"free time" to experiment with CNC inlay
#3
Took advantage of the "enforced" free time between Xmas and New Year's to experiment a little bit with inlay using my CNC. In this case I'm using tapered bits to carve the pocket and insert pieces so that they mesh. This allows for sharper corners than one would get using simply a round bit to pocket the material. 

   

Pretty small inlay so the sharp details are in danger of getting knocked off during cutting and again during handling while gluing. Since the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula ended up as short grain it was victim of circumstances. Had I made a larger test piece and fiddled a bit with the cartography of the image it might have survived. 

Hackberry inlayed in cherry. Software to generate files is Vectric VCarvePro and the CNC is a Shapeoko 3 (stock). Used a 1/8" downcutting 2-flute spiral for the pocketing and clearance cuts and a 20* V-bit for detail portion. I could work on the feeds-and-speeds as they were set very conservatively.
Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things. -- G. Carlin
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#4
Wow, I'm impressed with the level of fine detail in a piece so small.
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