Inlay question, CVG fir & hardwood?

[Alan Mikkelsen]

Haven't been around here for a while, but need some opinions/knowledge. I have done quite a bit of inlay work with hardwoods (white oak, cherry, walnut, maple) without any problems. However, I have to build a bunch of posts for a balcony floor and stair railing for my daughter. I have about 18 posts to build, CVG fir. I will build them with mitered lock joint sides and fill the middle with solid wood. I thought that some inlay would be a nice touch, but am a bit concerned about mixing fir and maple. Has anyone done this? Thanks.

[Doug Shepard]

I havent inlaid anything in fir, but is it the hardness difference that you're concerned about? Or the possible difference in movement raising or shrinking the inlay so it's no longer smooth? Without knowing for sure, those things might cross my mind if I was thinking of mixing fir/maple. If you're just after the lighter color contrast and not any curly figure, what about using aspen, spruce, or even clear pine? I'm normally not all that fond of working with either, but they may machine and move a lot more like the fir. Just a thought.

[Alan Mikkelsen]

I'm worried mostly about the movement in such differing characters of wood. I'd rather not use softwood inlay, since I consider soft wood a pain in the behind to work with anyway. Hardwood inlays are much easier to make and are much crisper in my opinion. If I decide it would be a problem, I'd rather go with no inlay.