Baltic birch inlay

[Ron Chapellaz]

Just wondering if anyone has successfully done an inlay using 1/4" baltic birch plywood. I gave it a shot with my 35w with settings of 10% speed 100% power, and a second try at 5% speed 100 power. All I had was a charred mess with inconsistant depths, and my inlay not fitting in. Any thoughts or ideas? My guess is that this the wrong wood for this kind of project. This is my first time trying inlays. Thanks in advance! :)

[George M. Perzel]

Hi Ron;
What exactly are you trying to inlay? First of all, your speeds are much to low-don't try to raster to a deep finished depth in one pass-invites constant burning in a poor substrate (baltic birch). Any ply is poor since its made of cross-banded woods and glue-inviting a very uneven surface. If you must use BB, use a thin inlay and laser only as far a you need in the top layer.
Good Luck
Best Regards;
George
Laserarts

[Ron Chapellaz]

George,
I was trying to inlay a 1/8" piece of purple heart into 1/4" baltic birch. I followed speed settings from Epilog but their settings were for a 45w so I adjusted a slower speed for my 35. They had a setting of 15% speed with 100% power, which is why I started at 10%, then down to 5%. The depth was about 3/4 of what I needed to get the purple heart in. It did create an uneven surface, which is why I also thought BB might not be the best substrate for the job. I masked the wood as well but it burnt the edges very badly. Maybe instead of the purple heart I may have to go with a thin veneer. This was all just an experiment and to try different things with the laser. I appreciate the help!

[Chuck Stone]

having done veneer twice now, I'm self qualified as an expert. :p

But I think using the laser to do veneer is gonna be tricky, mostly because
of the experiences you mention. Wood density varies (I wouldn't do it with
ply.. you never know WHAT is in there) so even on a great piece of wood,
those settings might be good for one spot and totally overkill for a spot only
a mm away. OR it may not cut deep enough. You never know.
If I were trying it, I'd do several passes, and perhaps put a finish on the
wood first (makes charring cleanup easier) I'd also cut it a bit deeper than
I need and use a filler to level out the bottom surface. (thin CA, Plexitone,
epoxy etc.)

[Lee DeRaud]

I was trying to inlay a 1/8" piece of purple heart into 1/4" baltic birch.If you think cutting the pocket in the baltic birch is giving you trouble, just wait until you try to cut the purple heart. :eek:

It is without a doubt the absolute hardest wood for the laser to cut, and (IMHO) not worth the trouble regardless, since that nice color will go away over time no matter how you finish it.

[Zlatan Vuckovic]

Just tried to do some inlay myself, I used ebony and inlayed in purple heart. I tried less power and a faster speed thinking it wouldn't burn as much and did a bunch of passes. I did the ebony the same way it turned out pretty good, still had some burning. This was my first time trying this so I can't claim I know what I'm doin. I did the F hole's in the violin, a music box.
http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae323/zlatanv/P5060044.jpg

[Bruce Volden]

Ron, what I do is VECTOR the recieving piece and "hog out" the rest with forstner bits set to the proper depth. I always allow for a proud surface to be sanded down flush when the glue dries. I don't know how intricate the shape is but I have used micro chisels when the recieving piece won't allow for smaller forstner bits. I couldn't even begin to imagine rastering to proper depth. I'd like to see it when you get things figgered out tho'.

Bruce

[Dee Gallo]

Just tried to do some inlay myself, I used ebony and inlayed in purple heart. I tried less power and a faster speed thinking it wouldn't burn as much and did a bunch of passes. I did the ebony the same way it turned out pretty good, still had some burning. This was my first time trying this so I can't claim I know what I'm doin. I did the F hole's in the violin, a music box.
http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae323/zlatanv/P5060044.jpg

That is SO nice, Zlatan! What a unique box, especially for a music box, you don't see a lot of those any more.

Great job, nicely finished and your first time doing inlay, too - excellent!

cheers, dee

[Ron Chapellaz]

I don't know how intricate the shape is but I have used micro chisels when the recieving piece won't allow for smaller forstner bits.
Bruce
Bruce, the piece I am doing is very small, in fact it has a humming bird, so the bird's beak goes to a fine point. I may have to try on a different type of wood. Unfortunately there are no places close to me that sell 1/4" wood other than Baltic Birch. What types of wood would you recommend as the vectored piece for the inlays to sit into? I would like my inlayed pieces to go into a light coloured 1/4" wood. I am hoping to use purpleheart, zebrawood, and yellowheart as the inlay pieces. If I can find a suiteable piece of wood, I may post a pic of the final product.

Lee, my vector cut of the humming bird in purple heart took 2 passes. You are right about it being hard.

Zlatan, wow that is an awesome job. How big is the violin??

[Zlatan Vuckovic]

Its a little over 11x4 in, I made it for my daughter's birthday.

[Zlatan Vuckovic]

Thanks Dee, I have had the laser for a little over a month and can't get enough thinking of the possibilities.

[Mike Null]

Doing inlay successfully with a laser is quite easy but it works best if the inlay is less than .050" thick. Rastering can usually be done without difficulty but have a small chisel or chisels standing by to achieve a uniform depth. I like to have my inlays proud of the surface then sanded but some veneers are too delicate for that so inlaying them flush is required. The thickness of the glue application can help to ensure a smooth surface. Dry fitting first is essential.

There is an example in this thread. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?138543-Walnut-inlay&

[George M. Perzel]

Zoltan-awesome job-well done-the purpleheart looks like pink ivory-great color!
Lee- you are right, purpleheart is a b%^&%$ to cut but ebony is even worse because of the oil content which promotes flaming
The possibilities with the laser are endless-after 8 years I still wake up in the middle of the night with new ideas-also to visit the head but that's a different story.
Many ways of inlaying have been discussed on this forum -a little search will bring a wealth of info and ideas. I still prefer cutting my own veneers-able to cut them about 1/8" thick, inlay, and then sand flush-works great and is fast.
Ron-send me a PM with your address and will ship you some samples of 5/32 maple, cherry, jatoba, and walnut
Best Regards;
George
Laserarts

[Ron Chapellaz]

Ron-send me a PM with your address and will ship you some samples of 5/32 maple, cherry, jatoba, and walnut
Best Regards;
George
Laserarts

I PM'd you George. Thanks!

[Chuck Stone]

I was able to raster the purpleheart OK .. two passes, not too slow.
Could have done it in one pass, but it was he first time on purpleheart
so I went a little light. This is a reject piece because of the de-lamination
of the coating. Turns out that you really have to wash any traces of
silicone off of your hands before finishing :o
Two passes got me deep enough for a .010 brass inlay

That violin looks great!

[Bill Cunningham]

Iv'e never tried to cut purpleheart but it engraves beautifully.. I have a customer that makes custom woodplanes out of various species, and brings them in for logos, presentation info etc.. The ones he does in purpleheart always end up engraving very nicely
193993

[John Noell]

I've been doing more and more inlays lately and have a slightly different take. First, I like to have some room to sand the surface a bit and the thin ply I can get in Fiji has such a thin top layer it is hopeless to avoid sanding into the glue. I like to use a deep raster and often do it in one pass if the wood does not char too much (mahogany, raintree, dakua). I then cut the inlays out of 3-4+mm thick pieces (vectored from the back so that the slopes of the kerfs mate). This way my inlay may not smoothly hit the bottom of the raster but the glue fills small gaps and everything is thick enough that I can sand down to a nice smooth surface. Ever since I discovered the "McKenzie Method" I have been having a lot more fun!!193994

[Lee DeRaud]

Iv'e never tried to cut purpleheart but it engraves beautifully..Yup. I've always been astounded at how well certain woods engrave but are almost impossible to cut decently.

[Ron Chapellaz]

John your key chains came out looking nice with great inlay work. I haven't tried engraving on purpleheart yet but it does look nice Bill. I am anxious to get different wood to try and get inlays working.

[Zlatan Vuckovic]

Chuck how did you do the brass inlay, was it cut on laser?

[Chuck Stone]

Chemical milling. Polyester masking, 30w laser, Photoshop and
lots of swearing when the acid gets underneath the mask.
I found out early that I had to interlock the letters somehow.
Underlining works. Some of those letters look symmetrical, but
I's have not just a front and back, but a top and bottom. Get
it wrong and it doesn't look right.. plus manually fitting all those
letters can get tedious and come out looking 'off'

Not to mention placing 30 individual 3/16" letters only to find out
at the end that you've somehow misplaced an 'E' ..
(and you find it after running the whole job over again)

[Dee Gallo]

John, those are HOT! You are doing some really nice work over there!