V-Inlay setup question

[RhoTu]

I have read most if not all of the posts and documents on V-Inlay techniques. Given the material I have to work with I want to use the technique outlined by Randy Johnson in the attached article.

I usually zero my Z at the top of the material.

My question is, if you use the 0.15 depth for the female and the 0.1 start depth for the male with a 0.1 cut depth do you zero the Z-Axis for the male on the material or is the top of the material -0.1, the start depth of 0.1?

Obviously I haven't quite got my head around this whole thing.

TIA

[zeeway]

My question is, if you use the 0.15 depth for the female and the 0.1 start depth for the male with a 0.1 cut depth do you zero the Z-Axis for the male on the material or is the top of the material -0.1, the start depth of 0.1?

The way I remember doing this...you zero the z-axis on the top of the material, but set the start depth at .1. This makes the exact match point down in the male material (.1), so when you flip it over and glue it in the female pocket, you will have some sanding (or machining) stock standing "proud" of the surface.

Angie

[Paul Z]

Angie is correct.

It is critical to have the male and female parts contact only on their sides. When pressure is applied while gluing the two together, the two parts are wedged and compressed together. A well cut inlay doesn't show a glue line.

60 degree v bits seem to get better results but 90 will work as well. Lately I have been cutting the male and female parts twice to get high accuracy parts. It would probably be better to make the first cut 0.010" high and a second cut without any vertical allowance.

Use lots of glue and LOTS of pressure when glueing the parts together.

Let us know how it goes.

Paul Z

[rscrawford]

Inlays are a great test for the accuracy of your machine, because you are cutting two shapes, mirrored, that have to fit exactly to each other.

These v-inlays were not clamped at all. I wiped glue into the female pocket and simple pushed the male inlays in with finger pressure, then continued on to the next one (52 of these per 'sheet', so I worked rather quickly). These are very small, and magnified quite a bit in the picture so you can see defects around the margins that aren't visible to the naked eye.

I'm not understanding why you would want to set z0 to the surface of the material, then cut your male parts with a start depth of .1 and a cutting depth of .1. This will make your parts .2" thick and your female cut is only .15" deep. (Unless you are offsetting the vector outward before you cut?). I would think you should zet z0 on the material and then cut .1" deep, so you have a .05" gap under your inlay when glued in place. But maybe I'm not understanding this technique. I use a different technique for my v-inlays.

[RhoTu]

Okay, you asked for it. First attempt result.

This is going to be and end panel for an arts and craft incluenced coffee table.

4.5x7.25 panel.
Cherry, paduak and wenge.

Thanks for your help guys.

[zeeway]

Inlays are a great test for the accuracy of your machine, because you are cutting two shapes, mirrored, that have to fit exactly to each other.

These v-inlays were not clamped at all. I wiped glue into the female pocket and simple pushed the male inlays in with finger pressure, then continued on to the next one (52 of these per 'sheet', so I worked rather quickly). These are very small, and magnified quite a bit in the picture so you can see defects around the margins that aren't visible to the naked eye.

closeup.JPG

I'm not understanding why you would want to set z0 to the surface of the material, then cut your male parts with a start depth of .1 and a cutting depth of .1. This will make your parts .2" thick and your female cut is only .15" deep. (Unless you are offsetting the vector outward before you cut?). I would think you should zet z0 on the material and then cut .1" deep, so you have a .05" gap under your inlay when glued in place. But maybe I'm not understanding this technique. I use a different technique for my v-inlays.

Russell-

In this technique you make at inlay that is .2 thick (in the example above), which will make make it stand above the surface by .1 when glued in. Then you machine it or sand it off flush. So, in effect, you are left with a .1 inlay.

Angie

[zeeway]

Looks good, RT.

Angie

[Paul Z]

Right on! Great inlay!

Paul Z