a First Trial at Stringing

[C. in Indy]

Lately I decided to try some stringing inlay.  I looked at the catalogs and for a starter I got a mixed set of tools.  I picked Veritas inlay cutters mainly because I foresee trying arbitrary templates -- not just circular arcs and straight lines -- one of these days.  The Veritas kit promises the ability to cut to a template.  On the other hand, for string thicknessing, I picked a Lie Nielsen tool.

Also for the early work I went with 0.032" stringing, thinking I'd be able to curl some veneer to arc-shapes without a heating iron.  This was "mostly" true on my first trial, but I definitely see why people use heated curling irons now.  In the future I'll probably step up to thicker strings and more methodical curling.

For a future box-top, I looked at some patterns, fancying art deco schemes, but I settled on a fairly basic intro pattern.   The work went a lot like cutting dovetails -- it is really a leap of faith that the ugly interim steps will straighten out later.

Cutting some arcs:

   


Leveling bits of string inlay:

   


After a good deal of detail repairs and planing and burnishing:

   



The remainder of the box will be an oak piece with rabbeted end pieces and grooves for a fixed bottom and a sliding (stringed) lid.  The Veritas stringing gage has a whip-sharp cutting blade insert for slicing veneers; this also has become my finest cutting gage for other work now
 

   


And here is one of the grooves being popped out after rip-sawing with a backsaw:

   


More to come later...

Chris

[bandit571]

There is a video series on youtube, called "Hands" .    Look for the one about Caven.    Irish shop, known for their inlay work on furniture.   Video goes from the day's opening of the shop, through all the steps they use to inlay a chair and a dining table.   Might be worth the trouble to look it up?
 

Will try to find a link, later, today.....

[Philip1231]

I like it!


random characters so message meets minimum length requirement

[Tony Z]

I've been toyinf with taking this leap also. I also was looking at tools from LV and LN!

Keep posting your progress!

[Mike Brady]

Looks good, Chris.  Good, sharp tools are essential, not surprisingly.  I did one project using line-and-berry inlay, ala Steve Latta.  It was fun and my wife loved the jewelry box.  Win-win.

[C. in Indy]

Nice panel, Mike!

For the rest of my box (in oak) I made one mistake, outsmarting myself by cutting end rabbets on the long boards rather than on the short boards.   This is some nice looking white oak but it was moving a lot (part of why it was still in my scrap pile), so I'm glad I went for simpler joinery in retrospect.   Anyway, the interrupted top corners are now in repair:

   


Chris

[C. in Indy]

Similar to another forum-thread I saw, a stringed box is good if it can accommodate stringing tools!

Besides using up some twisty oak lumber, I also used up some over-aged shellac.  So it's a win-win.

Happy woodworking,

Chris

   

   

[Mike Brady]

Similar to another forum-thread I saw, a stringed box is good if it can accommodate stringing tools!

Besides using up some twisty oak lumber, I also used up some over-aged shellac.  So it's a win-win.

Happy woodworking,

Chris

Nice job! I'm copying your idea since my stringing tools rattle around in a plastic tub somewhere in my tool chest.  I also love small projects.

[Scoony]

Nice!
I made a set of stringing tools years ago and completed one project with them. Going to have to dust them off and do some more.

[Stwood_]

Very nice ................