Proper Carving Tool

[Mike OMelia]

I have to hand carve some inlay channels. They will be about 5/32" wide. Maybe 3" long and curved. The wood is hard (bubinga). I have some 1-3 mm Two Cherries gouges. But not sure what I should use. Once these are carved, I will inlay some wood and sand flush. What tool would you use?

Mike

[Mike OMelia]

Perhaps I should have posted this on the Neander forum?

[Lee Schierer]

If you can make a template use a router and an inlay guide and bit.http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/public/RSIgk9ea9Pk5CzwpyW40MewYFGMy_pwsvbEyR7YcmAOrAe-EV-fCF2f11d9YUIKcdkcN725cTFNaUUCcFz0lx5ZHSIMi7y4szq9a OBFk5qs0wyvvAxGtXmX1ErM9oVXx231EP6j9FJHZmfwgxUuH3P b5EH0 The bit cuts a 1/8" groove.

[Mike Henderson]

Unless you're just dead set on doing it by hand, a small router is the way to go - a trim router is the easiest to handle. If you can use a template, do that. If the shape won't allow a template, mark the inlay piece on the wood with a marking knife and use your router to cut most of the wood out. Then clean up with a chisel and carving gouges (for the edges of odd shapes).

Trying to do it by hand is difficult compared to using a small router - but if you're dead set on that, use a router plane so that the bottom is flat.

Mike

[Mike OMelia]

Well, I have routers and template guides, etc. For some reason, it seems like overkill. But I do see your points. I wish it was as simple as cutting the shape (template) on a bandsaw, then regluing the two pieces separated by the diameter of the template guide. If the lines were straight, yes. But curved lines present problems. You can visualize this simply by imagining a square block with a line drawn down the center. In the middle, use a compass to draw a hemisphere on one side of the line. Now cut that shape on the bandsaw. One block has the "male" of the hemisphere, the other has the "female". On the straight sections, glue spacers and then then glue the two blocks back together. What results is a slot that is not the same width all the way around. I know why, but that is the kind of problem I am dealing with. I would definitely be interested in anybody who has faced this issue before and what solutions you came up with.

BTW, I guess I could do it with just one side of the template. But I worry about drifting off of the guide.

Mike

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I'll probably have to endure some grief from this, but I use a Dremel and router base. Cheap and easy to handle. Depth is not critical, so the Dremel is fine, IMO. Since you're not going to hog off tremendous amouts of wood, the lack of power is also a non issue. Since it's small, compared to a trim or laminate router, it's way easy to handle. If you want the ultimate, I'd go Foredom router and base. If you are indeed set on hand, then you should re-post in the neanders. The only gouges I know about is used on my lathe.:)

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Ah you must have posted when I was typing. I type slow. Forget what I said. Different problem.

[Mike OMelia]

To me, this seems like a chicken and egg problem. That meaning, how to cut a template slot so that one can replicate it on the actual work piece. Perhaps, a pin router is the way to go... but, I still need a starting point.

I, btw, am not bent on using hand tools. I would prefer a powered solution. My guess is that I am doing a poor job of describing the problem... or that the solution is mundane and not worthy of comment. I hope it is the former, and if it is the later, please humor me with the answer. :)

Mike

[Lee Schierer]

If you just need to cut a portion of a circle, you can easily use a circle cutting jig with your router to make a template. Use the same center location with a different radius setting for the wider groove necessary for the template bushing. You would need to do a bit of math to determine the radius for the template bushing to follow to make the cutter form the desired radius arc. It's pretty easy to do with a cad program.

[John Coloccia]

Well, I have routers and template guides, etc. For some reason, it seems like overkill. But I do see your points. I wish it was as simple as cutting the shape (template) on a bandsaw, then regluing the two pieces separated by the diameter of the template guide. If the lines were straight, yes. But curved lines present problems. You can visualize this simply by imagining a square block with a line drawn down the center. In the middle, use a compass to draw a hemisphere on one side of the line. Now cut that shape on the bandsaw. One block has the "male" of the hemisphere, the other has the "female". On the straight sections, glue spacers and then then glue the two blocks back together. What results is a slot that is not the same width all the way around. I know why, but that is the kind of problem I am dealing with. I would definitely be interested in anybody who has faced this issue before and what solutions you came up with.

BTW, I guess I could do it with just one side of the template. But I worry about drifting off of the guide.

Mike

I usually just pencil it in and use my dremel in StewMac's base, the same way I inlay a logo, for example. Without knowing what you're doing, that's the best I can come up with. I will say that I found a foot pedal to be invaluable to doing this kind of work. I always seem to botch it up when I take one hand off to shut down. Now I just lift my foot. Much easier. :)

[Mike OMelia]

That's what I mean... I'm doing a bad job of explaining this. The circle was an example. The actual routs involve compound curves (meaning for you math folks, the slope of the curve changes).

I think I will try the single sided template and focus hard on not letting it drift.

Mike