Carving an inlay in ash?

[Steve Mathews]

I don't know if this belongs here but I'm trying to carve a recess in ash so it can filled with turquoise. This is for a pet urn that was just turned and features a dog paw print on top. The problem is the wood is so hard that hand carving seems next to impossible. The Dremel bits that I tried just burn the wood. Any suggestions?

[Kevin Jenness]

Ash is normally not particularly hard. Try a fresh, sharp cutter and turn down the rpms or sharpen your hand tools to a keener edge. Drilling out the waste may help.

[Richard Coers]

Ash is harder than basswood, but not particularly hard like Kevin said. You can use some small carving gouges and just tap with a mallet. Then rotate the gouge and repeat. The mallet will do the work.

[Reed Gray]

Well, depending on what you are carving, ash is not a good wood to carve. It is rather coarse and open grained. If you are going for a cabochon, which would be round, that would be best done on the lathe. If you are going for any other type of shape, like a star for example, then sharp carving tools, a firm grip on the piece, and a steady hand.

robo hippy

[Mike Henderson]

For inlay, I trace the piece to be inlaid to the wood, then use a trim router to remove most of the wood, being careful on the edges. Then I use carving tools to take the excavation to the lines.

When the inlaid piece is wood, I make the inlay a bit proud. It's easier to reduce the inlay to the ground than to have it too low.

Mike