Inlay or Marquetry or Intarsia Question?

[James Farrow]

I am not sure what the call what I want to do. Inlay?, Marquetry?, Intarsia?
I searched with google but these terms seems to be all cross defined and
have different meanings to different people.

Anyway, I'll use a simple example to describe what I want to do and I hope someone can enlighten me.

Lets say I have a 2 boards, 12" x 12" x 2". One walnut and one maple.
I want to cut a square in the two boards. I clamp the two boards together and cut out the square. Then switch the squares so I end up with a walnut board with a maple square in the center. And a maple board with a walnut square in the center.

That's easy. But, I am going to lose the thickness of the saw blade when I cut the square. So when I put the maple square in the walnut board I am short, say, 1/16th (just for the sake of discussion) of an inch all around the square.

How do I do, or fix, this so it fits snug?

Do I have to cut the 2 squares separately? Making one square 1/16th of an inch smaller or larger? That seems like a difficult task.

Thanks,

James :)

[Zahid Naqvi]

Lets say I have a 2 boards, 12" x 12" x 2". One walnut and one maple.
That's easy. But, I am going to lose the thickness of the saw blade when I cut the square. So when I put the maple square in the walnut board I am short, say, 1/16th (just for the sake of discussion) of an inch all around the square.

How do I do, or fix, this so it fits snug?


How about if you take a strip of wood, you choice, of the same thickness as the width of you saw blade and glue it to the sides of the square you plan to insert. You can even create a nice outline effect using a contrasting wood.

[Dave Brandt]

I don't think you'll be able to pull that off without using some sort of fill. Here's what I'd do. Rip each board into 3 pieces (with the grain) and mark each piece so when you're finished you can put them back in the same order. Then, with 2 crosscuts of the middle section of each specie, you'll get the desired "inlay." Then just put the boards back together with your favorite glue. Don't forget the swap the center (inlay) pieces! Hope this makes sense (it did to me!).

[Steve Cox]

I think Dave is right on. That's the best way I know to do it.

[James Farrow]

Thanks for the replies.

Well, I didn't want to use fill as it will show. And didn't want any cuts either as that will show. How do they do it when they do inlay in the top of coffee tables, etc...?

James :)

[Chris Padilla]

Hey, this is a good problem to think about! :)

Your finished product will be less than 12" by 12", however, using Dave's way but his is the best use of the wood and has very little waste. In order to keep the size close to 12" by 12", make sure you use a good, clean, sharp blade on your TS to rip and crosscut. Any extra clean-up will take away from the size and if you have any figure in the wood, it will make matching things up a tad tougher. However, good sharp plane should take away minimal material. None of this matter if you don't care much about the size.

If you have highly figured wood and want the outside square to be continuous (no cuts), you will need to go the plunge router way to cut out the inner square. A good sharp chisel can square up the corners or use a small radiused bit on the final router cut. However, you will need more wood as the router has the same problem as you outlined earlier. You can use the frame you just made (the square with the square removed), to help you make a perfectly snug fitting square of another wood. You will need the correct sized router bits and correct sized guide bushing on the router to do this inlay.

I once took the rectangular outlet of a typical heater register in a floor and plugged it perfectly with a piece of wood. First, I made a slightly larger rectanglular template and cleaned up the cutout. I then used that rectangluar template to cut out a perfectly fitting plug for the hole. You need to sit down and do some geometry to figure out what the size of your router bit is and what the size of the guide bushing is on the router (or bearing on the router bit) in order to cut a perfectly fitting inlay. Get some graph paper and draw everything out to figure it out.... Also, do you need the full 2" depth or can the inlay just be on the top and sink down like 1/2". That kinda of depth might make it difficult to find the router bits you'll need.

I like Dave's way...faster, easier, less wastefull but it really depends on your specific situation.

[Ed Lang]

Scrollers do this all the time and by adjusting the tilt of the table you will cut a bevel on the wood. The top square will drop into the bottom hole.


Will this work for you?

[Bart Sharp]

The way I have seen that done is by using a scroll saw with the table tilted to a small angle. You cut both pieces at the same time with one on top of the other. I'll try to draw a picture and attach it if I can, but the idea is that what you are actually cutting out is more of a slightly tapered cone. If you get the angle just right, the cutout from the bottom piece will fit just exactly flush in the hole in the top piece. As far as I know, when you do it this way you can only end up with one perfect fit. That is, the cutout from the top piece won't fit the hole in the bottom piece.

For different effects, you can change the angle such that the cutout piece comes through the hole to be a little proud, or doesn't come all the way to the surface and stays a little recessed.

[Chris Padilla]

Bart,

That is a cool and neat idea!! Hadn't thought of that. :)

[Keith Christopher]

In Lieu of cutting through the boards why not simply make a template, and using the plunge router and 2 collars, rout out the section then switch collars and route out an inlay, much like making dutchmen for wood repairs. Just a thought.
I would suggest a scrollsaw but these boards stacked up will == 4".

[jerry cousins]

bart's description was accurate.
i've doing marquetry for several years and use the "double bevel" method. have attached an example of a recently finished jewelry box - the marquetry is done with poplar, purpleheart, and holly.

the details -
the veneers are 5/64 -
the scrollsaw blade is a 00
the cut is made at 7degrees.

when these are set the bottom piece will fill the void seamlessly.
let me know if you want more information - i can go on.

jerry

[James Farrow]

Thanks!

That scroll saw idea sounds better. Will try it and see how it works.

BTW, I was just using the dimensions above as a simple example for the sake of discussion. Not sure what thickness I will use.

Thanks again,

James :)

[James Farrow]

7 degrees - will mark that down.

Although I gather that may vary slighly based on the thickness of the wood?

Much thanks,

James :)

[jerry cousins]

james - you're right - the 3 dimensions work together to make a seamless/smooth inserted piece. if one is changed then the others need to be modified. i'm sure there is some mathmatical formula for figuring it out (unknown to me) - but trial and error would work too.

jerry

[Michael Stafford]

Mr. Cousins, your info was excellent and so is the very fine box you used to illustrate your point... and your skill. Most beautiful Jerry, thanks for sharing.

[Dennis Peacock]

bart's description was accurate.
i've doing marquetry for several years and use the "double bevel" method. have attached an example of a recently finished jewelry box - the marquetry is done with poplar, purpleheart, and holly.

the details -
the veneers are 5/64 -
the scrollsaw blade is a 00
the cut is made at 7degrees.

when these are set the bottom piece will fill the void seamlessly.
let me know if you want more information - i can go on.

jerry

Jerry,

DETAILS....need more DETAILS. This is EXACTLY what I have been looking for.!! :eek: :D :D

[Steve Jenkins]

When scroll sawing a stack the angle depends on the thickness of the sawblade(kerf). using this method you can stack as many pieces as you want and they will all work except the bottom one, just like when you do two. Of course your pieces will slowly change size as you go down through the stack because of the angle but they will fit.

[Mark Stutz]

I frequently use inlays in my projects. I use a specilly designedTemplate guide on my router. The guide bushing has a sleeve that is the same thickness as the 1/8 spiral bit. I stick the template to the background and rout out a recess. Using the same template with the collar removed from the bushing, I rout the outline of the inlay. Only requires just a little bit of fitting. It is limited to thin inlays however. I got mine at Woodcraft but I suspect they are fairly widely available. This is a birdseye Maple inlay in walnut done this way.

http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=7321