angles for inlay

[Greenie]

Hi everyone, can you tell me the proper blade angle for doing inlays? Thanks so much in advance

Edited July 21, 2016 by Greenie

[LarryEA]

This is a Jim Finn topic.

Here's what little I think I know:

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* 2 Degrees  +-

* Blade thickness will affect angle.

[Greenie]

Thanks Larry, I'll try that. 

[Lucky2]

There you go Eddie, Larry's got you going in the right direction. Maybe our inlay master Dave Monk will chime in, he could answer all your questions about inlay work.

Len

[Be_O_Be]

 While we are on this subject, do you drill the pilot holes at the same angle?

[Dave Monk]

Larry gave you a good starting point. The blade size and wood thickness all makes a difference. I do a lot using 3/8" stock and a #5 blade. It is usually about 2.5 degrees. I usually drill the pilot hole straight. I try to keep the hole on the side that the wood is dark.There's a lot of ways to do it but I hold my wood together with double sided scotch tape. dave

[Tommy Johnson]

I guess I do things the hard way! When I do any inlay I plane the woods I will be using down to 3/16" and the stack them. I use the FD Puzzle blades when doing this. What I've found is you get 2 for 1 by doing that with no waste. Just my input! Good Luck!

[LarryEA]

I have done hundreds of inlays.  I use 3/8" cedar and inlay 3/8" soft maple into it.  I also use have used oak, walnut, and maple.  I have used mahogany a few times also.  I have one of my scroll saws set to 2.2 degrees, approximately, that I use only for inlays.  I set my angle with a Wixie but you can also do it by trail and error and it is just as good a way to do it.  Stack the two woods you want to use, scraps.  Do some trial cuts starting at 2 degrees and adjusting up until you get the fit needed.  Start at the edge and cut out the shape of a mushroom, freehand, and see how it fits.  With the table tilted down on the left of the blade and keeping the image you want to inlay to the right of the blade make your mushroom cut and see how well the bottom wood fits into the upper wood after it is cut.  If it will not go all the way up you need to lessen the angle and if the bottom wood comes up to high you need to sharpen the angle closer to 3 degrees.  I move mine about two tenths of a degree at a time.  Remember a little too loose a fit is better than too tight a fit.  I inlay into cedar mostly and if it is too tight a fit and I try hammering it in place with a plastic hammer I split the cedar.  Perfect fit can be attained with many trial and error mushrooms.  I leave most of mine just a little loose and fill any slight gaps with a mixture of white glue and sanding powder of the base wood. Cedar in my case.  I use Flying Dutchman Polar #5 blades but whatever you use be consistent.  PM  me if you would like more clarification on this.

 

[Greenie]

Man, Larry that is some real good info. Thanks to everyone for their input. I can see, since I'm just starting to try to learn this that I got a lot of practice time ahead of me. Oh well being old and retired I got plenty of time. lol Thanks again you guys and gals are the greatest to share your info like you do.

[Jim Finn]

As to the angle for drilling the starter hole this is what I do:

   

      I have a Dremel type tool mounted in a Dremel drill press attachment tilted at about 6° using a 1/16" drill bit.  I drill that starter hole touching the line of the image, and just inside the image or letter.  The reason for the difference in the drill angle and the saw angle is because my drill bit is a lot bigger than my #5 blade is.

[heppnerguy]

Jim Finn is not only the most experience inlay person on the planet but he is also an extremely

Nice fellow who is always willing to share his vast knowledge. We are all very lucky to have him in our world wide family. Dave monk is a relatively new scroller but does wonderful work and has proven to be a fast learner. Dave also shares his expertise willingly with anyone asking. I have a lot of respect and admiration for both of them. It is people like both of them that makes this place such a wonderful place to come to on a regular basis

 

 

Dick

heppnerguy

[Greenie]

I believe that every member of this is willing to share their knowledge, ( and I for one am really thankful ) I appreciate all the comments I get and they are always so helpful.

As we say in the south----you guys are the bees knees!!!!    

[amazingkevin]

I believe that every member of this is willing to share their knowledge, ( and I for one am really thankful ) I appreciate all the comments I get and they are always so helpful.

As we say in the south----you guys are the bees knees!!!!    

Eddie you can get some good reading and info in every forum from the bottom of each page .click on a different pg.# and go all the way back to the beginnings of SSV 2008