keeping Inlace in place

Oct 21, 2003 4 Replies
R

I have a few pieces waiting for my first attempt at using Inlace (or any other inlay, for that matter). Some are grooves in the lids of small boxes, others are in the rims of larger platters. I guess these should be fairly straightforward, but I also want to fill a groove in the near vertical side of a bowl (just below the rim). I assume that Inlace, when mixed, is still fairly fluid so is there an easy way of keeping this in a vertical groove?



The only thought I had was to fill a short section at a time, then cover it with masking tape before continuing around the rim. I would obviously like to do this in one "hit" as this will minimise any wastage. I'm sure others out there will have done something similar, so I look forward to your comments.


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K

No expertise here, as I haven't used inlace yet. But I would guess you can do it all in one shot, laying tape over the groove as you go around. I would do it on a slightly oversize turning, and finish turn after the inlace hardens. Don't know how the stuff turns, it may be heck on a tool's edge.

Ken Grunke

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A

Actually, it turns much like hardened plastic (which is pretty much what it becomes when cured). Another example is tagua nut. You should end up with thin curly shavings that are inches long. It's actually quite a bit of fun and does little, if any, damage to your tools--unless, of course, you embed stones or stone chips of any kind! >;o)

I find it easiest to fill in a face that's flat. That way, I don't have any worries of it spilling out. It cures relatively well overnight with about

5-10% shrinkage. That's why I like to use the flat face; I overfill it somewhat. If you already have a round, sloped face to fill, I think that taping up most of the "groove" then using the open, untaped "slot" to fill (slowly allowing bubbles to escape), then taping up the opening should work fine. Keep one thing in mind: the fumes are toxic (as far as I understand), so work in a well ventilated area with a face mask if you have one.

I've got several examples of finished pieces on my site:

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and
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luck!

-- Ali T. Borahan AliSails - Fine Wood Artistry & Custom Woodcrafts Web URL:

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M

I don't have extensive experience with this, but I have had 100% success with the 8 or 10 times I have tried it. No problem. It's hard to overfill to allow for shrinkage when taping, so I expect to take a light trim off the wood to true everything up when cured. One thing you might want to watch out for is that the filler doesn't run out the start end while you work your way around the bowl. Try pressing the tape into the groove or tape in a stop block until you have made your way back to the beginning. How big is your bowl? I wouldn't worry about a small bowl -

6" or 7" - but if it is large, would seasonal changes in the wood cause buckling or gaps in your fill material? People who do segmented work are always concerned about shrinkage rates that might lead to delamination. Does anyone know about the elasticity of Inlace or how it responds to environmental changes? Please keep us posted with your results.

-mike paulson, fort collins, co

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R

Thanks for the input. I am looking forward to trying it and will take note of the points made. However, it has just turned quite cold out in my unheated garage/workshop and I shall wait until it warms up a bit.

I shall keep you posted. Thanks again

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