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I am sure that it can be done, and I am sure that the answer is out there, but after watching far too many youtube videos, I’m going to ask; how do I do inlays?
I want to be clear; I understand the inlay ap. The trouble with that is that the ap is really designed for larger objects. I need to do text that will be too small to insert each letter one at a time.
I took a stab at doing inlay by doing the negative carve by choosing 'carve on outside", and then the positive carve by flipping the image, and carving “carve on the inside”. However, this first attempt was a failure with a lot of misalignment and gaps.
Can someone point me to some tutorial videos where I can learn the proper way to inlay?
I appreciate all of the help thus far. This learning curve has been steep, and it’s been a long journey. You all have made it much less lonely.
The problem with inexpensive cnc is flex and repeatability. I don’t do much with inlay but if I wanted to do one, I’d make the inlay material the size I wanted and cut the material to put the inlay in a bit larger. Then I’d fill any gap with a black epoxy or similar. I use Rhino3d and that software has an offset line command, and you can enter whatever number you like, and it’ll draw a line offset inside or outside the original line that amount. Then by cutting on the line, the end result should fit with a bit of a gap between the parts.
You might try using a1/32" bit and cut outside the line, and clear out a pocket? That could produce a fit to 1/64"…
I’m yet to try Easel’s inlay abilities as I don’t have a pro license.
I’ve had limited success using freeware: F-Engrave to create the pathways based on DXF files I made with Inkscape.
60deg bits are probably the best place to start, less sensitive than 30 degrees (or less) and better detail than 90 degrees bits.
I’ve read and watched A LOT of tutorials etc. and the best advice so far may have been ‘vcarve inlays are advanced woodworking, so expect steep learning curves and difficulties’,
Patience, testing and note-keeping is what is starting to work for me.
When I get some time soon, I am super-keen to activate a Pro Carving Day and test Easel’s vcarving function.
I’ll try to report back here when I do.
Carbide Create V6 free also makes what seem to be good vcarve toolpaths. V7 does not export gcode from the free version.
Martin, I’m trying to do wood inlays because I’m trying to get away from epoxy. Too much drying time.
videos all over the internet of people successfully doing it (inlays), but not much instruction. one more learning curve to get through. All part of the journey I guess
This doesn’t work on detailed designs because of the endmill’s radius.
What’s your design look like? For detailed inlays, you really want to use a v-carved inlay, or prismatic inlay.
thanks for the videos. I watched them, and these types of projects are EXACTLLY what I’m trying to learn how to do. Trouble with the videos is that they are 90% cutting, which I can do already, and <10% of software, and the software parts are sped up way too fast to learn anything from, and he is not working in Easel. I do not currently know how to use other software programs (CAD, v-carve, etc…), hell, I am struggling to learn Easel (mainly because everything that I do ends up having errors, and so I spend a lot of time figuring out on my own what went wrong - whether operator error, or a ghost in the machine).
I’d LOVE to find some videos that do projects like these - using Easel - where the author discusses HOW to set it up in the software. Heck, at this point I’m willing to take live classes if I could find one. I feel like I’m lost in the forest.
I know the feeling Joe, you’ve nailed exactly where I also think the state of affairs are.
I’ve been banging my head against this problem (of mine) for at least a year and I’m still only making test pieces. I’m still not game to attempt a proper piece.
I’m feeling much better about it than say three or four months ago. Very frustrated, and yep, lost.
Unfortunately there isn’t a singular thing I can tell you that’s made a big difference.
Most recently, a small improvement was had by giving up on being honest with the software. Even in those vids he “tricks Vectric” about the depths. I lied to it about the angle of the bit, instead of 15.6 deg, I said it was 19 deg.
BTW, using a less ‘steep’ bit like 60 deg would be my advice. I’m using “19” for that deep inlay strength.
So for me no one thing has made a big difference, just inched me closer to where I want to be: highly detailed, strong inlays.
This forum and others have also helped me find improvements. In one of them someone’s advice for these same issues was to ‘not sweat the process too much as it is really advanced and complex woodworking’.
And nobody has ever just suddenly been able to do advanced woodworking haha. Especially when there isn’t a textbook or professional teacher to instruct them.
This shows the 1.15mm difference in height between the actual tip of my 15.66 deg, 0.25mm ball-nose tapered bit, and where software thinks the tip would be.
By lying and saying the angle is 19 deg, the bit is not plunged in as far.
My main issue has been the pockets being too big/wide and the inlay being too small/narrow, caused by setting Z-Zero at the surface of the piece.
I lie about that too and actually set Z-Zero 1mm above the surface.
These two hacks helped close the little gaps around the inlays.
I’ve been pondering/exploring this option myself. I don’t know if the problem is limitations in Easel, or the limited collective experience with Easel vs. other software programs out there.
my problem has been the exact same as you describe above (pocket too big, inlay too small),
here is what ‘should be’ a simple, if not so simple as to border ‘stupid’ question; when designing an inlay, am I correct that I select ‘inside the line’ for the pocket, and ‘outside the line’ for the inlay?
that is what I had been doing with poor results. But in fairness, I have not done much work on inlays as my time has been pulled in a million other directions building out the shop. But I am about to jump back in heavily to learning inlays - before I try to learn 3-d carving.
This might have been my first proper piece. However I’m happy to say it’s failure was purely due to my own mistakes. Twice I forgot to apply my stupid hack of setting Z 1mm high. TWICE lol. I tried to compensate by adjusting the inlay"s depth, but by too much of course as the inlay was slightly too big. Which led to me clamping it too hard and splitting the piece at the dog’s nose. Maybe next time sigh.
and actually set Z-Zero 1mm above the surface.