Need Sage Guidance

[CavSoldier3ACR]

Gentlemen,

I need some guidance on a couple of points:

1.  I would like to wire inlay a pattern on the curved portion of the stock, but the flat wire is straight.  How would I be able to inlay flat wire on curved stock surfaces?  I have tried bending it but that didn't work out very well.

2.  The stock I am carving is very plain with little to no curl.  Would Aqua Fortis be of any value as a stain in this case or would any good maple wood stain work just as well?

Thank you,

LTC Ed Palacios

[David Rase]

Ed,
How wide and how thick is the wire you are wanting to inlay?  Is it sterling silver, brass or German silver.  All these factors play into how malleable you wire is.  I have never had any issues with inletting sterling silver on a curved surface.  The flat wire I use has a thickness any where from .007" to .010" and is no more than 1/16" tall.  The stab in cuts must be perpendicular to the stock surface.  Once I have my pattern stabbed in I start to inlay the wire.  I massage the wire around any curved surfaces while working it in the stabbed in slot.  You will experience some of the wire bending over around the curve.  Using .010" thick wire and a slot about .014"wide allows me to round out any kinks using a blunt pointed hard wood dowel.

Below is a photo of some wire I inlet 2 days ago in my current project.  As you can see, the wire has been inlet into both concave and convex surfaces.
David 




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[CavSoldier3ACR]

David,

The wire is brass and is .008 thick.  It does seem a bit brittle though.  I bought it from Muzzleloaders Supply Company. 

Ed

[David Rase]

You might try and anneal a piece of it and see if it softens up any.
Davd

[Ed Wenger]

What David said....  It helps immensely to anneal silver or brass wire on curved surfaces.  You might find it helpful to "anchor" the wire at one end by wetting the wood, then gently work the wire into the rest of the design.  On really curved shapes, you might have to "anchor" in a couple places.


        Ed

[Mike Brooks]

Well, I grow sage but that doesn't seem to be what you actually want to know about.... I anneal my wire.

Hey Rase, whatcha building? Will we get to see it or is it top secret?

[David Rase]

Well, I grow sage but that doesn't seem to be what you actually want to know about.... I anneal my wire.

Hey Rase, whatcha building? Will we get to see it or is it top secret?

Mike, Since you have been out of commission, my barrel inletting workload has dropped off which has allowed me to do some rifle building work.    I will post an update of the continuing saga of the fantasy Sheetz rifle later today.
David

[jerrywh]

 Everything Dave Race says is true. Since I do mostly European stuff I use finer wire than most the others. I use wire  no thicker the .008 and as thin  as .003. or less. I never anneal it because it collapses to easily when pushing it into the grooves. It is a lot easier to put wire in Walnut than maple but no need for an explanation on that now. A main factor is the groove width. Note that Dave mentioned the groove width. Your stab in tools should be measured and like Dave said they should be about .002 thicker than the wire. The also need to be highly polished to prevent them from pulling out wood in certain spots on tight patterns. If you get your tools right and the grooves cut right the rest depends on your technique. Just before you break over a edge the wire needs to be locked in the groove by putting a small drop of water on the wood and groove at that point. For this I always have a small brush and some water on the bench when doing wire work. Do not be tempted to use glue. It will only make a mess of your whole job.

[Bill Madden]

Ed,
Try peening along the edge that will be exposed with a cross peen hammer. This will elongate the wire along the peened edge causing it to bend away from that edge  creating an arc along the opposite edge . This will enable inlaying the wire over a convex surface like a wrist or comb. However, the peening will also thin the edge being struck which may or not be desired. You will also have to dress that edge to remove the litttle humps formed by the hammering.
Bill

[CavSoldier3ACR]

Gentlemen,

Any suggestions with respect to the use of Aqua Fortis on a plain stock?

Ed Palacios

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Ferric nitrate is the stain to use on all maple.  I have found no other stain that gives the depth, permanency or wearability.  Burnish the wood over the silver/brass wire to brighten it, and it will not effect the stain...can't do that with anything but ferric nitrate.  Aqua forts (AF) is simply nitric acid...  ferric nitrate is a solution of nitric and iron.

[Mike_StL]

We are all telling you to annual the brass, but we haven't said how that is done. We just expect you to know.

To annual brass, heat the piece with a torch until the reflected flame is orange.  Let the brass cool.  Take care not to over heat the brass since you have thin material.

[CavSoldier3ACR]

Thank you for the guidance Gents.

Ed

[elkhorne]

Taylor,
When you refer to ferric nitrate, are you making your own out of 10% nitric acid and iron or steel or are you using the ferric nitrate crystals that are now available and one can add water or I have even heard a few adding denatured alcohol? Please help us out as I just got some of the crystals and I can not order the acid as Granger will not ship it to a rural address as they say one might be using it for some lefarious purpose? Stupidity reins in this day and age! Thanks.
elkhorne