Zank Inlay wine service

[laflippin]

tray--one piece American poplar (Baird Bros.)
flowers-purpleheart
twigs-wenge
leaves-cherry
hummingbird feathers-cherry
beak-wenge
head-padauk

[Todd Bailey]

That is amazing!!!

Looks fantastic. Thanks for sharing.

[scottp55]

Another Great multi-wood job Lee!!
Beautiful work!
scott

[Charlie_l]

Looks fantastic.
Is the dark color around the outside of the bird feathers a wood inlay or glue marking? It looks really nice.

[Holzarbeiter]

Amazing inlay work...just beautifully done!!!

[SteveNelson46]

I have never tried to do an inlay. But, after seeing yours, I think I'm going to give it a try. Since I have never done one I can't give an opinion but, from the picture, it really looks good.

[woody53]

Thats a beautiful job on the inlay. A great job to say the least. I do have one question though. How did you sand the inlay flush in such a confined area ??

Dave

[laflippin]

Thanks everyone for the kind comments. (And definitely thanks to Paul Zank for freely sharing his seminal discoveries with this community.)
Charlie--your question is a good one and I'm not sure I completely understand how the thin, dark outline around the cherry inlay actually occurs. (Fortunately, I like the effect so it's not keeping me awake at night. ) Close inspection of this tray and some other pieces I've made with multiple woods suggests that the outline effect is pretty much common to cherry inlays--it may be that the glue (TiteBond III) absorbs a little bit into the cherry wood and selectively darkens it at the interface. I would definitely be interested to hear of other peoples' experiences with this kind of thing.
Dave--for the past couple of years I have taken to removing the bulk of the waste-backing from all of my Zank Inlay projects with a hand-held 4 1/2" angle grinder fitted with a 36-grit carborundum wheel. A very aggressive tool, makes quick work of the waste-backing but you need to develop a fine touch for when you get close to the workpiece surface. Next, a hand-held random orbit sander fitted with P-120 Abranet sanding discs takes it down to a very smooth surface. Amazing product, Abranet sanding discs--they never cause the annoying spiral-shaped sanding flaws I always get with regular sandpaper discs on the orbit sander. After smoothing out the entire surface (including the CNC end mill machining marks) with an Abranet disc I give these pieces a fairly quick last sanding with 800-grit sandpaper before polyurethane.

[Tex_Lawrence]

... it may be that the glue (TiteBond III) absorbs a little bit into the cherry wood and selectively darkens it at the interface. I would definitely be interested to hear of other peoples' experiences with this kind of thing....

I've been told and read that Titebond III cures dark while regular Titebond doesn't. I've noticed it at least once, too.

EDIT: Great tip on the Abranet sanding discs! Thanks!

[Dan O]

Beatifull work. You've blurred the line between woodworking and artistry. Very nice !!

[Spindle]

Beautifully done inlay!!!