Did my first butterfly inlay today :-)

[Bill Huber]

Well now that I have the little Dewalt plunge base router it was time to try working on some inlays again. I think the easiest to start with was just a butterfly, I had tried it with the Colt but I was always messing up the inlay.

So, cut the inlay from some walnut I had, went very well with the plunge base.

Cut the board for the inlay and again it went very well, looked great.

So now I have to do a little sanding on the corners to get them to fit just right, sanded them and got the inlay spot on.

Set it in the board and it fit so good, tapped it in with a dead blow hammer and it looked great.



Now do notice the one step I left out?:D:D:D






Thats right I did not put the glue on it and there is no way in hell that it was coming out. I guess you have to learn some things the hard way. I took a chisel and dug it out and made a new inlay and GLUED it in.
.
.

[Brian Kent]

You left out one more step - pictures :D:D:D

[Bill Huber]

You left out one more step - pictures :D:D:D

Well I can post some but its just a butterfly in some red oak.

I will post one tomorrow, just for you.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Bill,

I thought I was the only one who did stuff like that.:o

[glenn bradley]

Glue is over-rated anyway.

[Bill Huber]

Bill,

I thought I was the only one who did stuff like that.:o

I am just glad it was not some real fancy inlay that I had spent hours on getting it right.

I will bet that I don't do it again....:D

[Paul McGaha]

Sorry about that Bill.

I take it the new router did ok?

You say its the size of a Colt and it has a plunge base?

PHM

Oh, I see your next thread now.

[Brian Penning]

Not to hijack the thread but anyone know of a true .250 (1/4") router bit?
The inlays I've done require way too much sanding to fit. After reading the instructions and measuring the Freud straight bit that I have (.244) I realized the router bit is the culprit.
TIA

[John Coloccia]

Hey Bill, the next time you do that you can just wick in a little thin CA around the edge of the inlay. It will wick right into the joint and hold it just fine.

[Sean Troy]

Hey Bill, the next time you do that you can just wick in a little thin CA around the edge of the inlay. It will wick right into the joint and hold it just fine.
John is correct but make sure you spray a coat of sanding sealer on the area first so the CA doesn't stain the wood. It's real hard to sand out CA stain, it goes deep. Sanding sealer sands off very easily.

[John Coloccia]

Excellent tip.

[del schisler]

if you use the whiteside inlay kit. You will not have any problum's with inlay's. The bit is right and not looking around for something that will work. my 2 cent's that is the one i use

[lowell holmes]

+1 for the Whiteside inlay kit.

[Bill Huber]

You left out one more step - pictures :D:D:D

The last step...

As you can see it was just in a little stool for the grand daughter, it was there so it got 2 butterfly inlays.

169113 169114

[Bill Huber]

Hey Bill, the next time you do that you can just wick in a little thin CA around the edge of the inlay. It will wick right into the joint and hold it just fine.

Well I think it was better that I didn't glue it in place, this way I learned a lesson and I am sure I won't do it again, but if I do I know how to fix it.

Thanks

[Neil Brooks]

Cool, Bill :cool:

I've got a couple of boards clamped onto my work bench, as we speak, and am monkeying around -- with marginal success -- with a bowtie inlay, myself -- using an MLSC template and upcut bit.

I'll get it. It's not rocket science (just beyond ME, for now LOL) !

Congrats ! I think that sort of inlay is an absolutely wonderful way to add yet another bit of style and contrast to lots of different sorts of pieces !

[Jim Rimmer]

The last step...

As you can see it was just in a little stool for the grand daughter, it was there so it got 2 butterfly inlays.

169113 169114
Since the skill involved was all dependent on the DeWalt router, I can't wait to get mine. :D Nice work, Bill. I will be practicing on some scrap when I get my router and hope to get that good some day.

[Neil Brooks]

Silly question....

Bill's inlays look superb.

In general, are there any rules about grain direction/wood movement ?

In other words, will running the inlay grain perpendicular to the grain of the stool top potentially cause problems, with seasonal movement :confused:

Thanks.

Beautiful job, Bill !

[Bill Huber]

Silly question....

Bill's inlays look superb.

In general, are there any rules about grain direction/wood movement ?

In other words, will running the inlay grain perpendicular to the grain of the stool top potentially cause problems, with seasonal movement :confused:

Thanks.

Beautiful job, Bill !

Thanks....

I am sure not an expert in all this wood movement stuff but with an inlay like this I really can't see it being any type of a problem. It is only 1/8" think and it is glued down. I don't think there is enough fiber there to do very much movement.

When you think if what the butterfly was designed for, not just the little inlay like we us it for looks. It was designed to hold two boards together so they could not move, like in a split. It is a really neat joint when you look at it, wood moves across the grain and is the strongest with the grain, so the butterfly joint is really neat. It is holding the wood together when it tries to move and it is doing it with the strongest part of the wood.

[Bill Huber]

Since the skill involved was all dependent on the DeWalt router, I can't wait to get mine. :D Nice work, Bill. I will be practicing on some scrap when I get my router and hope to get that good some day.

Look, we all know that it is all in the tools and not the craftsman, right. So when you get your Dewalt router it will make the inlays just like these.

I am using the Whiteside inlay kit and it does work very well. The problem is now I am thinking of making my own templates so I guess I am going to have to buy a scroll saw, I am just not good free hand.

It just never ends.....:D

[Van Huskey]

Those are excellent butterflies whether they were your first or your 100th!

[Ron Bontz]

I was curious since the grain of the butterfly is going perpendicular to the grain of the oak, will that have unequal expansion/ contraction. Also what size bit did this require?

[Bill Huber]

I was curious since the grain of the butterfly is going perpendicular to the grain of the oak, will that have unequal expansion/ contraction. Also what size bit did this require?

Ron, scroll up and read post #20.

I used the Whiteside inlay kit which has a 1/8" bit with a bushing and a little collar. I got mine from Amazon for $31.

http://www.amazon.com/9500-SOLID-BRASS-INLAY-KIT/dp/B0012JI6HM

[Brian Kent]

The last step...

As you can see it was just in a little stool for the grand daughter, it was there so it got 2 butterfly inlays.

169113 169114

Thanks Bill. I have never done this and wanted to see what it looks like.

Brian

[Larry Fox]

Bill, great looking inlay. As to inserting it without glue - I can attest with 100% certainty that I have NEVER done anything like that. Yeah right. :) Anyway, can you drill a tiny hole (or several) through the oak but not into the inlay from the back and use something to poke at the back of the inlay and work it back out. You can fill the holes after and since they are on the bottom they should never be seen.

[Mike Sayre]

Looks great bill..

[Jay Allen]

Larry, that's how I didn't fix it after not doing the same thing. :rolleyes:

Oh, and ditto on the Whiteside inlay kit. It works great.