I recently attempted to make a pen with brass inlays. What I did was to cut the blank at 45 degrees and incerted a piece of .005 brass sheeting and glued the pieces back together. I Then cut the blank a 45 degrees the opposite direction and inserted the piece of brass. I then rotated the blank 90 degrees and repeated teh process. The goal was to have 4 brass circles with various angles. This part was ok. the problem was that the circles did not meet evenly causing a break (slight offset) in the lines. I would appreciate any sugggestions to resolve the problem. thank you, Tom
Inlays
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Jerryconn
Member
ed4copies
Local Chapter Manager
Short answer,
The inserts have to be the same dimension as the "cut out" kerf.
The inserts have to be the same dimension as the "cut out" kerf.
eskimo
Member
Tom,
I have only had success with knots when I make sure the blank is absolutely square before making any cuts. As Ed said, the inlay piece must match the kerf. I cut mine with a miter saw and inlay a 1/8 diagonal piece, which matched the kerf of the saw.
Bob
I have only had success with knots when I make sure the blank is absolutely square before making any cuts. As Ed said, the inlay piece must match the kerf. I cut mine with a miter saw and inlay a 1/8 diagonal piece, which matched the kerf of the saw.
Bob
leehljp
Member Liaison
Most American made saws have fairly thick kerfs, - even thin kerfed (TK) blades are fairly thick for this process. To get really thin kerfs so that you can use thin material, you will need a hobby saw or a saw that can used hobby saw blades. The problem comes up when the inlay thickness does not match the cut out thickness. It does not matter on one cut, but it matters big time from the second cut. Some people have a very hard time visualizing this concept and fact. If you are one who cannot picture this in your mind's eye, try this experiment:
With a squared blank, make your first cut and glue up; rotate 180 degrees (not 90) and cut from the other side, glue this side. Now take a square and place it across the blank on the bottom of the laminate and see how it aligns with the other. See how the alignment is off? This is because of the kerf being different from the laminate.
An alternative, and a little more difficult is this: laminate the brass to each side off a very thin piece/slice of wood, so that the resulting lamination is the same thickness as the blade kerf. At this point you will have a double celtic knot or quadruple cross when you are finished.
With a squared blank, make your first cut and glue up; rotate 180 degrees (not 90) and cut from the other side, glue this side. Now take a square and place it across the blank on the bottom of the laminate and see how it aligns with the other. See how the alignment is off? This is because of the kerf being different from the laminate.
An alternative, and a little more difficult is this: laminate the brass to each side off a very thin piece/slice of wood, so that the resulting lamination is the same thickness as the blade kerf. At this point you will have a double celtic knot or quadruple cross when you are finished.
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