String and Fan inlay Made Simple

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Strig ad Fa ilay Made Simple Pre-made parts let you focus o the fu. By Gle Jewell with Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk www.woodcraftmagazie.com straightforward ad easy to master.

To do this trick yourself, you eed oly a few basic tools ad the ilay material.

implies arrower lies ad badig refers to wider ad more itricate desigs. bits.

1 Strig ad Fa ilay Made Simple Pre-made parts let you focus o the fu. By Gle Jewell with Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk straightforward ad easy to master. Like a clever magic trick, ilay looks harder to do tha it really is. Broke dow to the basic steps, it s othig more tha cuttig a recess to fit some stock. To do this trick yourself, you eed oly a few basic tools ad the ilay material. At some poit you may wat to try your had at makig your ow bads ad sad-shaded fas, but a time-savig (ad historically accurate) optio is to purchase the materials from a eboist, a veeer ad ilay specialist. The biggest advatage to usig pre-made lies is that they are roughly thickessed to fit stadard Strigig ad badig are sometimes used iterchageably, but techically, strigig implies arrower lies ad badig refers to wider ad more itricate desigs. bits. After your first attempt, you ca choose to expad your ilay skills, or stick with the strip ad bit trick ad employ it i ay umber of decorative projects, from tables to boxes to picture frames. Note: For tools ad supplies metioed i this story see the Coveiece-Plus Buyig Guide o page 64. woodcraft magazie 61 PHotoS: K.d. Lett F or ceturies, furituremakers have employed moldigs ad ilays ot oly to delight ad direct the eye, but also to commad a higher price for their work. The strigig ad ilays that I used o the top of the cadlestick table o page 54 were very popular durig the Federal period, but the techique is timeless. The combiatio of sophisticatio ad simplicity makes ilay just as effective ad iterestig today as it was 200 years ago. Most of us do t realize perhaps because those Coloial cabietmakers ever wated their cliets to figure it out that the basic ilay process is

A B C Use a light pecil lie about 3 /8" i from the edge moldig fillet to mark where the strigig will tur aroud the edge of the top.

Create the slot Before startig, ispect your tabletop. The surface should be flat ad smooth. Too much scrapig or sadig after the ilay s istalled could mar or pull out the thi decoratio.

To cut the arrow ilay chael, had-tool ethusiasts might wat to go the traditioal route ad use the corer of a cabiet scraper or special cuttig tool.

2 A B C Use a light pecil lie about 3 /8" i from the edge moldig fillet to mark where the strigig will tur aroud the edge of the top. Groove the top usig a Dremel-type tool with a router base ad edge guide. Chisel out the corers of the groove ad clea out ay packed-i chips usig a small chisel or pick. Create the slot Before startig, ispect your tabletop. The surface should be flat ad smooth. Too much scrapig or sadig after the ilay s istalled could mar or pull out the thi decoratio. Followig a light fiishsadig, use a pecil ad straightedge to mark where the strigig will chage directio as show i Photo A. To cut the arrow ilay chael, had-tool ethusiasts might wat to go the traditioal route ad use the corer of a cabiet scraper or special cuttig tool. However, for speed ad coveiece, I recommed usig a Dremel or similar rotary carvig tool with a edge guide ad a ed mill. The disadvatage to usig a plug-i tool is that you ca make a irreparable mistake i a istat, but cosiderig that oe router pass does the work of a doze or more passes with a scratch stock, I thik the beefit outweighs the risk. Here, we ll cut a 3 /64" wide groove to accommodate the 1 /20" strigig, which measures a hair wider. The depth of cut depeds o your material, but I try to adjust the height of the bit so that the istalled ilay sits about 1 /32" proud of the surface. This height miimizes the amout of time required to scrape ad sad flush, ad reduces the risk of splittig or pullig out the ilay. Oce you ve set your bit ad made a test cut i scrap, you re ready to rout. Holdig the edge guide firmly agaist the edge of your workpiece, rout from right to left as show i Photo B. Stop routig at your peciled corer lies. Fiish the groove ad clea out the packed-i chips by had as show i Photo C. To do this, you ca use a #11 blade ad a hobby kife or make your ow custom clea-up tools. tip alert A light touch o the gridig wheel ca trasform a used detal tool or small eyeglass screwdriver ito a hady miiature chisel. Test-Fit the strigig At this poit, the 1 /20"-thick strigig should be a little too thick to fit the groove. So far so good. The best-fittig lies require some fie-tuig ad test fittig. The first step is to taper the thickess of the strigig so that it fits the groove. To do this, first lightly bevel the strigig o oe side as show i Photo D. The exact agle is t critical; I simply rest the back ed of my block plae o my bech, skewed about 25 to the strigig, ad make a few light passes over it to create the taper. To miter the strigig eds, all you eed are two simple jigs ad a sharp chisel. Startig with a log strip, use a 60 ramp to cut the miter o oe ed (Photo E). Now fit the strip ito the groove ad cut the miter o the opposite ed. I time, you ll be able to do this by eye, but startig out you might wat to mark out the miter agle o a wedge, as show i Photo F. Focus o cuttig the strigig perfectly perpedicular so that the joit is tight from top to bottom. You do t wat the joit to ope up whe levelig the ilay with the top. Cut the strigig exactly at the layout lie so that the eds squeeze together whe pressed i place. Oce cut ad fit, leave the strigig halfway i to help positio the fas. Fit the fas The pre-made fas come with the outside face covered i veeer tape ad surrouded i a piece of veeer to protect the delicate edges durig shippig. This meas that you ll eed to cut them free before positioig them o your workpiece. The oly trick here is to take your time. Usig a hobby kife with a fresh #11 blade, lightly score the perimeter of the fa to avoid catchig the grai, as show i Photo G. Gradually add pressure with each successive pass, util you cut through 62 w o o d c r a f t m a g a z i e F e b / M a r

E F Trim the opposite ed of the strigig i place. The aotated 5º wedge protects the top ad provides a hady miter guide.

Clea up the edge with a sadig block. Keep the edges square for a seamless fit.

First, register the edges of the fa tightly agaist the istalled strigig.

Holdig the fa i place with oe had, veeer tape facig up, carefully score the outlie of the fa s radius i the top.

After scribig the fa s outlie, chisel out a shallow trech o the fa side of your lie as show i Photo H.

Now you re ready to rout. Use the ilay to set the bit depth so the ilay is G Free the fas from the backer veeer with a hobby kife.

com H Chisel a shallow groove to defed the scribed lie agaist accidetal bit or blade cotact. just flush with the groud.

3 E F Trim the opposite ed of the strigig i place. The aotated 5º wedge protects the top ad provides a hady miter guide. Plae a slight bevel i the edge of the strigig for a cork-tight fit. Guide the chisel with a 60º ramp to make precise miter cuts. the veeer ad paper. Clea up the edge with a sadig block. Keep the edges square for a seamless fit. This six-sided top has more corers tha most tables, so you ll get plety of practice, but the ilay process is the same regardless of the corer cout. First, register the edges of the fa tightly agaist the istalled strigig. Sad the straight edges of the ilay so that they fit tightly agaist the strigig. Holdig the fa i place with oe had, veeer tape facig up, carefully score the outlie of the fa s radius i the top. As before, make the cut i several passes so that the blade does ot get caught by the grai. After scribig the fa s outlie, chisel out a shallow trech o the fa side of your lie as show i Photo H. This trech ot oly provides a safe buffer whe routig the recess freehad, but it also reduces ay chace of tear-out alog the good edge. Now you re ready to rout. Use the ilay to set the bit depth so the ilay is G Free the fas from the backer veeer with a hobby kife. Use a sadig block to square the edges. H Chisel a shallow groove to defed the scribed lie agaist accidetal bit or blade cotact. just flush with the groud. After makig a test cut, remove the strigig ad rout the recess. I cut the recess i two steps. First, I use a Dremel-type tool with a 5/16" flat bottom mortisig bit to hog out most of the waste. To seak up to the lies I switch to a router plae as show i Photo I, but you ca also use a sharp chisel. Temporarily reistall the strigig as you go so the lies do ot get mixed up. tip alert D Label the fas ad their matchig corers as you cut their recesses to make sure that they are t mixed up durig assembly. I Use a router plae to work up to the scribed lie ad adjust the recess depth. Regrid the square tip to a poit to clea out tight corers. w o o d c r a f t m a g a z i e 6 3

J K Clamp the fas i place with custom-cut cauls. Wrap the faces of the blocks with packig tape so they do t stick.

Butt the strigig agaist its matig face ad press it i place, as show i Photo J.

After the glue sets, chisel or plae off the high spots as show i Photo L, If a piece gets stuck durig the ﬁttig process, work

istall the strig ad fas Whe istallig ilay, the trick is to work quickly.

away the excess strigig. Work with the grai to avoid spliterig. the level the ilay with a sadig block or scraper.

Tip alert Tip alert Press the ilay ito the grooves with a burisher or chisel hadle. Be careful ot to split the strigig.

Whe that happes, switch to a scraper. Coveiece- PLUS BUYING GUIDE ITEM 1.

4 J K Clamp the fas i place with custom-cut cauls. Wrap the faces of the blocks with packig tape so they do t stick. impossibly tight. Workig oe side at a time, iject a small bead of yellow glue ito the bottom of the groove. Butt the strigig agaist its matig face ad press it i place, as show i Photo J. Apply pressure gradually util the ilay is evely seated ad the excess glue is squeezed out. Wipe off excess glue with a damp rag. To istall the fas, brush glue ito the recesses, the press ad clamp the fas ito place (Photo K). After the glue sets, chisel or plae off the high spots as show i Photo L, If a piece gets stuck durig the ﬁttig process, work a kife or pick uder oe ed ad lift it out. Pryig it out o a edge could damage the strigig. istall the strig ad fas Whe istallig ilay, the trick is to work quickly. Moisture from the glue will swell the walls of the groove ad the ilay, makig a oce sug fit Usig the chisel bevel dow, pare away the excess strigig. Work with the grai to avoid spliterig. the level the ilay with a sadig block or scraper. Top off your ewly ilaid tabletop with your favorite film fiish. Tip alert Tip alert Press the ilay ito the grooves with a burisher or chisel hadle. Be careful ot to split the strigig. L A sadig block is usually a effective leveler, but i some cases, the dust muddies the bright colors of the ilay. Whe that happes, switch to a scraper. Coveiece- PLUS BUYING GUIDE ITEM 1. Woodriver Glue Syriges, Bag of 5 WOODCRAFT # PRICE $5.99 Above items are available at Woodcraft stores, woodcraft.com or by callig (800) Prices subject to chage without otice available from Drill Techology, (616) : SapFM 3 /64" bit, $ available from Stewart-MacDoald, (800) : #5260 precisio router Base, $52.55; #4032 5/16" router Bit, $ available from Dover Desigs, llc (301) : Cadle Table ilay Kit icludes Six 1" 120 Fas ad Two 1/20 3/32 36" Badig Strips, $29.80 plus shippig ad hadlig. woodcraft magazie Feb/Mar 2009

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In the history of woodworking joinery,

In the history of woodworking joinery, joiery made simple Box-Joit Basics Create Simple, Strog, ad Hadsome Corers By Craig Betzley I the history of woodworkig joiery, box joits (sometimes called figer joits) are a fairly recet arrival. That