Perfect Inlays On Your Projects - Tool Giveaway Info

Learn how to do inlays and never have to worry about the tight tolerances that leave gaps. Utilizing a V BIT your CNC inlays will be perfect every time.
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[@benfix]

How did you get vcarve to work with easel?

[@seansheff7288]

Question: I noticed on your plug you used flat depth totally and no start depth. I am slightly confused by this. Typically, the traditional teaching on the vcarve method uses the "start depth" as the depth the plug fits into the hole, and the "flat depth" on the plug is how much the plug sticks out from the female piece. I have been doing inlays with varying success on my cnc, so I am curious as I have not seen anyone do it this way before. How does it do with small details, as that is where I typically get "tear out".

[@rickh6488]

start depth is solely the only really important #. it determines the depth into your female/pocket.. FD flat depth is the amount of material you want sticking out from the top of the plug… also with a 60 deg. V bit your not going to be able to go very deep on the female pocket so the inlay will not be as strong as a deeper pocket. Fine for artsy stuff that will hang on a wall but that’s it. I suggest 6mm pockets or .250” plus! And also to get these better depths you’ll be better served with a minimum 30 deg. V bit or better yet I use a TBN Tapered ball nose with a 6.2 degree angle. It’s 3 flute. Helix cutter very strong, very sharp and can plunge directly to the FD in one pass… minimum of .200” depth on inlays if you want any strength.. ie.. pocket depth… 6mm ( female). SD+FD= 7.5mm goal for me is 1.5mm at the top of clearance SD + FD should always equal 7.5 mm that gives you the 1.5 mm at the top of space There’s a simple rule to follow when doing test pieces. And checking figment of the plugs. Start depth 4.0 mm plug (male) Flat depth 3.5 mm. Plug (male) Start with this on a test piece to find your proper parameters for the inlay

[@tomasbagdonas1635]

Hello. Was looking at you video about inlay... Actually it is different from others... When you cutting the inlay you are not dividing cut depth into start depth and flat depth? I saw you inlay does not go all the way in...

[@ShorePointCreations]

Hey Tomas - in my opinion the inlay does not need to go in all the way. The sides are V-shaped so once I push it in as far as it can go it won’t travel any further. So why do I need to fill the entire void? That was my thinking at least. Thanks for the post!

[@unclebob8746]

@@ShorePointCreations Leave a little space for glue. Start depth of 0.1, cut depth of 0.2 for male or plug. Start depth of 0.0 and cut depth of 0.3 for pocket or female part. Works every time.

[@ghhales]

Thank you for your video!

[@lomein9320]

Holy crap! Nice equipment.

[@ShorePointCreations]

Thank you!

[@JOHNSMITH-ug2mt]

You dont have to change the start depth on the plug or change the tolerance?

[@JOHNSMITH-ug2mt]

Tried it per the video...Didn't work! Maybe my machine.

[@rickh6488]

@@JOHNSMITH-ug2mt 60 deg vbit is too wide… min. 30 deg v bit.. ok for artsy stuff but 60 you can’t go deep at all. I use a TBN Tapered ball nose that I enter as a v bit. Much stronger! 3 flute helix 6mm pocket with a 1.5 mm space at the top for band sawing off the plug or clearing off with the CNC ie. Pocket.. 6mm female Plug SD 4.0mm FD 3.5mm. Total/sum = 7.5 mm. That is the 1.5mm at your top of the plug! The sum of SD & FD MUST ALWAYS = 7.5mm ie.. SD 3.0mm FD 4.5mm You have to test cut plugs to work out your fitment of your inlay.. 30 degree v bits are very popular and the easiest v bit to work out your parameters for your inlay and still allows you to go deep to about .200-.2600” or 6mm deep. Albeit even with a 30° V bit at a quarter inch depth you may start to lose detail in small very fine inlays The sum of your start death and flat death must always equal 7.5 mm because if your pocket is 6 mm and your start depth and flat death equals 7.5 mm then that will leave you 1.5 mm of space at the top of your plug this is the space you can fit a bandsaw blade in to cut off the plug if you want or clear it off with a CNC You absolutely have to do test plugs also you have to do test plugs on end grain which is the best for inlays or face screen or Edgegrain n as the parameters you use will differ from the type of plug you’re going to use and green face green edge grain

[@blargh123123123]

Doesn't this leave a hollow area underneath the inlay?

[@ShorePointCreations]

+blargh123123123 Thanks for the comment! There may be a small void below the inlay however it does not impact in any way. The plug is V shaped and therefore cannot slip in anyway. I have had inlays done this way for years and have never had any issues. The traditional inlays gave me more issues.

[@billysmether6237]

You need a small void underneath so the excess glue has somewhere to go. Otherwise you would not be able to compress the 2 pieces. Liquids do not compress.

[@ShorePointCreations]

This is true but typically I coat the sides of each piece with glue and try not to flood it. But others may so that’s a great point to bring up. Appreciate the observation and good comment.

[@SMS14411]

@@billysmether6237 eliminating a hydrologic lock.

[@stephenjames820]

Great video! Quick question, every other V-Carve Inlay video has the pocket set at Start Depth of 0 and the Flat Depth = the depth you want the bottom to be. Same as yours but the inlay piece the others start with a total depth of say 0.2" and then the start depth is half of the total depth and the flat depth is half of the total depth. I believe they do this to give a space for the glue. On your example you made both pieces .025" with a start depth of zero. Did you find this method better?? Thanks! liked and Subbed as well!

[@ShorePointCreations]

Hey Stephen - in my opinion the inlay does not need to go in all the way. The sides are V-shaped so once I push it in as far as it can go it won’t travel any further. So why do I need to fill the entire void? That was my thinking at least. Thanks for the post!

[@SMS14411]

@@ShorePointCreations your answer did now address his question. He is implying that your flat depth is the same in both the male and female part. This leaves no room for glue. You did not specify a start depth of something > 0.

[@charlesvrooman1563]

Does anyone know What are the best Fonts for an inlay Thank You Charlie V

[@ShorePointCreations]

You can really use any font you want. I have used everything from Arial, Times New Roman, and even script fonts. They only thing I would say is the more “blocky” the font the easier. Script fonts tend to have very thin pieces so they can break away during the carving. Hope this somewhat answers your question.

[@ShaukatHakim]

Hand made is more appealing!!!!!

[@psemond72]

Then go hand make some!!!!!

[@dylandesmond]

Cnc inlays are more appealing, it has a tighter fit, hand made inlays are more prone to mistakes and gaps, I have 0.001mm tolerance on my cnc. That's better than what any professional can do by hand. Mix that with a 0.025mm v bit with 10% stepover passes... pretty sure you won't find any errors....

[@unangst]

Great Video. Subscribed.

[@deepthiraj1248]

Awesome creation!

[@ShorePointCreations]

+Deepthi Raj Thanks! VCarve inlays are truly the way to go! Do you have a CNC machine?

[@deepthiraj1248]

ShorePoint Creations Don't have 1. I'm just a weekend warrior, will get one when I've bigger space. I have used HAAS 3 axis CNC at work. X carve looks awesome!

[@terrybrockhoff8168]

Impressed!!!

[@ShorePointCreations]

Thanks Terry!! This type of inlay is a nice feature of many of my projects.

[@terrybrockhoff8168]

You inspired me so much I have just made a House sign for someone at work and I am impressed with the result, Thankyou for the inspiration

[@hannibalbianchi1466]

Nice :)

[@colincampbell7923]

This is like cheating at cheating

[@ShorePointCreations]

Nice profile picture!! That fish is a monster.

[@acemany1126]

No offense, but why not save all this trouble and just hand paint the letter NY since that is what the end product basically looks like? LOL

[@ShorePointCreations]

If you were to compare a hand painted NY to a purple heart inlaid NY there would be no comparison. Especially once you add a coat of oil finish to the product. This end product is not oiled so it may look the same over video but in person there would be no comparison. However whatever you think looks best for your projects is what is right for easy individual.

[@donmcgee7969]

After watching that I really hope you don't call yourself a woodworker. Woodworking is when you work with the wood. Not a computer.

[@ShorePointCreations]

Says the guy who probably couldn’t program a VCR yet along a CNC. Got it Don! Thanks for clarifying that for me.

[@Ryan-fc9le]

Don is at home whittling sticks with a rock so he can call himself a "true woodworker."

[@SMS14411]

Don, I’ve worked with computers my whole life and wood the last couple years. Learning how to program a CNC machine with the various programs is not an easy feat at all.

[@donmcgee7969]

@@SMS14411 Sorry I don't mean to be such a crotchety old fart. I guess what originally gave me a bad attitude was when I had spent a week on a pattern for a shadow art project and another week at the scroll saw cutting it. I entered it in a show (won first place) and overheard a man that was mansplaining to his wife that it was done with a laser cutter.

[@ShorePointCreations]

No worries Don- we all can be crotchety old farts from time to time. There is always going to be a debate on whether or not a new technology is acceptable. Think about the debate between hand tool vs power tool woodworkers. Is the fact you used a powered scroll saw mean your not a true woodworker? I say as long as your doing what you like then to hell with what anyone thinks. It takes skill to program a CNC correctly and it takes skill to do good scroll saw work. Everyone will have an opinion...some are good and some aren’t. To each his own. Have a good one.