A simple way to make inlays

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laflippin
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Rest in Peace: Paul A. Zank

Post by laflippin »

Posted in grateful appreciation of Paul's marvelous discovery of the hands-down best technique for wood-in-wood inlay via CNC and for his generosity in freely sharing hid discovery with the Vectric forum. LA Flippin

Zank, Paul Arthur 9/26/1948 - 7/20/2019 Perrinton Paul Arthur Zank, age 70, of Perrinton, MI, passed away Saturday, July 20, 2019 after a brief illness. In following Paul's wishes, cremation has taken place and a Memorial Service will be held at a later date. Paul was born in Grand Rapids, MI on September 26, 1948, the son of James M. and Betty Ann (Alyea) Zank. He graduated from Rogers High School in Wyoming, MI with the class of 1966. Paul married Linda Louise Madden on September 7, 1968 in Kentwood, MI. They recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with their family. Paul proudly served his country in the United States Navy. He was an aeronautical engineer with Lockheed Martin ("Skunk Works") in Burbank and Palmdale, CA and BAE Systems in Merrimack, NH for over 40 years retiring at the age of 62. Paul was devoted to his country, and keeping our country and military members safe. Paul loved fishing, photography, and woodworking. He volunteered with Extreme Makeover - Home Edition for many different projects and other similar volunteer organizations. Above of all, Paul loved and supported his family. Paul is survived by his wife of 50 years, Linda Zank of Perrinton, MI; 2 daughters: Autumn Zank of The Colony, TX; Jodie Bastian of Portage, MI; grandson Tyler Zank; 2 granddaughters: Raya Bastian; Gabrielle Bastian; step-mother Dorothy Zank; and aunt Elaine Vander Voord. Paul was preceded in death by his father James Zank, mother Betty Jones, and 2 brothers: Roy Zank and Dennis Zank. The family requests that memorial contributions be made to The Always Serving Project. Online condolences can be made at www.smithfamilyfuneralhomes.com. The family is being served by Smith Family Funeral Homes - Osgood Chapel, St. Johns, MI.

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Phil
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Re: A simple way to make inlays

Post by Phil »

My condolences to Paul's family. :(

Phil

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Tony Mac
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Re: A simple way to make inlays

Post by Tony Mac »

Very sad news - Thank you for sharing this LA Flippin

Paul became a Vectric customer back in 2006, purchasing VCarve Pro version 2 to run his ShopBot. He was a busy guy, always working on new projects and trying to get the most out of the software and his CNC machine. But never too busy to help others in any way he could.

Tony

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scottp55
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Re: A simple way to make inlays

Post by scottp55 »

Thank you so much for posting that Lee!

Paul will certainly be missed! :(

I'll never forget when I first had a commercial interest in Vinlaying from Dad's Amish woodworking friend.
Besides Paul's invaluable tips...He said
"If you have a problem...I'm only an hours drive from your shop...I'll be glad to help!" :)
I've always regretted not "inventing" a problem so I could have met him in person!! :(

When I was working on my spoilboard design...I incorporated a few of his email tips.
And THEN when setting up the second Desktop for production...he called and said;
"Do you have at least 90 psi air?"
And 2 days later got a CARE package from him of pneumatic plungers and accessories!!
And again got an offer for a visit to optimize production!

He was always ready to help others!!
Rest in peace Paul.....Ya done GOOD!!!
You'll be missed here!
scott
I've learned my lesson well. You can't please everyone,so you have to please yourself
R.N.

laflippin
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Re: A simple way to make inlays

Post by laflippin »

Great stories, Scott.

Zank Inlay—Paul’s discovery, development, and generosity in freely sharing his v-carve method for wood-in-wood inlay is really the only reason I became interested in CNC routing. The theory and practice of Zank Inlay, spiced up with the many stimulating discussions, refinements and educational contributions made by folks at this forum and elsewhere, have provided me with a lasting source of fascination ever since I completed my first example of this art.

Today I plan to hoist a glass in memory of Paul Zank.
image.jpg

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Re: A simple way to make inlays

Post by mtylerfl »

I am very saddened to hear about Paul’s passing. His contributions to friends, family and our community here, will always be remembered and greatly appreciated. Rest In Peace, Paul, and thank you for everything.
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scottp55
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Re: A simple way to make inlays

Post by scottp55 »

I was just going through emails...and this one struck me from Paul.
(Sorry to post your exact words Paul....hope you get a kick out of it though:)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"PAUL ZANK

Nov 20, 2018, 11:37 AM

to me
Good to hear from you!

There are many ways to be remembered ... some good, some bad. When I first realized the inlay process was going to work, I briefly considered patenting it. Then I said Nah, this is going to be too much fun! (It would also have been impossible to enforce the patent.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OH....he LOVED being on the water when he moved closer to family!!
Had seen 7 bald eagles that day, and found out his wife's kin were moving to build on his lake:)

Seemed a funny place to move to,
considering he warned me many times not to use the four letter word "Sn*w" in emails
(or the SHOVELING thereof:)
Now I understand a little better how much he missed the Lakes and Kin.

Paul would have liked this way of being remembered!! :)
(I sent him some of your recent work Lee....now I know why he didn't comment.) :( :(
He would have loved the multi-wood Koi...and the grain usage on the koi heads/fins!!
I've learned my lesson well. You can't please everyone,so you have to please yourself
R.N.

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Re: A simple way to make inlays

Post by LithgowShedder »

I have been looking at some of the many posts in this topic, and many other items on line, but haven't found a good explanation of the whys and hows of setting the depths for the various cuts, especially for the male plug. Many thanks to the late Paul Zank for setting this great technique in motion, and here is may attempt to add to the knowledge base with my attempt at explaining how to derive the flat and cut depths given your choice of saw gap, glue gap and plug insertion depth.

Feel free to spread it around!
Attachments
VcarveInlaysV02.pdf
(216.82 KiB) Downloaded 399 times
VcarveInlayCalculatorV02.zip
Unzip for spreadsheet
(9.28 KiB) Downloaded 327 times

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Re: A simple way to make inlays

Post by pappybaynes »

I have just been reading through this very lengthy thread and discovered that Paul had passed...so sad to hear. He was an incredibly smart man that could explain a very complicated process so knuckleheads like me could understand. I was fortunate enough to spend time with him in his shop...the first sign I ever carved was on his machine back in 2007. I got to work with him on Extreme Makeover Home Edition which was a treat. When he told me he was moving to MI I was disappointed as he had always been a great source of information and always would make time for you to come to his shop and learn...I only spoke with him once after he moved...he is missed...RIP Paul

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Re: A simple way to make inlays

Post by Tex_Lawrence »

LithgowShedder wrote:
Mon Dec 06, 2021 11:23 am
... haven't found a good explanation of the whys and hows of setting the depths for the various cuts, especially for the male plug. ... here is may attempt to add to the knowledge base with my attempt at explaining how to derive the flat and cut depths given your choice of saw gap, glue gap and plug insertion depth.
Rob, I can see that you've done quite a bit of thoughtful consideration in your documentation! +1

Have you actually created a complete inlay process with the results of your spreadsheet calculations and verified the cut depths, etc. with destructive means?

It would be interesting to include some documentation on the pros and cons of criteria for bit angle selection, too.
Tex — Crooked Wood Products
Now there's a man with an open mind – you can feel the breeze from here.

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adze_cnc
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Re: A simple way to make inlays

Post by adze_cnc »

Open the spreadsheet and enter for the "Maximum Stepdown" the value 0.5 and you will get a wrong final "Pass5"

Or, for that matter, since the calculator is units of measure independent try entering the following "inches" values:
 
inches.png
 
Pass #2's final depth will be 0.26 (below the 0.25 start depth of pass #3)

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adze_cnc
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Re: A simple way to make inlays

Post by adze_cnc »

LithgowShredder: Thanks for the PDF file. The image on page three is really useful. To me, though, the top image on page one is still needlessly complex.

I've posted variations of the following in answer to questions on other threads. I'm consolidating it here as it's getting tiresome trying to search for past posts to provide a link to when the question comes up again.

I am going to give values here for an imaginary inlay project. Substitute your own numbers for your own project/needs.
 
inlay.png
 
For the tapered inlay process you only need to determine three (3) numbers—the values for A, B, and C in the image above. From these all start and flat depths can be determined.
  • A is the amount of material to inlay into the base
  • B is "air gap": the amount to leave between the two pieces
  • C is "glue gap": the amount for glue squeeze out and compensation for ill-fit
For my imaginary inlay project I'll use:
  • A is 6mm
  • B is 3mm (I'll separate the base and inlay with a 30" bandsaw that has a thick blade)
  • C is 0.75mm (I'm thrifty with glue and my design shouldn't need a "fudge factor").
Now for the start and flat depths:
  • Base/female start depth: 0mm (always*)
  • Base/female flat depth: A + C (6.75mm)
  • Inlay/male start depth: A (6mm)
  • Inlay/male flat depth: B (3mm)
That's it.

Now, my bits might not be able to plunge all the way down to 6mm+ for the inlay/male piece. For that case I created a gadget the will create "roughing" toolpaths to eliminate material above the 100mm start depth. See: viewtopic.php?f=51&t=38767

If you are using VCarve Desktop then the gadget won't be available to you. See: viewtopic.php?p=282314#p282314 for a manual method to emulate the gadget.

Steven
 
 
* = I say that the base start depth is always zero (0) but if I was inlaying something in the bottom of an 8mm deep pocket for a tray I might set it to that depth. Let's master the simple case first though.

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adze_cnc
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Re: A simple way to make inlays

Post by adze_cnc »

If I was smart... instead of linking to another post for manually creating “roughing” toolpaths I’d just duplicate the post here...

You can manually do what the gadget does.

Let’s pretend you want a start depth (SD) of 4mm and a flat depth (FD) of 2.5mm. The pretend bits are 60 deg V with stepdown of 2mm and 1/8 square-end with stepdown of 1.5mm:
  • find the largest stepdown of the two bits: 2mm
  • create a “VCarve / Engraving Toolpath” (VCE) with SD = 0mm; FD = 2mm
  • create a VCE with SD = 2mm; FD= 2mm
  • create your regular tapered inlay VCE toolpath with SD = 4mm; FD = 2.5mm
If you regularly use the same settings you could save this as a toolpath template.

The FD for the roughing toolpath is the largest stepdown of the two bits. The SD for each roughing path is the accumulated depth so far. e.g. for inlay SD = 6; FD = 3; max tool stepdown 1.75mm then the toolpaths would have the following values: (SD, FD):
  1. 0.0, 1.75
  2. 1.75, 1.75
  3. 3.5, 1.75
  4. 5.25, 0.75
  5. 6.0, 3.0
Note that toolpath four’s FD is smaller than the other 1.75 values. This is so that we don’t exceed the final toolpath’s SD of 6.

Steven

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Re: A simple way to make inlays

Post by EMoloney »

I have tried numerous sets of number for both male and female with different start depths and finish depths.

It seems to me the VBit engraving angle impacts the the cuttng depth numbers. Different numbers for same overal results with different angles.

Should the numbers be the same regardless of the VBit angle. I'm taking 15 degrees to 60 degreees.

Thank you

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Re: A simple way to make inlays

Post by EMoloney »

I have tried numerous sets of number for both male and female with different start depths and finish depths.

It seems to me the VBit engraving angle impacts the the cuttng depth numbers. Different numbers for same overal results with different angles.

Should the numbers be the same regardless of the VBit angle. I'm taking 15 degrees to 60 degreees.

Thank you

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