Wayne just curious of what bit you are using? Looks like a .0625" bit. Please let us know if you don't mind.

Thanks in advance,
James

Yes, I used a .0625 (1/16") carbide endmill.

Wayne: Thanks for the tips on doing inlays. When you make the inlay, how do you cut it, i.e., do you cut it into a solid block and then saw the block to release the inlay, or do you use the MM to profile cut it from thin stock, or some other method?

Thanks

Joe #53

From what I understand, the solid block is glued to the panel and then the block is planed/sanded down to reveal the inlay.

Joe, Gerald

Inlay is a minimum of two parts “profile cutting”…… no sawing to “release/reveal” the inlay pattern.

A pattern is lay “in” ( or in other words “down in the profiled pocket”)to the main pieces!
Minimum of two pieces of wood is needed:
A - The main pieces of wood which will receive the pattern ( in Wayne photo, the pale pieces of wood ) that gets some pockets machined .
B – The patterns itself which is cut with a thinner pieces of woof that will serve as the “inlayed part” to be fitted in the pocket relief. Must be a little thicker than the depth of the pocket allowing height room to be then flush sanded to a nice leveled surface.
Some may go more intricately by inlaying additional pieces over some already done ”inlay” pieces, meaning, a second or more inlay steps I just above describe over the previously is done !

Hope this clears some interrogations?
Amicalement ;)

Robert, it is easier to clamp and hold the inlay section (Part B) if it is part of a block of solid wood (or plywood)

Robert/Gerald: Thanks for your replies. However, I guess my question was not well put. It is - How do you cut the piece to be inlaid?

If it is cut from thin stock how do you do so without leaving tabs (which will interfere with a tight fit into the socket)

Joe

Joe,
What Wayne does is pocket the first board to accept the inlay, then (depending on the inlay pocket depth), he either double face tape or glue the 2nd piece (to be inlayed into the first piece) to a flat piece of hardboard kinda like a secondary spoil board and cuts out the design. Usually he works with a 1/4" piece for the inlay mainly it is easy to come by or cut yourself. As long as it is taller than the pocket to allow for finish sanding. I did some that were larger and for those you can use tabs and just sand them off, just sand carefully. Hope that helps, wayne must either be busy or slacking lol
Dave

A pic of my first time with inlay, I used thin Lauan (sp?) plywood for the inlay and I ended up sanding off the first ply so it didnt turn out that great. You should use solid wood but I was playing around with what I had for scrap.

That still looks nice, it will only get better from here
Tim

Sorry for the late reply....my boss called for a staff meeting in California. I have had 3 solid days of travel and meetings (10+ hours/day) not much time for forum reading:(

Robert and Dave discribed the inlay process pretty well, not sure I have much to add. Maybe the only thing to add is that your inlay part, should be cut to the same size as the pocket. The fit will be very tight, but can pressed together easier if you slightly bevel the bottom edges. Wood glue (TiteBond) will also act as a lubricate making it easier to press the two parts together.

Since a photo is worth so many word, I’ve joint a PDF image (Attachment 10967 ) that shows how it is done when cut « manually » with either a manual or motorize scroll saw ( +/- 15° angle cut ).
Obviously, this technique could / can become quite a challenge on a CNC, but you get the “picture” when WAYNE says “but can pressed together easier if you slightly bevel the bottom edges” .

Gerald,
Although I have yet devoted time to practice and cut marquetery by CNC, my reply to your question could not be supported by experience as much as I did marquetry by “hand”.
My initial though would give a try by cutting the inlay part by either using small tabs strategically positioned so it would make it easy to “hand finish” it or…. Do a glue approach by sticking a craft paper to the back side of the inlay material part to be then glued again to a sacrificial cutting board ( mdf) with a little “breakthrough” cutting depth.
After the cutting of the inlay part, pry peal the remaining “good” inlay part from the sacrificial board ! this last is quite easy as the craft paper tears and can easily by used as a good “re-glued” surface for final gluing !

Obviously this last technique is not recommended to patterns with fine delicate edges !
When that will be called for, when I’ll spend time to try inlay with my cnc, I’ll come back with my approach !

Hope this can help some ;)

This is another procedure ,for cnc .Might have been posted before
http://www.vectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=4146

Normand: That link to vectric was very useful. Thanks

Joe

Might have been posted before……Age is slowly working in me too, but do remember 1st here : An easy way to make inlays using V Carve then : Inlays of wood patterns

;)

glad to know that am only half baked . Anyway as long as I have that neurone that keep me from pooping all over am ok

Been along time.
 

Hi All,

It's been forever since my last post. Still using my MechMate regularly, just don't seem to have the time to post updates.

Been building on my new shop, the Mechmate is my prized tool...she takes center stage :)

Here's a couple of my most recent projects:

The first is a very large fan. I priced a Big A$$ fan (yes it's the companys real name) for my new shop but it was way too expensive...they wanted $6K for a 14' fan. So I built my own :D

Here's a picture of the completed fan. The entire unit was made with the MechMate and a little welded metal. I have fan construction photo's but they are too large to upload. I need to resize to post.

Dust collection
 

I have nearly completed the installation of my dust collector. Some of you my remember the collector from prevous posts. I built this cyclone using Bill Pentz plans.

The cyclone works great....it really sucks:eek:

Here's a couple of fan blade construction photos

Here's the fan motor assy. I used a 1/3hp 3ph motor and a VFD for control. With a VFD the fan operates just like a regular ceiling fan (forward, reverse, variable speed). For the fan hub I used a trailer axel:eek: very robust, should last forever.

BTW, the industrial name for this type of fan is HVLS fans. They are designed to move a ton of air at low speed. This fan is design to spin at 25 to 85 rpms. Because I have infloor heating, I run the fan at 25rpms all winter....this air movement allows for even heating in my shop. At 25 rpms, the fan only consumes about 90watts of power....it's very efficient.

Here's a picture of me with the fan...gives you some idea of the size:D

Wayne

Moving the MechMate to the new shop
 

Moving the MechMate to my new shop

Wayne,

Nice shop.

I like your fan. What does it cost to build the motor unit? Interesting idea.

Nils,

The motor was purchased(new) from Ebay for $25 + shipping...the other parts (hub, bearings, shaft, pulleys, etc...) were purchased from our local farm supply store.

Not sure how much I have into the power unit.....but I only spent ~$300 to build the whole fan.

Wayne

Hi Wayne, glad to see some old mates... :D

Nice “inverted plane propeller’’ fan, if this still fall as a fan :eek: !
Excuse my ignorance on air movement, but…..why not a few smaller ones around the shop ?!
I can see more ‘hassle’ and more cost going with a few…..vs your mammoth ingenuity !
Space must also be in account.....and seems you have plenty of...head room :rolleyes:

becouse is nice to have huge blades that can chop you head in any moment. dont know.. makes you apreciate your life every day.

i have to make that fan.

I know from the ones we have at work is that its is a constant, smooth no dead area of air movement. The air movement feels very natural, almost like a breezy day under a tree. Only consuming 90 watts and hour is a huge saving over having multiple fans. I should also mention the noise from the fan is almost insignificant to the amount of air it moves.

That is valid reason to build one :D

I already have fans in my shop, but I'd really like to build one too.
It just plain looks cool.

Hi Robert, good to speak with you again

Exactly, I built to look like a big airplane prop. Look close and you will see safety cables, what you can't see is the super structure (in the ceiling) to support the fan.... no worries about it falling.

I could have used little fans, but it would have taken 6 or more to move the same amount of air....at a greater cost.

Plenty of head room in the shop. I have 14ft ceilings, fan hangs at 12ft, plenty of clearence to swing around lumber :D

At max speed the tips travel at 60+ mph.....I might hurt if you got your fingers in the blade:eek:

True...very smooth and natural air movement This type of fan (HVLS) does not blow air, it moves air.

The fan runs silent at low speed, sounds a bit like a helicopter at high speed :D

Wayne we haven't heard from you in a while. What do you have your fingers into now-a-days?