Feather Inlay Trivet

Instructions

If you have questions or comments about this project, please leave them in this thread: https://community.shapertools.com/t/multi-part-tapered-inlay-knowledge-thread/15054/6 The thread has a ton of detail about tapered-bit inlays. The project has three PDF files. One has the instructions (same as what you are reading now). Second is a worksheet that has the project settings and sizes. It’s a good idea to print that. Third is a map for the male inlay parts. Print that. REQUIREMENTS You’ll need a specific tapered bit (about $20): Jerray 5.26 degree bit: https://www.amazon.com/Carving-flutes-Tapered-tungsten-Carbide/dp/B01EMH3846 The bit uses a 1/4 inch collet. Some of the project settings depend on the geometry of the bit you use. If the bit you use is even a little different than the Jerray bit, the project settings need to be adjusted. If you can’t find the Jerray bit, leave a comment on the Shaper community thread linked above and I’ll help you change the project settings to suit your specific bit. A tapered bit inlay isn’t hard and doesn’t require any special manual dexterity. But you’ve got to be able to level the Workstation shelf front-to-back. And you’ve got to be able to make an accurate manual Z touch with the tapered router bit. The extended Workstation shelf kit has a leg that makes it easy to level the shelf front-to-back. Highly recommended. If your WS shelf is not level front to back, your depth of cut will vary, and therefore (since you are using a tapered bit) your cut width will vary. That will probably mean a poor fitting inlay. So leveling the shelf is mandatory. I struggled with manual Z touch until I made this gadget: https://hub.shapertools.com/creators/5fb124fb8009d8000f0ca018/shares/689b59d55ecb5867423e1ba4 My Z touch gadget might look like overkill, but I’ve used it dozens of times and it just works. I’m not saying others need the gadget, but if your Z touch is off, your depth of cut will be off, and (because of the tapered bit) your width of cut will be off. Accurate Z touch is mandatory. TEMPLATES Most of the male files have a "template" file and a "taper" file. The taper files are used later to cut the actual inlay parts, but we will start with the 7 template files. Mount 1/8th plywood on a WS shelf. Import and lay out the template files on the ply. Leave at least 1/8th inch between the files. The files are depth encoded. Use the tapered inlay bit for the online cuts (depth .05 inches) and inside cuts (depth .127 inches). Switch to a straight bit for the outside cuts (depth .127 inches). Use a bit size of .0289 inches for rthe tapered bit. Yes, its a weird bit diameter, but don't change it. Clean up the edges a little with sandpaper if needed (doesn’t have to be perfect). Note that there is no template for the quill. SELECT THE INLAY MATERIAL This is where the real fun starts. To get the “quilted” look on the feather you’ll need 5 different types of wood. Four of them will be for the colorful parts of the feather and one (presumably a dark wood) will be for the quill. But it’s your project, and selecting the wood is where you can exercise your creativity. You can use any thickness 1/8th inch or more. (Can’t be thinner than 1/8th). If your inlay material is under 3/16ths, you will need to glue it to an MDF backer board before you make the male parts. The backer board ought to be at least 1/2 inch. You can mix thicknesses of the inlay wood. LOCATE THE MALE PARTS Another opportunity to be creative. Use the templates to locate the male parts on the inlay material. The map for male parts will help you keep oriented. This is a big part of the fun – you pick the color, the grain texture and the grain direction you like for each male part. I think it looks most like a feather if each row of two parts uses the same species of wood, sort of like a bookmatch. But its your project, go wild. Use a sharpie and the template to trace (i) the opening for the part and (ii) the outline of the template (the rectangle). Mark the part with the part number. The part number ought to be marked right on the part itself, not the surrounding wood. That’s because the surrounding wood will be milled away and you don’t want to lose the part number. Don’t worry about ink stains, because the parts will be flipped over to install. There isn’t a template for the quill, but you’ll need a piece of inlay material about 6 inches by 1.5 inches, grain running the long way. When all the male parts are laid out, use a bandsaw (or jigsaw or coping saw) to cut the inlay material to the approximate sizes of the rectangles you marked from the templates. Arrange the male parts on a single piece of MDF. Don’t crowd the pieces. You can avoid rotating the files if the edge of the template rectangles are parallel to the edge of the MDF. Attach the parts to the MDF with double sided tape. Now you have a parts/MDF sandwich. If you earlier glued 1/8th material to MDF, you already have the part/MDF sandwich, so you don’t need to tape that to more MDF. If your inlay material is mixed thicknesses, you need a separate parts/MDF sandwich for each thickness. MILL ALL THE MALE PARTS Attach the parts/MDF sandwich to a WS shelf with double sided tape. Align in WS the normal way, and take extra care to make sure the shelf is level front to back. (Use the leg from the extended WS shelf kit if you can.) If your inlay material is different thickness, do this step in batches, one thickness at a time (so each batch of inlay material and the Workstation top will be coplanar). Scan and grid. You don’t need to probe the edges for your grid, just double click. You probably will not need the grid, but gridding is free and fast, so why take chances? Import and place each “taper” file on the appropriate piece of wood. You can visually align the files to the marks you made when laying out the parts. You might need to change the grid size or turn off snapping to get the placement you want. I know, Origin's camera isn't completely accurate, but its good enough for this purpose. Mount the tapered inlay bit and do a careful and correct Z touch. Make outside cuts using the following exact settings (the settings are on the PDF worksheet): Depth: .15 Offset: 0 Bit Size: .0289 I know its a wierd bit size. The number is calculated for the exact bit and depth of cut. It will probably show on screen as .029, and that's fine, but don't round it more than that. NOTE: The files are depth encoded to make it easy on you. If using autopass or BenchPilot, I like four passes, including a roughing pass. Just trying to be gentle with little parts. Make a second outside cut with .01 offset. Same depth and bit size. You can make the second cut full depth on a single pass, no roughing. Replace the tapered bit with a straight bit. Quarter inch or 5 mm are good choices. Make outside cuts using the following exact settings (inches): Depth: .15 Offset: .0145 THE OFFSET IS CRITICAL. If you don’t offset you’ll wreck the walls you cut with the tapered bit. You are going to use a bandsaw/jigsaw/coping saw to cut the parts/MDF sandwich into separate sandwiches (one for each of the parts). If you need more room for those saw cuts, make another outside cut with greater offset. Remove the parts/MDF sandwich from WS. Keep the parts attached to the MDF, but cut the parts/MDF sandwich to separate each of the individual part/MDF sandwiches. Each separate sandwich should consist of the part itself surrounded by a flat area. Be careful not to cut into the parts themselves. FEMALE RECESSES The trivet is 8 by 8 by ¾. You can vary the thickness. Mount the trivet to WS. Level it (using the wonderful WS extended shelf leg is best). Scan and grid. You MUST grid! Create the grid so the 0,0 point is the left corner farthest from the WS fence. I suggest you mark the 0,0 corner with a pencil. Later in the process you will have to grid again, and you want the same 0,0 corner on the second grid. Import and place the female file. Place the left corner farthest from the WS fence at 0,0. Mount the tapered inlay bit, and do a careful and accurate manual Z-touch. The female file has 8 components: 7 colorful feather parts and one quill. We are going to cut the females for all 7 feather parts, but NOT the quill at this point. Make inside cuts using the following settings (inches): Depth: .12 NOTE: the depth for the females is not the same as for the males. Offset: 0 Bit size: .0418 NOTE: the bit size for the females is not the same as for the males. Again, weird bit diameter but don't change it. The worksheet has these settings. I like four passes including a roughing pass for these inital cuts. Make three more inside cuts, still with the tapered bit, using offsets of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3. These cuts are meant to make sure there is room for a 1/8th bit to pocket out the female recesses. You can cut these in a single pass without roughing. Mount a 1/8th bit and pocket using the following settings: Depth: .12 Offset: .022 THE OFFSET IS CRITICAL! A single pass is fine for the pockets. If you don’t have Bench Pilot, follow up the pocket with an inside cut, same settings (and don’t forget to offset). Remove the trivet from WS. Make sure the recesses are clear. I use a scalpel if needed. Before installing parts, I like to use some sandpaper to get rid of little fuzzies from the edges of the parts and the recesses. Install the 7 male parts. It’s likely you’ll need to do this in three stages, because the backer boards will interfere with the neighboring parts. I use Titebond 2 because the trivet might get wet occasionally. You can clamp these male parts, and moderate pressure is plenty. When the parts for a stage are dry, carefully pry the MDF from the part. Sand the parts flush. I normally use a drum sander but for this project I tried a ROS, and that works fine too. You just need level, not smooth. Repeat until all 7 feather parts are installed, dried and sanded flush. Mount the trivet back into WS. Grid again (use the same 0,0 corner as the first grid). Place the female file again in the same orientation. Cut the recess for the quill using the tapered bit and the following settings (inside cut): Depth: .12 Offset: 0 Bit Size: .0418 Four passes including a roughing pass. Make a second inside cut with the tapered bit, offset .01 inches. The quill is pretty narrow and will not fit a 1/8th bit to clear the recess. You can clear it with the tapered bit or a 1/16ths straight bit. If you use any straight bit, you MUST use an offset of .022 inches, or you will wreck the tapered walls. If you use a tapered bit to clear the recess you may need to do some clean-up on the recess. I use a scalpel. Remove the trivet from WS and install the quill. Since the quill will be installed over previous inlay parts, use care that you don’t crush the previous parts. Moderate hand pressure should be plenty to seat the quill without clamping. When dry, remove the MDF backer for the quill and you are ready for final smooth sanding and finishing. I finished mine with Howard’s Butcher Block Conditioner. Easy to find in most hardware stores. This guy sells nice silicone cutting board feet if you want to add those: https://cuttingboardfeet.com/ Hope you have fun with this. Post pics on the forum, please!