Vectric Customer

... the result of my latest hobby work with Zank V-Inlay Procedures. The female engravings (five at a time) were made in Ocooch 3/8" x 6" x 24" cherry and the male inlay pieces were mostly carved from Ocooch walnut. In a couple of instances I also complemented the usual walnut inlay with green poplar (snail) or orange padauk (Japanese flower design).

Looks like you have mastered the technique!

Well done!!
(Gotta say though, that I'm slightly disappointed in the contrast of a Cherry/Walnut inlay I did 5 years ago after the Cherry gained it full color...VERY subtle inlay now:(
Likewise a Padauk into Walnut after 4 yrs. )
+1 to what Ted said
scott

uh-oh...Scott, do you have any pictures of the 5-year outlook for where the cherry-walnut combination might look like? Maybe I'd better keep 'em in the dark until ready to be doled out...

Well take some daylight pics tomorrow.
Not Really an "Uh-Oh" They're still VERY pleasing, and LOTS of direct sunlight in a passive solar home!
Just doesn't draw people's eye right off the bat like they used to...STILL get "Ooohs" and Aahs"
Basically the same reason we stopped making buttons in Cherry and Padauk......as it REALLY throws off high end knitters when you tell them that's NOT how the wood will look in years to come
Doesn't matter to them that Cherry gets better with age, or that Padauk looks a lot like Bloodwood after 6 months, and then more like a dark Walnut.
+++ for Ocooch!!
GOOD idea to keep from sunlight until gifted, then they can be oblivious to the color change when it's right in front of them like I was:)
GREAT job by the way!!
scott

Thank you, Scott! Padauk slightly cheaper and a little easier to mill than bloodwood in my limited experience...and they do look uncannily the same after finishing (e.g., with polyurethane, satin in my hands). Might as well just pick one of those for dark red. Unfortunately, I only have dashed hopes of trying to maintain padauk's unfinished rich orange color in any finished piece... If you have any notions or experiences along those lines I'd be much obliged to hear about them.

Like I said laflippin......STILL NICE.....Just not as much in your face.
Pic quality stinks today..had to use flash or halogen:( (could use a new brain and eyeballs today:)
Here's when new in 2013-4;

And here's today's pics under 3 different lightings. You can see the Padauk buttons, and then the back of one that was at the very bottom of the pile, and the back was virtually unexposed. And a hand done piece of butterflied Padauk from '94 SEE...Not a horror story if under decent lighting....but in a dark area of the house at night...you can pass right by without noticing.

Bloodwood is one of my favorite woods on the machine!
If cut with a sharp bit bit at small stepover, and reasonable speeds......ALMOST doesn't NEED any finishing!

GOTTA go CUT now:)

OH...Have you seen this article on color changes?
https://www.wood-database.com/?s=color
scott

First, those are beautiful pieces of work, Scott! Thank you very much for showing them and all the good advice. I will certainly read the additional material you linked. Lee

Oh...We DID try UV waxes and a couple finishes on Padauk buttons, but if UV finish worked...it was too thick and made the wood feel like plastic, and felt unlike any of our other items.
It took at Least 5 coats of Watco Natural so Padauk color wouldn't rub off on white fabrics....and Watco didn't pass the machine wash 3 times test with Woolite.
It was just to much different, so we dropped it from the line before someone put it on White cashmere coat or Angora sweater!

On Cherry/Walnut, you can see the the sapwood top of the tree stayed nice and visible..under certain light and viewing angle, the base heartwood kinda blends in the real world.
That's a fairly light Black Walnut too....didn't mean to spook you....Subtle has its place too:)

Thanks Lee!!

OH...and that was the wrong link
https://www.wood-database.com/wood-arti ... tic-woods/

By the way Lee.....What bit angles have you tried?
All mine were done with an Onsrud Engraving bit with a .01" flat......
and I Liked it, but was wondering for my next finer detail I should invest in a 45 degree, or just go straight to the 30 degrees I have with .005and .01"tips.?
Anybody tried 30 degree bits, and what were your opinions afterwards?
Thanks,
scott

Most of my positive experience is with 60 deg V-bits, either 1/2" for extended cutting depth or 1/4". I bought an Amana 45 deg 1/2" V-bit (the kind that has a removable insert knife) in order to get deeper inlays with the fine details but I have had poor experience with it...used with the same type of feed-rate and rotational speeds that I have used for similar work done with 2-edge V-bits I found lots of frustrating chipping, especially in delicate male workpieces. I also have a double-edged 1/4" 30 degree V-bit but have not used it yet...

Thanks Lee!
Do wonder if it was maybe the 45 degree bit you were using, of if feeds on Z may have to be slowed more because you were going deeper.
Think when I next try one, I'll experiment with the 30's I already have to try to get a feel for it.
Thanks,
scott

I have never seen orange padauk, all of mine has been a vivid dark red. I have machined pieces still vivid after 5 years with nothing more special than a matte clear coat.

Unfinished padauk ranges from reddish-orange to orangish-red, but it all goes deep red (much like bloodwood Scott might say) with finish. I use UV-resistant marine polyurethane (clear, satin) and that turns it red. Scott's experiments with finishing padauk turn it red, too. The attached pic was cribbed from Ocooch's site, but I've got a small stack of their padauk and I'd say the picture is typical of what it looks like right out of the mill.