Inlay Bits

[Bob Menzel]

I've finally gotten around to experimenting with inlay (other than simple dots) using a homemade pantograph and template to route out the recesses with a Dremel and a #193 bit. All things considered, the results were acceptable, but I'd to know if there is a preferred bit for this task?

[Steve Senseney]

Could you let us see your setup?

I like the idea of the pantograph but have never gotten around to building one.

[Randy Roberts]

I've been far and away most happy using a spiral downcutting bit. It leaves a sharp edge without the fuzz to obscure where you are cutting.
I also would like to see your pantograph. It would seem to me that that would be hard to not end up with a fair amount of slop through the connections and an innaccurate cut, but I've never tried anything other than tracing the inlay on the wood and then free handing it.

[Karl Hoyt]

I love my stew-mac dremel router base and a spiral downcutting bits. I'm no inlay whiz, but i get consistently good results.

have a great day , all

Karl

[Barry Daniels]

Check out PreciseBits.com. They have great bits for inlay.

[Bob Menzel]

Barry you must have anticipated my follow-up question: how about cutting shell? PreciseBits is the ticket! Just need to meet their $50 minimum, but that shouldn’t be to hard.

Wish I could post a photo of my rig but at the moment I’m between cameras. Trust me when I tell you it’s overbuilt and there’s absolutely nothing fancy about it. It was cobbled together with 3/4” MDF beams along with some bolts. I epoxied some threads for the Dremel inside of a piece of ~3/4” copper pipe which was then mated inside a copper coupling. This assembly becomes one of the pivot points for the pantograph. The anchor point is a piece of 1/4” rod, and a 3/32” nail is used for the stylus.

As far as I can tell, there’s no slop in any of the joints. Because my test pieces were merely taped down with double sided tape I can’t attribute any of the minor flaws to the legendary Dremel bearings (yet). A better means of securing the stock is in the works and we’ll see how things look then. If need be I'll retool for my Foredom. I’m also certain that some shiny new spiral downcut bits will yield much better results than the POC bit that I used did.

The really cool thing about using the pantograph is that you really don’t need to worry about fuzz obscuring cutting lines. You’re following a template, so as long as you put care into making it accurately, the pantograph will cut exactly the same image. In my case, the image on my template is ~5” x 3 3/4” and gets reduced by ~25% for a headstock logo. The pantograph could be set up for 1:1 duplication, but IMO it’s easier working with a larger template.

Inlay is definitely an art unto itself, and I’m pretty intimidated by it. I’m starting out with a relatively simple design and will hopefully overcome this fear so I can create some more complex designs in the future. We'll see. Thank you for your replies and advice.

[Michael Lewis]

down cut bits are expensive, but worth it. There are alternatives that are much less expensive, like the burrs from Rio Grande Jewelry Supply in New Mexico. They have a large selection of styles, shapes, and sizes. Also for very small bits as well as larger ones there is Robb Jack, a well regarded supplier.

[Mark Swanson]

I recently found this guy, http://www.bitterrootguitars.com/servle ... ategories" Bitterroot guitars. He sells inlay bits that work as good as any that I have tried and they are priced good.

[David Bingham]

I've had great success with dental burs that I get free from my dentist. I explained what I was doing and he was more than happy to autoclave his discards and save them for me. Burs that are too dull for teeth are still plenty sharp enough for wood and over the course of a few months he gave me 100 or so in a half a dozen different shapes. He even offered to buy new ones for me at his cost if I so desired. They're a 1/16" shank instead of 1/8" so I had to get a smaller collet but they work well and make a very clean cut. I guess he figured it was a small compensation for all the discomfort he's caused me over the years.

[Brian Dyskin]

Do you find the diamond coated, or tungsten carbide fluted dental burs better for inlays in wood?

[David Bingham]

I use the fluted dental burs. I have some diamond coated ones but never tried them on wood. I could be wrong but I wouldn't expect them to cut wood very well and the ones I have come to a sharp point which isn't very useful for routing a flat bottomed cavity. I have used them for doing some final shaping of pearl after cutting it out and for etching. They work pretty well for that.

[Matthew Lau]

Bob,

Get some carbide burs. I recommend the older American or German ones.
You can buy them cheap, as most dentists have switched over to diamond.

Diamond burs are horrible on wood, metal, and horn. They clog too easily.
Diamond is great on teeth, some stone, and pearl. However, you'll need a specialized water cooled setup.

You may want to look out for an older American belt-drive dental unit.
These units are still preferred by some dental lab techs because of their high torque.
They're also much better than any dremel (piece of crap IMHO) or proxxon or foredom.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
Sadly, the only advantage that I can provide to other mimfers is knowledge about dental stuff.

-Matthew

[Greg Robinson]

Hey guys, if you have anything further to discuss, please keep it here rather than taking it to private message, we may all be interested!

[Bob Garrish]

Precisebits are the best I've found, and in my case at least they're the final word dollar for dollar. I'd spend your money on getting more RPM rather than downcut bits. You get a better cut and fuzzing stops happening once the RPMs are high enough. They have very high speed dental handpieces and mini die grinders on eBay for the cost of a few cutters.

[Andy Barnhart]

+1 on the high RPM. I prefer to power carve with my hanging motor rotary setup. It has a handpiece like a Foredom (but it is not a Foredom; it is a cheap knock off) that is easier to hold and control than a motor body, but it tops out at "only" 20k or less. I have a Dremel that is substantially faster, even though it is far less powerful. I have a router base for it and use it for inlay or other fine grooving work. It cuts cleaner with the same bit and isn't as grabby. I am also a fan of carbide and for the wider grooves I sometimes use a small HSS router bit that I think is a Dremel branded product. It requires very precise slow and/or constrained movement; on one side of the groove it is climb cutting at all times. Very clean cut though.

[Barry Daniels]

Dremels are usually 25k rpm. I bought an air turbine tool that goes up to 60k. It cuts wood like it was warm butter.

[Andy Barnhart]

I think my Dremel claims 35k at highest speed. Different models have different claims. It is noticeably faster than my cheap hanging motor (which, though slower, has a lot of power for a rotary tool) and it makes a difference in cut quality. I would love to have a high speed air turbine! Do they also adjust to low speed with power? Sanding drums (little sleeves) are a lot more useful on slow speed with torque.

[Barry Daniels]

My air turbine has a regulator on the air line to control speed, so it does not have much torque at low speed. Probably not the right tool for sanding.

[Don Williams]

Precisebits has great stuff, BUT.... on eBay, Drillman1 sells the same thing for less than 1/4 of the cost. Just sayin'
Well, they may not be *exactly* the same, but I find they work fantastic with my cnc, and the $aving$ is SO worth it.