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Hi folks,

Has anyone ever seen inlay guide bushings that are smaller than the typical 5/16” which I see used a lot with 1/8” bits?

I’m thinking I may need to somehow fabricate my own but was curious if someone knew of a source for really small bushings. I’m thinking like for bits 1/16” or so.

Brad


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Hi Brad,
If the cutter part is of a smaller diameter than the shaft of the bit and the template you are guiding it against is relatively "hard", you can run the shaft of the bit against the template to guide the cutter. You must be careful when entering and leaving the pocket not to hit the template with the cutter. If the template is a softer material (MDF) you can harden the edge with superglue.
But I thought CNC would do away with needing templates and template guides.

That's a good idea and I will probably go that route.

I want to inlay into the end graft area of the body but leave the existing sides material in spots vs pocketing it all out and replacing with a complete inlay. I cannot load a finished body vertically into my CNC. Folks who have a CNC where the gantry can move out past the end of the bed can do it, mine cannot or I would be doing exactly that.

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One further thought - if you haven't used that method before, do a couple test runs on scrap. That will give you a feel for plunging with a router bit. I usually rest one edge of the base on the piece and "roll" it into the spot I want the bit to land, with a firm grip on the router.

I thought you had a CNC?

See above

I want to inlay a small piece into the end graft area while preserving the side material that is there.

Specifically, I want to inlay a sun setting behind these mountains:



Very rough example:



The orange would be coco or bloodwood or something. Maybe padauk.

Brad


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Heck Brad, you just need a bigger CNC machine

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

oops!

Shaper Origin, lol…

Don't worry about jigs for that. Just score around the piece and rout it freehand. The straight line can be done using a ruler and x-acto followed by a small chisel.

I'd use gold MOP, koa, or pernambuco.

Why not free hand with a mini router base?

Builders have done it that way for decades without CNC, templates or guides.

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Brian R, Wood Mechanic
N8ZED

I've done several inlays on the tailblock area--always freehand with my little inlay router. Works fine.

This is one that I tried in lieu of a tail graft years ago--I'll not do it again, but hey you gotta try! It came out looking a lot better after I cleaned it all up and put a finish on it...

Dave

Thanks for the input!

Dennis, koa sounds really good actually


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Well, half on topic. Thought this might be a good time to show a simple tail graft jig folks might like.

One side is adjustable for any desired angle either way you want. Meant for 1/4" bit which was used to cut the slot in the Lexan, so you can just line it up with your cut line, and rout. Slid it over and align with your other line and rout. Take the middle out and good to go. Or anything in between. Padded with peel and stick 1/8" hobby foam. Made to fit my Ridgid trim routers (I LOVE).

Quick and easy and can be used for other things too.

Did I ever say I love jigs?

Set in position - (For demo, it was already done.)



Clamped and ready for use -

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Brian R, Wood Mechanic
N8ZED

Hi Brad,
If you are going to do the sun inlay, which will draw peoples attention to the tail block area, rather than inlaying a small strip over the seam where the sides come together you could use powder stains to match the colors where the slight gap is and "break the line" so the gap disappears. Most of the seam is tight, only the last inch or so toward the back is showing a uniformly black line which could be hidden by matching the color of the shades of wood next to it.
Another technique you can use to "break the line" is to make razor cuts across the problem area and then fill them with sanding dust from the same color of wood and use finish material to "glue" the dust in place. (something you want to test on scrap before committing to it)