how deep for inlay?

[knotnut]

I'm working on a rosewood background with what I hope to be thin "rays of sunshine" of curly maple inside it about 1/4 wide by 2" long creating a kind of sun or star. How deep should I make the holes in the rosewood for the curly maple? 1/8", 1/4", 3/8"? Would I have to worry about them popping out from humidity change or anything if they're too thin? It'll be an indoor piece, but houses do go through humidity and temp changes. This is my first time doing an inlay piece.

Any general advice on doing an inlay project?

[Peter Wright]

FWIW:

The less wood you have to remove the better. If you can reduce the thickness of you inlay material to about 3/32" or so it would probably be ideal.
You want the inlay to be just slightly higher than the surrounding area and then sand or scrape it flush after the glue has cured.

Keep the "cut out" areas as level as possible, I use either a Dremel or Foredom with a router base for everything but the edges which are cut last.

Be sure and spread a thin even coat of glue before clamping, using scrap wood to prevent the clamps from marking the work surface.

Have fun and take your time

[arbarnhart]

If you are inlaying into a dead flat area, I would go even thinner. Veneers used for marquetry are generally 0.6-0.7 mm, which is around 1/32".

[knotnut]

Wow, totally wasn't expecting that shallow. Ok. What type of glue should I use?

[arbarnhart]

PVA (plain old white carpenter's glue) is most common and does well. Unless you are going to use perfect rectangles, getting thicker pieces perfectly sized will be difficult at best. IMO, if you are doing inlay you need a very good reason to consider anything other than veneer. If it isn't flat/flush or you need for endgrain to show at a depth on an edge, then you need thicker wood. Otherwise, making thicker wood fit isn't worth the additional trouble and expense.

[arbarnhart]

Here is a counterpoint; the "Wood Whisperer" agrees with Peter and thins stock himself to between 1/8" and 1/16" :

Inlay Process Pictoral - The Ottoman Tray | The Wood Whisperer Woodworking Video Podcast and Blog

I don't see the point, but I have admit that Peter does appear to be in good company with his opinion.

Here is another place to look at:

INLAY.COM home of wood marquetry info, intarsia pics, inlay images, pietre dure inlay stone work

[Peter Wright]

Andy,

Thanks for the links, interesting stuff. although I don't watch TV at all. (My big screen is for movies and instructional videos. LOL!!) and all this sophisticated stuff like podcasts is turrning me into a frustrated computer Luddite. ;-)

You are right on wood thickness, but for a beginner, or some specific "hard use" projects many time going to a slightly thicker stock can work pretty good with greater durability of the bits and pieces.

I like to use yellow carpenters glue (Ailaphatic?? <SP>) as it can be heat bonded with a low temp setting clothes iron to help deal with minor mistakes. Its a trick my Dad taught me a long time ago when he was teaching me inlay and fretwork.

[arbarnhart]

Peter,

I think the "Whisperer" is a purely web show, though he has enough of a following to be asked to do appearances and whatnot. He pretty clearly knows what he is doing. But if you read his description, he spends a ton of time and effort to make the triangles and get them just right when they could be cut from veneer in minutes and I really don't see the benefit. Veneer is real wood and it's not hard to find extremely good quality exotics at fairly reasonable prices. In some respects, I think he is actually making his own veneer, but getting below 1/16" is just too tricky, even with all the toys he has. But if you don't get thinner, you still have to cut and shape it like a board. The thin veneer can be cut with a good sharp knife and if you post here, I think you probably have one and like to use it.

[knotnut]

I read on this forum not too too long ago about a man who made human statues out of diamond shaped inlays. They were not veneer. He carved them and glued them into place. I don't remember his name nor the website, but I watched a short video clip of how he had done the diamond pieces and they were much thicker than 1/32", or even 1/8".

[arbarnhart]

You mean he put them together like a geodesic dome? I would not call that inlay if thre isn't a base wood that you are laying another into. That's more like 3D intarsia. If it is hollow and the pieces provide the srtucture and strengh, they would need to be thicker.