newbie wishes inlay help for ill wife of good friend

[Cold Smoke]

Hello to all,and thanks in advance for any consideration and help. I am a new recipient of a Shark pro plus which I purchased with one major purpose. This was to finally finish a cutting board with an inlay on the face side. I have done so using a scroll saw on a thin face and then banding the edges, yet the result was not what I wished to give. This is a gift for the wife of a good friend of mine, and she has also become a friend. She has some silly disease I had never heard of before and not expected to survive many more years, perhaps only months. Since I am new to the configuration of the software, I will be very specific. I am using a maple blank for the board 22 x 10 1/2 " and 1 1/4" thick. I wish to inlay a piece of purple heart, now 16 1/2 x 6 1/2 x 3/8 but I could make another size if needed. I wish to use the script font Mutulu Ornamental with I suspect a 4 1/2" height. Her name Is Marilynn, yet her family refers to her as Maire, which I will use. I am equiped with the 1/2" 90 degree bit and also with several 1/8 x 45 degree fluted bits. I have made a few attempt of configuration, yet this is all so new and I would prefer to finish this project and then catch my breath. I also own a radial arm and a large band saw, and a dual drum sander which I suspect would finish the production. Any help would be so appreciated. Please forgive my arrogance, but I do not really wish a link to a similar project. If someone special could perhaps walk me through the appropriate steps, I, and hopefully others would appreciate it. Thanks all, Cold Smoke

[sk8nmike]

You are going to need a straight end mill bit to cut a pocket for the inlay and to cut out the inlay itself. I made a quick model with your demensions and using a 1/6" end mill it won't work. The font has too many fine lines.

I would look at another font or suggest an epoxy inlay.


The steps are fairly simple, place your text and then select create inlay in the tool path (it's the square with a T on it). One path for the pocket and one for the inlay.

[Cold Smoke]

Thank you very much, I appreciate your consideration. Yet can you tell me what limits my attempt. Is my font too thin at points, or is my overall size too small. Could I perhaps make my font bolder perhaps? Did you use engrave or the Inlay option?

[sk8nmike]

The font is just too thin at points to make an inlay, even with a bold face there are still places that are less than 1/16" wide. I used the Inlay option.

Using different fonts you might achive what you want.

Here's one using Black Chancery bold face

and another using Annabel Script Bold face

Not all fonts are suitable for carving. What looks good on a v-carve are really messed up when you try to carve them.

Also, when I'm carving the inlay itself I use double sided tape to a scrap board with a downward spiral bit.

[FixitMike]

The V-carve inlay method is different. You cut the letters in the base material using the V-carve option with a V bit (I like a 60 degree V bit). Make this cut with the flat depth (F) set to say .150. This will be the maximum depth that the image is cut. I usually put a coat or 2 of varnish on this piece before cutting. It makes it easier to remove the glue later.

Make the male inlay piece: Make a mirror image, put a border around it, and then V-carve it using the same V cutter. For this cut, set the start depth (D)at .200. This number determines the distance between the flat surfaces of the two pieces after they are glued together. Set the flat depth (F) to .125 which will leave (.150 - .125) .025 space between the highest part of the inlay piece and the bottom of the cutout in the base material. You will end up with a male inlay that can be placed in the base cut.

Use a bandsaw to cut out the male inlay. If the male inlay has separate letters, etc., you can cut it into several pieces.

Clean up the pieces. Glue the male inlay into the base material. Be sure to let the glue dry completely before you take the next step. I use Tightbond III for the glue and let it dry 24 hours.

Remove the excess male inlay material. I've used a bandsaw for pieces that are not too wide, or a radial arm saw for wider pieces. Sand the inlay flush.

The method is described in further detail here: http://www.vectric.com/WebSite/Vectric/ ... inlay.html