Inletting small, fine, tedious, fiddly parts

[SuperCracker]

Sunday evening I inletted the finial (?) on the front  of an English Fowler TG. The tiny little leaves or ears coming off of it give me fits and I'm always sorely disappointed with my results on this kind of very small stuff.

This week I'll be making up a set of tiny little micro inletting tools specifically for this kind of work as I expect to be doing a good bit of guns with this kind of detail in the future.

How have you guys dealt with this kind of small inletting?  Any tips, or suggestions?  Any special tools made just for it? All help is appreciated.

[smallpatch]

Super,
There are several different brands of "micro" chisels out there.  Micro-Mark sells several variations.  Also, #11 Exacto blades work well for those tiny leaf tips.

[Ezra]

Patience, sharp tools and magnification.  The last two I have, the first, well, it is an ongoing project...

Ez

[James Wilson Everett]

Guys,

For inletting those pesky, small and detailed parts I use three tiny chisels that I made from old file metal. They are flat and straight, the biggest is about 3/32 wide and the smallest is about 1/16 wide.  They are in simple wood dowel handles and are less than two and one half inches in total length.  With these tiny chisels I can stab in a rather detailed outline.  I just push them by hand without the use of a mallet or hammer.  These are also very useful for those pesky detailed corners in relief carving that are hard to access with full sized tools.  They look like miniature screwdrivers, but are sharp.

Jim

[Dphariss]

Needle files work well for making small chisels.

Also a knife works well too.



I use one of these that is modified by filing/grinding the drop point so that it it sharp for about the width of the blade in length and at 45 degrees (+- as the user likes) to the primary edge this produces a very nice point that will also cut incised lines with fairly sharp curves.
Sorry no photo is someone needs one I will try to get one taken and post.

Dan

[BillPac]

Here is a link to a tool I made for doing just what you are asking.  Also read through this entire thread there was a good discussion of how to inlet small parts.  The little tool was made from a cut nail, bevel on one side only, for stabbing straight in.
http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=23606.msg226301#msg226301
BillP

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

One of the most useful things my good wife has given me is a set of very fine micro chisels from Lee Valley Tools.  They have great steel, graver style walnut coloured wooden handles, and a variety of shaped cutting ends, including sweeps, gouges, skews, straight, and parting.  For intricate inletting, I always rely on them.

[smart dog]

Hi Supercracker,
I've inlet a lot of tiny intricate inlays such as on the fowler shown below:





The first problem is tracing an accurate outline on the wood.  I find that a tiny razor-sharp skew chisel or an X-acto knife blade with a long narrow point works best for cutting the outline.  On metal inlays, I augment my tracing by sharpening the inner edge of the inlay and lightly tapping it on the wood to create indented marks.  After making a good outline, the trick is , as others describe, tiny razor-sharp chisels and gouges.

dave 

[J.Cundiff]

That's some incredible work Dave! Beautiful!

[Dphariss]

Goofed here is the knife I modify


Dan

[PPatch]

 Dan if that isn't the same knife photograph you posted earlier I'll eat my hat.

dp

[SuperCracker]

Dan if that isn't the same knife photograph you posted earlier I'll eat my hat.

dp

the modifications are very very small.

lol

[SuperCracker]

Thanks all. I had looked at a set of those micro chisels at Woodcraft and will probably pick a set up eventually when I start trying actually carve. But that's a ways down the road.

I have a pretty good idea what stuff I'm going to make for this set now. I remember seeing that about the lens shaped tool now that you've mentioned it but had totally forgotten about that before. I can see how the lens would compress the wood surrounding the inlet and it could then be steamed back out, just like steaming out a dent, closing up any tiny gaps. This puts the IMPOSSIBLY tight and tiny inlets I see on the old English guns in a new, more interesting light.

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

Look here:http://www.woodcarverssupply.com/Micro-Tools/products/103/   
About $45.00 per set these micro chisels are awesome

[Dphariss]

Dan if that isn't the same knife photograph you posted earlier I'll eat my hat.

dp

Yeah its the same knife
I am being computer challenged today. The darned thing did not show up HERE on the previous post  until I posted it again. I rebooted the thing and maybe it will behave.
Or I really did "goof"
Sure is a pretty picture though.
What I get for doing drive by postings.  
Its been a busy day.
Dan

[pushboater]

I made a set of small inletting chisels out of an old used hacksaw blade. Chiseled off about 1 1/2" lengths and ground them to shape on my bench grinder taking care to not get them too hot.  I use them mostly for wire inlay work but they also work well for small inlays. The beauty of this set is that the only thing it cost me was a little of my time. For a handle you simply cut a slit into the end of a dowel and epoxy them in.

Capt. David

[Chris Treichel]

Bolek shared this on his Wheelock page (facebook) Its 18th century furniture inlay... but same idea.



If you need anything translated let me know. 

[PPatch]

...drive by postings.

LMAO... good one! really glad I don't have to eat that smelly hat too.

dp

PS: Tim: those chisels look interesting.

ADD: what a great inlay video Chris T - thanks.

[Jim Kibler]

That was a neat video, but what is being shown is marquetry.  Basically a veneer process and has nothing in common with inletting parts or inlays on a longrifle except the process of cutting  parts out. 

[KLMoors]

That's what I was wondering Jim. I skimmed the video the first time, then thought I must have missed the inletting part, so I went back and watched it again. Nada.


One question for you all. I went out and looked at my tiny inletting tools that I made a few years ago and realized that they have a double bevel on them. So, I figure I'll re-grind them to a single bevel since that seems to be the better design.

When using them to stab around an object, which side do you put the bevel? Does the bevel go in towards the part, or outboard?

[smart dog]

Hi KLMoors,
Generally, I want the flat side against my object to be inletted when tracing the outline around the object but facing out when actually stabbing in the border and slicing off wood.  However, in tracing, I sometimes find that I can get into a tight corner by placing the bevel flat against the object, which then causes the shaft and handle to be angled outward a little clearing the object to be inlet that is sitting on the surface of the wood.  This also lets me easily peer over the chisel to see where my cut is being made in a tight corner. Keep in mind that my technique is to lightly trace the object on the wood with a sharp knife or skew chisel and then stab into that outline to make the inlet.

dave

[Chris Treichel]

I posted the video because it gave me some really great thoughts about how to cut out delicate, fiddly little parts for inletting... by backing them with metal...not the inlay process itself.  Even taking a jewlers saw to something as brittle as thin bone or mother of pearl can be frustrating. The inlay work itself is another art. 

[KLMoors]

Ahh,  got it Chris. Bummer. That would be some marathon inletting work!

Dave, thanks for the description. That's kind of what I was thinking. I'm going to try to grind a couple tonight. I like the idea of the tool compressing the wood outboard of the inlet, and then dampening the wood to get it to swell back towards the part. My most common problem is chips or splits along the edges while I take the part in and out while fitting it.

Thanks!