ strip of cherry around the border of a desk top and was wondering if anyone had a tips on how to approach the task. I was thinking of using a plunge router with a half in straight bit and building a square guide to create an 1/8″ deep channel in which to set the cherry – does this sound reasonable? Any problems with splintering?
TIA
Jim
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I do a considerable amount of inlay work, and for wide inlays on flat surfaces, the router is a fine tool. Having said that, it can be at best, nerve racking to plunge a bit spinning at 23000 rpm into your top. I’m not a big fan of templates, so I use the fence on my router, and stop just short of meeting at the corners and finish of with a chisel. Unless your top is of a stable material, you may have problems with the cherry inlay strip buckling across the width of the table. In that case I would treat it as cross banding on the ends. I have attached a photo showing some inlay work I did on a card table I’m currently working on. I make all my own inlays.
*Rob,Thanks for the reply, and nice work! Could you explain cross banding? Is that just overlaying the inlayed strips at the corners?? As far as nerve racking is concerned, I'm always nervous when I make a cut to try and "improve" the appearance of a project, but thats what separates the men from the boys - I figure if I screw up, hopefully I'll learn something!Regards,Jim
*By cross banding, I mean that the grain of the inlay should follow that of the object to be inlayed. In your case, you may have to cross cut a piece of wide cherry into ½” thick pieces, and then slice these on the bandsaw into whatever thickness you planed to use for the inlays, and inlay them, on the areas that run across the grain. If you look at the photo of the card table apron, you can see the rosewood inlay at the bottom is done this way. I work with mahogany 99.99% of the time, and I have found it stable enough to allow me to run inlays anyway I need to, but other species have too much potential for expansion and contraction to let you do this
*Rob, You evidently know your stuff, but I'm curious as to why the M&T you have in the picture at the top left is what I know as a 'near bridle'? Normal practise as I was taught is to include a bigger shoulder at the top of the tenon than you have allowed, which is intended to provide substantial end grain strength at the end of the mortise near the top of the leg to resist an end grain plug popping out there. The old rule of approximate 'thirds' is what I'm yacking on about. I know, I know, modern glues and all that stuff, but by your own admission, you don't use them. ;-) Slainte, RJ.
*A typical trick in cases where you are running the inlay or stringing in a long grain manner across the end grain of a table top is to include a scarf joint in the stringing or inlay every 300 to 400 mm or so, and don't make it- the scarf- too tight a fit. This is meant to allow for a bit of table top movement, but I have to admit that I'm not 100% convinced that this really works. Slainte, RJ.
*I really don’t know why I cut the mortise that way, but I’ve always done it that way. I can see where the endgrain near the top is fragile, but it would take a devastating blow to pop it out once the joint is assembled, since you have all that glue surface and 2 substantial shoulders holding things in place. Having said that, I will from now on leave a larger area uncut at the top, for 2 reasons possibly more strength, and less mortise to cut. I’ve never heard about doing inlays the way you described, when working across the grain, I wonder if it would work? I like the idea, because it would look more uniform than having to switch to cross grain inlays..
*Rob, I have done a few stringings the way I described, i.e., with long grain stringing across the grain. I don't do a lot of inlay work because I don't think it would improve the furniture I design and make, but if it's what the client wants in a commissioned job, I'll do it. I've not had any failures that I know of. I include the wee scarf joints as I described, cut on a shallow angle with a Stanley knife or surgical type knife; Exacto do quite a nice knife for this kind of thing, but I've also been known to make my own out of hacksaw blades with the bevel on just one face. Comparitively stable timber backgrounds obviously make sense, and walnut and mahogany spring to mind, and this is a good place for a creepy glue such as PVA. I've just used the cross pein of a hammer to force the stringing into the groove. Deciding at what stage to insert the stringing isn't easy. Do you fit it before staining, grain filling and polishing, after, or at some intermediate stage? I've never come to a definive answer on that one. ;-)I was curious about the M&T. That style seems to be a very American thing. I see it a lot in the US, but it looks out of proportion and alien to me with my European background. I've had to fix a few American made items with that M&T layout, where the 'plug' of end grain I described had popped out. If your looking to resist the front rail cupping out of line with the b flush front face of the leg you could always add a haunch to the reduced width tenon, either square or sloped. You get a bit more glue surface again using a haunch too. Slainte, RJ.
*Thanks Rob and RJ, I now have a lot to think about, including the mortise information you provided RJ. I just finished the mortises for my desk base and I'll have to admit I have only a 1/2 inch shoulder at top of the leg also. I never have a problem except when the joint is a lttle too tight and I split the end grain when inserting the tenon - a larger shoulder probably would help.To your health!Jim
*Tenons should really be made just a bo'hair narrower than the length of the mortice anyway Jim. They need this so that the tenoned member can expand without bursting out the end grain of the mortice- at the top of the leg for example. A solid timber rail 100 mm wide (~4") might expand and contract by 0.5mm in both directions. Slainte, RJ.
*I put my inlays in after the final planing has been done. I seal them with brushing lacquer (2 coats for holly and 3 for satinwood). This is a pain, but I think it gives by far the best results. Gluing down inlays is the one thing I still use white glue for, as I think it will give a bit, and the glue resists stain penetration, which in this case is a plus.
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