Inlays on Round Stock

[John Barton]

Hi there,

All you guys and girls are very talented. Thanks for taking the time to put up so much good advice and cool pix of your work.

I have a question. Before I ask it let me tell you what I am working with.

I have just aquired a Universal X-660 with the rotary attachment. I build pool cues and so when I saw this at the trade show I just had to have it seeing as how they had some round stock there with lots of neat inlays in them.

So I get it here and find out that it doesn't really work like a CNC in that a CNC lathe indexes and then cuts, resulting in 90 degree sides and flat bottoms for the inlay pockets. On the laser the rotary moves the piece while the laser just moves on the x-axis, resulting in angled sides and curved bottoms for the pocket. Nor is it very easy to position the piece accurately using the supplied holders. No problem on the holders, I intend to make or have some custom pieces made to fix that problem.

My question is, do any of you have experience using the the laser to cut pockets on tapered round stock (such as a pool cue) and then subsequently putting the male inlay parts in them where they fit together snugly?

Thanks in advance and I hope that I can provide some helpful advice someday. Anyone who needs help when it comes to engraving finished pool sticks can ask me as I have done close to 500 of them so far.

John Barton

[George M. Perzel]

Hi John;
What are you using for inlay material? How thick is it?
George

[Mike Null]

I don't have a rotary device for my machine but I'm wondering if you can make a vector cut as the outline for your inlay using the rotary device. Then raster out the area for the inlay.

I have no idea whether that will work--just throwing out an idea.

[Pete Simmons]

Take a look at my website

woodpenman.com

Look at the flag pen.

That addresses you problem exactly.

I did not laser cut it Ken Nelsen did. He wrote a how to article sometime ago. He uses an indexing jig to position the stripe section in 7 steps. Cuts one stripe at a time. Does the same for the stars. This gives the straight sides you spoke about.

I can look around and find the article if you want.

[Mike Mackenzie]

John,

We recently adapted a three jaw chuck to the rotary attachment to do just what you are asking we have a center point on the opposite end to center everything.

It works great to work with the tapers you just have to raise the rotary and get the taper level then run the cues in Portrait mode. This is much faster and it keeps the depth consistent around the object. The key in this process is to clamp the round stock firmly.

Running portrait mode rotates the round object in the Y axis and X axis is only moving the length of the graphic. Rather than the landscape mode that rotates Y axis very slowly and X axis moves around the part.

The difference is a 5 minute graphic in Landscape mode took 2 minutes in portrait mode and consistent depth with straight walls.

[John Barton]

Hi John;
What are you using for inlay material? How thick is it?
George

Wood, plastic laminate, acrylic, all about 1/32".

[John Barton]

Take a look at my website

woodpenman.com

Look at the flag pen.

That addresses you problem exactly.

I did not laser cut it Ken Nelsen did. He wrote a how to article sometime ago. He uses an indexing jig to position the stripe section in 7 steps. Cuts one stripe at a time. Does the same for the stars. This gives the straight sides you spoke about.

I can look around and find the article if you want.

Ken, I have tried and tried to get to your site. For whatever reason i get the "not found" error on your site and those related to it except for the Karen's Cake Box top site.

But, I did manage to find Ken's site through the penturner's forum and got to see what I presume is the stars and stripes pen. Nicely done. I'd definitely like to see the article if you can find it.

I defintely need to make an indexing jig. With cues the art lies in the precision of the repeated inlay pattern. So if the piece is going to be turned manually then it needs to be exact.

Through Ken's website I was able to discern a valuable technique that I hadn't discovered/learned yet. Curved inlays. If I am right then Ken is cutting inlays out of cored round stock for the Canadian flag set. This opens a whole new dimension for me and enlightens me as to wht others in the cuemaking business are doing to inlay around the cue in one piece. I am going to try it out later today. I'll post a pic if successful.

Thanks for the help.

[John Barton]

John,

We recently adapted a three jaw chuck to the rotary attachment to do just what you are asking we have a center point on the opposite end to center everything.

It works great to work with the tapers you just have to raise the rotary and get the taper level then run the cues in Portrait mode. This is much faster and it keeps the depth consistent around the object. The key in this process is to clamp the round stock firmly.

Running portrait mode rotates the round object in the Y axis and X axis is only moving the length of the graphic. Rather than the landscape mode that rotates Y axis very slowly and X axis moves around the part.

The difference is a 5 minute graphic in Landscape mode took 2 minutes in portrait mode and consistent depth with straight walls.


Got it thanks. I will try the portrait mode later today and follow up if I don't get something.

[John Barton]

I don't have a rotary device for my machine but I'm wondering if you can make a vector cut as the outline for your inlay using the rotary device. Then raster out the area for the inlay.

I have no idea whether that will work--just throwing out an idea.

The problem when using the rotary to cut is that while the walls of the inlay are at 90 degrees to the center cross of the cue they are angled out ward in proportion to each other because the piece is moving while the cutter is stationary. The opposite is true when the piece is stationary and the cutter is moving. I do think it's good idea to vector the edges of the pocket for a good clean cut though.

I have found that the settings will vary however as to what a good straight cut line will be. Most times 100% power and 8% speed produces a clean line every time with no wobbles. I figure it's going to vary depending on the hardness of the material as well.

Thanks for the suggestion!

[Mike Null]

John:

Would be interested in seeing a pictorial of how you make a cue. In my misspent youth I shot a fair stick--even had the pleasure of doing a trick shot demo with Wllie Mosconi once.

[Richard Rumancik]

There was an article in Industrial Laser Solutions in Feb. about Ken Nelsen's penturning business. This is not the how-to article. To find it Google for: +"Industrial Laser Solutions" +"penturner".

To find Ken's website Google kallenshaanwoods.