Making Michael Fortune (LV?) Inlay Stringing tools

[Chris Griggs]

There’s an article in the latest fine woodworking showing the inlay tools Michael Fortune uses and how to make them. It’s an interesting design and looks pretty simple to make. Also, interesting is the cutter seems to be the same/or similar idea to the LV inlay tools (the pics are ones I ran a across using a google search... no way to post the pics from the article).

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I have couple of the little inexpensive LV template stringing tools (http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?p=69875&cat=1,43314,69873) that I’ve been messing with for a few months (still need to try on a project though). I’ve kinda been wanting a wider one to fit some premade stringing I have and thought I might give it a go in an piece of saw plate. This article seems to be the ticket. Has anyone tried to make stringing tools like this? If so how did they work? (…the little LV tools work very well and like I said these appear to by the same concept to I assume they work similarly). Any thoughts or tips on making these?

Also, Rob if you happen read this I’d be curious to know if these are the same? Is this an old/common design? Was Mr. Fortune involved in the design of yours? Just curious….its a interesting alternative to the saw tooth design of Latta/LN.

[Derek Cohen]

I’ve kinda been wanting a wider one to fit some premade stringing I have ..


Hi Chris

If you want a wider line, have you seen the Inlay Cutter Head for the LV router plane? I purchased one when I was in Canada recently, but not used it as yet (soon) ..

http://www.leevalley.com/US/images/item/Woodworking/MarkMeasure/05p3845s02.jpg

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Chris Fournier]

There’s an article in the latest fine woodworking showing the inlay tools Michael Fortune uses and how to make them. It’s an interesting design and looks pretty simple to make. Also, interesting is the cutter seems to be the same/or similar idea to the LV inlay tools (the pics are ones I ran a across using a google search... no way to post the pics from the article).

254683 254684 254685

I have couple of the little inexpensive LV template stringing tools (http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?p=69875&cat=1,43314,69873) that I’ve been messing with for a few months (still need to try on a project though). I’ve kinda been wanting a wider one to fit some premade stringing I have and thought I might give it a go in an piece of saw plate. This article seems to be the ticket. Has anyone tried to make stringing tools like this? If so how did they work? (…the little LV tools work very well and like I said these appear to by the same concept to I assume they work similarly). Any thoughts or tips on making these?

Also, Rob if you happen read this I’d be curious to know if these are the same? Is this an old/common design? Was Mr. Fortune involved in the design of yours? Just curious….its a interesting alternative to the saw tooth design of Latta/LN.

Michael Fortune is one of Canada's most long standing, prolific and creative woodworkers and designers. The tools that you're talking about go back, go way back before eother Michael or LV, woodworkers have ground profiles like that for centuries. If you do much of this kind of work google musical instrument making tools.

[Chris Griggs]

Thanks guys. Yes Derek I have that too. Its a great little gizmo, but in I find its better suited to small banding as opposed to stringing (in the limited amount of played with it). It will score a very narrow grooves nicely, but getting the waste out is tough without some kind of super tiny chisel or hook tool. My smallest router plane blade is 3/32"...sure I could grind it down, but I'm not talking about even a 1/16"...more like .040" to .050".... LV makes a wider (.040) version of the hook tool that would probably be about right for my stuff, but I enjoy trying to make my own tools when possible. Actually, I think it would be fairly easy to make a v-groove hook thingy out of spring steel and drill a couple holes in it so it can actually be held in the inlay attachment on the router plane in place of the scoring cutters. Yet another one of the many thing that's on the if I ever get around to it list.

Thanks for the info Chris. Sorta what I figured...nothing new under the sun and all that. I'm not very familiar with instrument maker stuff and am very new to inlay (have only just begun to dabble) and for whatever reason the few craftsmen made ones I had seen before were more like the Latta/LN saw tooth type, so it got my attention when I saw Mr. Fortune's shop made tool.

[Chris Griggs]

Also, its a great article BTW. Very good instruction for those wanting to get into a bit of inlay on the cheap.

[Bob Jones]

Thanks Chris. I don't subscribe to FWW, but I may buy that one since I'm really interested in learning string inlay.

[Chris Griggs]

Thanks Chris. I don't subscribe to FWW, but I may buy that one since I'm really interested in learning string inlay.

Definitely check out the first Latta video (the one with "Line and Berry" in the title). Tons of great little tips that you wouldn't think if you've never done it before and that you'll learn the hard way if you don't know. He makes it very non-intimidating.

[Jack Curtis]

That LV groove cutter on the left in your link looks exactly like my quirk router cutters, very, very old Preston router.

[Chris Griggs]

That LV groove cutter on the left in your link looks exactly like my quirk router cutters, very, very old Preston router.

Jack I'd be interested in seeing a pics of those (and the plane) if you have the time. I have the LV one you mention and was thinking that it would be pretty simple to make a similarly shaped piece of metal with that same kind of v-notch cutter that can be held in the router plane inlay attachment. As you can hopefully see from the photo Derek posted the inlay attachment for the LV router is essentually a router plane post with a clamping mechanism at the end that uses 2 screws to hold in the cutters and the spacers that set the cutters distance. Because of the simplicity of the holding mechanism it would be pretty easy to put just about any shape/thickness of drilled steel in there to be used as a custom groove cutter. Attached PDF shows ROUGH sketch of what I mean. Wonder if I'l ever get "round tuit".

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[Jack Curtis]

...Because of the simplicity of the holding mechanism it would be pretty easy to put just about any shape/thickness of drilled steel in there to be used as a custom groove cutter....

To respond more quickly, here's a photo of the Preston style quirk router blades, scroll down a bit to see them: http://www.toolbazaar.co.uk/Spares.asp

And here's a Preston router with blade inserted: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Preston-router-/281019884353?pt=UK_Collectable_ToolsHasdware_RL&hash=item416e172341

[Chris Griggs]

Thanks Jack! That's cool. I honestly had no idea what that was before you showed it. I just looked it up and read a little bit more about the cutter. So it seems that front of the circle has the v cutter in it to act as a nicker and the the back of the circle has more of a chisel tooth. That's actually pretty interesting and brilliant design. I think a blade like that would make a great stringing groove cutter in the router plane.

[Jack Curtis]

The old carriage makers would agree. :)

Personally I find the blades clumsy/difficult to sharpen, but doable. This type device may become more popular now that replacement blades are easily available. Took me forever to find a router complete with even one. Fortunately someone in Sheffield, probably Ray Iles, started making replacements, so I snapped up a couple of sets.

So far I've only used it to make quirks, but stringing is singing the siren song.