# New Multilayer inlay project



## Mickeyfolse (Feb 1, 2019)

Currently working on an LSU Tiger eye multilayer inlay. They eye is 19” across and 12” high.

Backboard is walnut. Inlay is purpleheart, yellowheart, and maple. 

These first pics are the paper copies of the template. Many hours and careful measuring went into this. 











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## Mickeyfolse (Feb 1, 2019)

Next, the paper was transferred to four wooden cards... done on 1/2” blondewood using a scroll saw.











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## Mickeyfolse (Feb 1, 2019)

A test run on some old plywood... with a little color added to help see better.













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## Mickeyfolse (Feb 1, 2019)

And now a few images as it currently stands.... I usually don’t like showing these cause they always look crappy midway through. But that’s okay in this case.











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## Mickeyfolse (Feb 1, 2019)

I do have a question regarding finishing however. Usually i just use tung or danish oil on my inlays. 

I am considering applying a light coat of finishing wax today. And i will then add finishing wax to the inlay pieces before inserting them. The idea here is to help with cleaning up glue squeezeout.

Will I still be able to add the oil once the project is complete? Will the oil mix in with the wax and still look okay? Is there another product that will dissolve the wax before applying the oil? 

Or should i keep doing what I'm doing and clean the glue carefully as it's squeezed out on each piece?




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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

Great looking project. love that you show how much work goes into a project like this. The dry run in Plywood to save the expensive stuff is a great tip

The original reason I bought a scroll saw was to make router templates. Little did I know I would eventually become addicted to it.


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## Mickeyfolse (Feb 1, 2019)

kp91 said:


> Great looking project. love that you show how much work goes into a project like this. The dry run in Plywood to save the expensive stuff is a great tip
> 
> The original reason I bought a scroll saw was to make router templates. Little did I know I would eventually become addicted to it.




The template will need some minor adjustments. Not enough to make me stop and fix it now though. The shaded in areas in this picture







around a few of the template holes need to be trimmed with the router to make them slightly bigger. This way, the yellow pieces will completely over the purple on the outer edge of the entire design. It’s maybe 1/8” off.




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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

Great looking project, Mickey! I wouldn't use wax. We run into that issue doing binding, purfling, inlay, etc. on guitars and the go-to way to protect surrounding areas is shellac. It won't interfere with much at all finish wise but if you want it off you can easily sand it or use some DNA to remove it entirely.

David


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## Mickeyfolse (Feb 1, 2019)

difalkner said:


> Great looking project, Mickey! I wouldn't use wax. We run into that issue doing binding, purfling, inlay, etc. on guitars and the go-to way to protect surrounding areas is shellac. It won't interfere with much at all finish wise but if you want it off you can easily sand it or use some DNA to remove it entirely.
> 
> David




Thank you! A definitive, confident, and direct answer is what I was hoping for here! 


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## Mickeyfolse (Feb 1, 2019)

More progress.... worked out a couple of minor errors on the template and discovered I did a less than perfect glueing on the one large purple piece in the middle. Fortunately that’s on a “lower layer” and won’t matter.











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## Mickeyfolse (Feb 1, 2019)

Incidentally, this is what I’m aiming to reproduce. I did have to make one small adjustment and use a light colored wood in one location where the original uses purple. I couldn’t figure a way to make that part work out. It’ll become evident where that is once it’s done. 

Otherwise I feel this piece will come out nicely. Good enough for my wall, anyway. Then, once proven to look nice and all the bugs and kinks are worked out, I have a few people willing to pay in the $450 range for one of these. They’re using them as stove covers for outdoor kitchens I believe. I turned down one guy who wanted to use it as a cutting board!  











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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

Any issues with LSU for you doing these? I guess unless you're posting them online for sale then it won't be a big deal, but I was just curious.

David

PS - It's looking great, btw!


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## Mickeyfolse (Feb 1, 2019)

difalkner said:


> Any issues with LSU for you doing these? I guess unless you're posting them online for sale then it won't be a big deal, but I was just curious.
> 
> David
> 
> PS - It's looking great, btw!




Ha! I'm a reactor operator in a nuclear power plant. I consider myself a weekend hacker with mostly average skills, and a few things i do really well. I am no woodworker and I doggone sure don't have a woodworking business. LSU has bigger fish to fry 


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## Mickeyfolse (Feb 1, 2019)

Lil more progress today..












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## Mickeyfolse (Feb 1, 2019)

So... finished except for making a frame and a few finish coats. What would you use to finish this? I don’t want a high gloss. I want a handmade, sort of rustic look to it. Semi gloss at most. One of these pics has mineral spirits applied to both clean and to see if I left glue anywhere. I’m satisfied, so I’m ready to finish once decided what to use.











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## dman2 (Sep 4, 2019)

I love your project! But I wince at how much work it is for you. Since you use templates, I wonder if you considered my previous posts about how I've solved the difficulties of your project -- using a vector graphics program to do all the difficult calculation layouts for you. I use photoshop, but Illustrator or many others will work as well.
See:
How to Make Wood Inlay Templates

Here are a few images to show how complex an inlay might be are fairly simple to make.


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## Mickeyfolse (Feb 1, 2019)

Tbh, i simply eyeballed an outline of about 1/4” around the different pieces and penciled a new outline and used that. I didn’t find it very difficult for a piece like this. For lettering that’d not work... absolute precision is required in that case. 

Then there’s also the task of transferring all of that to wood and having it all overlap properly while not being able to see through the wood. A more precise outline wouldn’t help with that part. 

All that said, I have learned to do what I need to do in Illustrator if even i need that sort of precision. So thank you! That is a great tool! 


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## dman2 (Sep 4, 2019)

difalkner said:


> but if you want it off you can easily sand it or use some DNA to remove it entirely. David


DNA? Doing some genetic engineering? :smile:


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

dman2 said:


> DNA? Doing some genetic engineering? :smile:


LOL! Yup, often, I guess. :wink:

David


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## Mickeyfolse (Feb 1, 2019)

difalkner said:


> LOL! Yup, often, I guess. :wink:
> 
> 
> 
> David




For the record, what I ended up doing with this was forgetting the wax. I put a light coat of danish oil on the backboard, and also to the top sides of the inlay pieces before glueing them in... this was after I decided that danish oil would be the finish of choice anyway.

I don't know that this was the best way of doing it, but it worked nicely in this case. The glue didn't stick to it, as expected. Glue squeeze out wasn't even a huge issue, per se... it just takes up time doing something not enjoyable. I mean, who likes scraping glue squeeze out? Amirite? 




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## Mickeyfolse (Feb 1, 2019)

Here’s a few more pics of the final piece. I really like how it turned out. But since I’ve never built a frame before, I think I’m more proud of the frame cause the niters came out pretty tight. The inlay and splines added a nice touch, imo.











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## senorwanderer (May 18, 2020)

very nice!


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