Re: Inlays in Hardwood floors

[Lyle B. Harwood]

? 1 - the flooring is tongue & groove how deep should I route the actual ? cavity (for lack of a better word) for where symbol will sit? Should it go ? all the way thru? Is there a good rule of thumb?

No need to go deeper than the top of the tongue & groove- that's the limit to the life of the floor.

If I were to do this, I would use Ebony and Bloodwood or Rosewood.

I wouldn't stain it. Chosen carefully, those woods will be pretty close to the colors you want.

Best of luck, and let us know how it comes out!

[Dave Plumpe]

Rob- I went down 3/16" for my sailboat inlay - that is plenty for lots of floor refinishings, but stays above the nails/staples. See my web page.

-Dave

[MaxEN]

The thing is if you do that after the floor is laid, then you can not make any mistake, you got to be very careful when you rouding the floor for your shapes. However if you carve individual woods first and it happen to make a Ooops, you can use another pice of wood. Unless your shapes suppose to be more thatn 2 inches width.

I would go with Ebony for sure. Maxen

[Charlie Self]

Depends on the flooring width, and also depends on how neat you can be assembling these pre-cut pieces.

But I do know a guy who does some inlays in floors, and he flat out states that the only time it bothers him is when he starts to make the first cut in the pristine, just laid floor. He has to wait until his stomach stops twitching.

Charlie Self "Men stumble over the truth from time to time, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened." Sir Winston Churchill

[Robert Galloway]

He said they'd be 12 x 12. Otherwise, you're right. A lot safer to do in the boards before they're laid.

rhg

MaxEN wrote:

[Andy Dingley]

Don't inlay a floor.

Inlay a plate, then inlay the plate into the floor. It's easier to work and you can stop worrying about the depth of the T&G.