Posted by Steve | Posted in Carving Tools and Techniques | Posted on 13-03-2010
Tags: wood carving with dremel, wood carving with dremel tool
What kind of materials work well for inlays on a curved wooden surface?
I’m just now beginning to experiment with inlays onto/into wood.
I’m still a bit clueless as to the process. Does this make sense: carve out my design with a dremel tool; use a colored epoxy clay, perhaps add some kind of texture agent (saw dust, perhaps a complementary color of craft store sand.). Place epoxy in the groove, sand and finish.
I’m doing this on various woods that are all roughly conical (I’m actually making a version of the didgeridoo!).
I feel as if I’m missing something — that it could look much cooler if I did something different.
AM I missing something? ANY wisdom on inlaying to wood would be appreciated!!
Thanks!
You might want to check out using polymer clay as your inlays in the curved wood surfaces. (Polymer clay comes in various brands and lines, most of which come in premixed colors but some are only one color).
It can be inlaid as *prebaked* chips or bits of small sheets, or it can be inlaid while it’s *raw* then cured right in the wood with a heat gun if it’s too big to go into the oven,etc (held a certain distance away, for 10 min or so depending on the thickness of the clay). Polymer clay doesn’t shrink appreciably like many other clays will, unless it’s in large thin sheets, and it can be colored endlessly, shaped easily, and have all kinds of patterns created in it or metallic effects put on its surface, etc., etc.
Here are some examples of polymer clay being used in wood objects with depressions:
Cynthia Tinapple’s bowls and drum with inlays
http://www.tinapple.com/oldsite/cynthia/bowl2000.html (several bowls, one with Balinese Filigree clay pattern)
http://www.tinapple.com/oldsite/cynthia/bowl399/index.html (+ lesson)
http://tinapple.com/cynthia/?p=16 (with inlay of “dot slice” from clay gun)
http://www.tinapple.com/oldsite/cynthia/djembe.html (drum)
…Cynthia’s stairs with inlaid raw polymer along the edge (short, border, “railing”)… cured with heat gun
http://www.tinapple.com/cynthia/stairs.html
….Cynthia put a strip of textured clay on her DH’s 4′ tall poplar chest, between drawers (also added clay handles)
http://www.tinapple.com/oldsite/cynthia/poplarplinth.html
Bonnie Bishoff’s disks of patterned baked clay into the top of a wooden stool … and a wood chair back
http://www.guild.com/artitem/28168.html and http://www.guild.com/artitem/28170.html
If you want more info about polymer clay, or about using it as inlays or even as whole veneers, check out my site (this is the Table of Contents page):
http://glassattic.com/polymer/contents.htm
……and check out these pages in particular for this use:
–Inlays
–Covering > Veneers
—–and Covering > Wood if you want to put the wood and raw clay in the oven together
–Glues
–Fauxs-Turq.&Wood > Wood > Parquet (if you want to actually create the inlays from faux wood made with polymer clay, as well)
HTH, and have fun!
Diane B.
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