inlaying tools?

[W. Wells]

I would like to know where I can buy some inlaying tools. Every where I look they say to make your own. I don't have access to metal working. Is there some where or one that makes these tools?

[Bill Leonhardt]

This is a hard question to answer because inlaying means different things to different people. That said, here are some comments:

If you are thinking of applying a bit of marquetry to a project, then you would cut the thin veneers with either an X-acto knife (#11 blade) or a fret saw (like a jewlers or coping saw with a deeper throat and very, very thin blades). Straight cuts on veneers can also be made with a veneer saw. All these tools are very inexpensive and are available from:

(I am so sad they left the Bronx)

If you want to cut into a surface to "let-in" another piece of wood, then there are a couple of approaches. You could make a frame to contain the travel of an electric router or use a pattern and the router with a bushing. You can also remove material with a manual router (hard to find) or sharp bench chisels. I sometimes use an X-acto knife with the chisel blade that works very well on small areas.

Some years ago, I was reworking a banquet table (i.e. a piece of 3/4 plywood with steel legs that gets covered with a table cloth) and tried an experiment. I made a two piece marquetry assembly (a siloutte of a lion) which I cut with a X-acto knife. I then made a diamond shaped frame out of 1 by 2s and clamped it to the new plywood tabletop. I routed out a recess (inside the frame) to contain my marquetry assembly and then glued it in place. Worked fine. I can send you a picture or two if you like. Email me at: bill-at-leonhardts-dot-com.

If you have any other, more specific questions, I'll try to answer them.

Gook luck,

Bill Leonhardt

[Andy Dingley]

The Zachary Taylor "Inlaying" book has some good descriptions of making them.

You have a kitchen stove and enough workbench space for a clamp on vice? That's all you need. Taking small bits of tool steel and hand-grinding them is enough - even just masonry nails. You can heat treat on a stove.

Most of them though are just woodworking / woodcarving tools in the smaller sizes.

You might also find a gunsmith supplier like Brownell's to be useful - that's were my checkering tools came from.