I'm getting a scroll saw for Christmas (but I'm not supposed to know
about it, so don't tell my wife I told you...), and I'm already
starting to dream up my next project...
I want to build a poker table, and I was thinking that a nice touch
would be to do some inlay of the four suits around the table. I have
never worked with a scroll saw before, but I imagine even with a
scroll saw and a skilled hand it's very hard to make the two sides of
an inlay line up perfectly so there's no visible gap..
I was wondering if it was possible to just do the female part of the
inlay, and fill in the rest with some sort of putty (like
woodfiller), and then sand it smooth once dry. I would finish it
with polyurathane. The filler doesn't have to look like wood (in
fact if I could get a shiny black/red finish, so much the better).
The area to be filled would be the four suits, each about three inches
high. The inlay would be done using 1/4 inch stock, so it's not very
deep.
If anyone has done anything like this with either positive or negative
results, I'd love to hear about it.
John
"julvr" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'm getting a scroll saw for Christmas (but I'm not supposed to know
> about it, so don't tell my wife I told you...), and I'm already
> starting to dream up my next project...
>
> I want to build a poker table, and I was thinking that a nice touch
> would be to do some inlay of the four suits around the table. I have
> never worked with a scroll saw before, but I imagine even with a
> scroll saw and a skilled hand it's very hard to make the two sides of
> an inlay line up perfectly so there's no visible gap..
>
> I was wondering if it was possible to just do the female part of the
> inlay, and fill in the rest with some sort of putty (like
> woodfiller), and then sand it smooth once dry. I would finish it
> with polyurathane. The filler doesn't have to look like wood (in
> fact if I could get a shiny black/red finish, so much the better).
>
> The area to be filled would be the four suits, each about three inches
> high. The inlay would be done using 1/4 inch stock, so it's not very
> deep.
>
> If anyone has done anything like this with either positive or negative
> results, I'd love to hear about it.
>
> John
I would not use filler but a colored hard plastic for the card suit shapes.
Dave
Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
----------------------------------------------------------
** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY **
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.usenet.com
I know that the premise of this piece is to use a scroll saw and it isn't
too difficult to get a nice fit by cutting the insert just a tad larger than
the hole and then carefully sanding the insert so that it fits tightly but
if you have a router and a template you could cut your "male" and "female"
parts using the template and different size bushings -- perfect fit not gaps
to fill in and no sanding to make them fit in. You will find many more
projects to use your scroll saw on.
"julvr" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'm getting a scroll saw for Christmas (but I'm not supposed to know
> about it, so don't tell my wife I told you...), and I'm already
> starting to dream up my next project...
>
> I want to build a poker table, and I was thinking that a nice touch
> would be to do some inlay of the four suits around the table. I have
> never worked with a scroll saw before, but I imagine even with a
> scroll saw and a skilled hand it's very hard to make the two sides of
> an inlay line up perfectly so there's no visible gap..
>
> I was wondering if it was possible to just do the female part of the
> inlay, and fill in the rest with some sort of putty (like
> woodfiller), and then sand it smooth once dry. I would finish it
> with polyurathane. The filler doesn't have to look like wood (in
> fact if I could get a shiny black/red finish, so much the better).
>
> The area to be filled would be the four suits, each about three inches
> high. The inlay would be done using 1/4 inch stock, so it's not very
> deep.
>
> If anyone has done anything like this with either positive or negative
> results, I'd love to hear about it.
>
> John
>
julvr <[email protected]> wrote:
: never worked with a scroll saw before, but I imagine even with a
: scroll saw and a skilled hand it's very hard to make the two sides of
: an inlay line up perfectly so there's no visible gap..
I've never worked with a scrol saw either, but I've seen someone
(probably David Marks) show how to do inlay with one. It requires using
two veneers, one for the inlay, one for the background. You tape them
togehter and cut the pieces at the same time, with the table titled
by few degrees. This gives a seamless inlay. But this won't work
with solid stock.
: I was wondering if it was possible to just do the female part of the
: inlay, and fill in the rest with some sort of putty (like
: woodfiller), and then sand it smooth once dry. I would finish it
: with polyurathane. The filler doesn't have to look like wood (in
: fact if I could get a shiny black/red finish, so much the better).
Probably tinted epoxy is your best bet. There was an article in FWW or
Woodwork in the last couple of years on building a table with a
black pattern -- the tabletop was routed and then black epoxy
was poured in, then leveled. I'm pretty sure you can tint epoxy
with universal colors, but DAGS to double-check. And it can be
polished to a pretty high shine.
I dunno if Polyurethane can topcoat epoxy -- you might want to
try shellac instead.
: The area to be filled would be the four suits, each about three inches
: high. The inlay would be done using 1/4 inch stock, so it's not very
: deep.
Three inches high -- do you mean they will stick up out of
the table? Or do you mean they're three inches across?
-- Andy Barss
I cut out my inlay pattern, then, with an exacto knife, carefully trace
the outline of the inlay in the place it will be inlayed (use double
stick tape to hold it in place). I cut around the inlay several times
to get a relatively deep but fine grove around the inlay. Then, I
remove the inlay and, with a fine point pencil, darken the grove so I
can see it. Then I use my plunge router with an 1/8 inch bit to remove
most of the material inside the groved outline to about the depth (I
want the inlay to stand just a little proud of the surface) of the
inlay, getting as close as I can to the line, but being careful not to
touch or go outside the lines. . Finally, using sharp chisels and
carving knives, I finish removing the waste from the inlay area. Being
careful, you can make a cutout that is exactly the shape of the inlay
piece. Glue the inlay in place, sand flush, and finish. Takes a little
time and patience, but the end results are worth it. You will probably
want to practice on some simple shapes. I put card suits on a chip box
I made, but practiced on scrap wood with the diamond until I got
comfortable with the process. As a previous poster mentioned, I saw
this technique on one of David Mark's shows.
Chuck
julvr wrote:
> I'm getting a scroll saw for Christmas (but I'm not supposed to know
> about it, so don't tell my wife I told you...), and I'm already
> starting to dream up my next project...
>
> I want to build a poker table, and I was thinking that a nice touch
> would be to do some inlay of the four suits around the table. I have
> never worked with a scroll saw before, but I imagine even with a
> scroll saw and a skilled hand it's very hard to make the two sides of
> an inlay line up perfectly so there's no visible gap..
>
> I was wondering if it was possible to just do the female part of the
> inlay, and fill in the rest with some sort of putty (like
> woodfiller), and then sand it smooth once dry. I would finish it
> with polyurathane. The filler doesn't have to look like wood (in
> fact if I could get a shiny black/red finish, so much the better).
>
> The area to be filled would be the four suits, each about three inches
> high. The inlay would be done using 1/4 inch stock, so it's not very
> deep.
>
> If anyone has done anything like this with either positive or negative
> results, I'd love to hear about it.
>
> John
>