Cheating at Inlay Work

[jteneyck]

I made this simple beech and sapele cutting board for a friend.  First time ever using beech.  Nice stuff.  Anyway, I inlayed the first letter of his last name on the show side with my CNC.  



The process is quite different than doing inlays by hand.  You mill a recess in the substrate, sort of like you would do by hand, except the sides of the recess are cut at a much shallower angle, 45 degrees being typical.  The male piece that fits into the recess is cut from a substrate much thicker than the final male, mirror image "L", by milling away the background, again leaving the edges of the "L" with a 45 deg angle.  It's also cut so the male background sits just a little proud of the substrate so that when it's glued into the substrate the 45 deg edges of the male "L" will mesh tightly against the 45 deg edges in the substrate.  Hope you followed that, should have taken some photos.  After the glue dries, you bandsaw or mill off the excess from the male piece and then sand it flush.  

John

[BrentDH]

John, your work always looks great and this is no exception. Here is a practice piece I have showing the technique I think you used. Although I believe I used a 60* v bit. 

   

Then just to add another picture showing how detailed you can really get. This is walnut and cherry inlaid into maple (I think - could possibly have been birch).  

   

[jteneyck]

John, your work always looks great and this is no exception. Here is a practice piece I have showing the technique I think you used. Although I believe I used a 60* v bit. 



Then just to add another picture showing how detailed you can really get. This is walnut and cherry inlaid into maple (I think - could possibly have been birch).  

Yes, thanks, that's exactly the process I used.  The things you can do with a CNC is mostly limited by your imagination.  Some may not call it real woodworking; doesn't bother me.  I'm making things I never would have tried otherwise, and that helps maintain my interest in woodworking.  

John

[BrentDH]

John, I am not sure how deep you made that inlay in the cutting board, but I have discovered that you need to take some special steps when cutting deeper than an 1/8" or so.  At least this is true when using Vectric Vcarve.  The first pass can cut much deeper than you intend unless you specifically set it up to do it in steps.  The best video I have found that describes the problem and the solution is this one.

Deep inlays VCarving detailed tutorial with Vectric VCarve - YouTube

The whole video is good, but the section specifically explains deeper inlays is from 20:37 to 28:10.

[FrankAtl]

"Some may not call it real woodworking; doesn't bother me."

I've never understood why "some" people say that. Sure it's real woodworking! You're working wood with a tool, doesn't matter that there is some automation involved. It's actually woodworking with an added level of engineering involved so it's a higher level of woodworking IMHO.

The inlay looks great!

Frank

[jteneyck]

John, I am not sure how deep you made that inlay in the cutting board, but I have discovered that you need to take some special steps when cutting deeper than an 1/8" or so.  At least this is true when using Vectric Vcarve.  The first pass can cut much deeper than you intend unless you specifically set it up to do it in steps.  The best video I have found that describes the problem and the solution is this one.

Deep inlays VCarving detailed tutorial with Vectric VCarve - YouTube

The whole video is good, but the section specifically explains deeper inlays is from 20:37 to 28:10.

Thanks Brent.  I'm going to watch that.  The carve was 0.11" deep, so pretty close to 1/8".  It went together beautifully, as you can see.  I'm not sure why I would want to go any deeper but look forward to learning from the tutorial.  

John

I watched it.  His explanation of the problem was perfectly clear and the solution equally so.  I think you saved me from a future unwanted surprise, if I ever want to make a deep inlay.  

John

[Handplanesandmore]

Using cnc to create something is simply cnc woodworking. To be good at it, one needs skills too, just a different skillet from the typical woodworking skillset. Would I do cnc woodworking? Not something I'd ever consider because non cnc woodworking is already taking up all my time.

Simon

[handi]

Very nice! I am one who does not call it ‘cheating’.

In my cnc book, I show how using a flat tipped engraving cutter with a 15 degree angle. 
The pocket and the inlay are offset from each other by about 0.007” or 0.014” overall to allow for the fit.

This offset allows for inlaying thin veneers and such. The 15 degree angle creates a ‘scarf’ joint, which helps to hide any tiny gaps around the perimeter. 

Beginners Guide to CNC Machining in Wood

Ralph

[FS7]

I wonder why beech isn't more readily available. It is everywhere here. I have almost nothing but beech, red oak, and poplar trees on my property. Beech is good lumber and generally mills pretty well. I'm not sure if it's just around here (as compared to the rest of its natural range), but it's a common tree and you see lots of 80+ foot trees with 3' diameter straight trunks. Most people are more interested in milling white oak and walnut, but walnut trees are few and far between. Poplar isn't very useful, not even as firewood. That just leaves oak and beech.

[jteneyck]

I wonder why beech isn't more readily available. It is everywhere here. I have almost nothing but beech, red oak, and poplar trees on my property. Beech is good lumber and generally mills pretty well. I'm not sure if it's just around here (as compared to the rest of its natural range), but it's a common tree and you see lots of 80+ foot trees with 3' diameter straight trunks. Most people are more interested in milling white oak and walnut, but walnut trees are few and far between. Poplar isn't very useful, not even as firewood. That just leaves oak and beech.

Beech is difficult to dry; I think that's why not more is harvested commercially.  So is white oak but it has broader appeal so it's harvested more because it commands a higher price.  As for poplar, it depends upon which one you are referring to.  Cottonwood poplar is pretty worthless except for packing crates, but Tulip (Yellow) poplar has broad utility and is used in high volumes to paint grade molding, cabinets, etc.  It also sees a lot of use for internal cabinet parts.  It's a joy to work with, a little harder than pine with no sap. 

I got the beech log used in this project as partial payment for some hard maple I milled for a guy.  That's the only beech log I've ever milled as it doesn't grow where I live, at least not in any quantity, unfortunately.  It's very nice to work with, at least with power tools.  Hand planing it proved difficult, not because it's hard but because of tear out.     

John