Schedule a Meeting · Talk to a real woodworker: +1 937-890-5197 · 8:00AM – 4:30PM ET

Sanding smooth inlay

bainin

hey guys - I've worked myself into a corner maybe :_)

I'm putting some walnut inlay into a board which happens to be a veneered plywood.

The inlays stick up proud of the surface and I want to have them flat with the veneer surface.

I'm concerned that if I go to sanding I will accidently remove the veneer.

besides going slow sanding, any other ideas ? Perhaps I could double stick tape them all to a board and run them thru the planer to thin them more?

You can see in the photo I managed to make the inlay flat with the veneer surface in the other direction (across the image) but this was done with

the box planer...and the board is too wide to send thru the planer in this new direction .

The inlays aren't attached yet to the board- they are flimsy - about 1/8" square.

I do have a hand held electric planer- perhaps that would be better than sanding?

I'm mostly interested in not damaging the ply veneer.

reible

What about making a narrow version of the top for doing say a half dozen at a time then run that through your planner. No damage to the real piece and it should be too much work to make??

Ed

br549

If the strips aren't glued in yet, could you cut (or route) the grooves deeper?

With or without deeper grooves, after strips are glued in a combination of small block plane, scraper, and sanding would be my choice.

For the scraper, something with a convex edge to lessen the chance of gouging the plywood veneer.

bainin

Can i rotate the board to some angle such that it fits thru the box planer? ...like this poor drawing tries to show?

DLB

What are the dimensions? Have you calculated that angle? Are the inlays already glued? (If not I liked reible's idea.)

Drum sander - but that's not a typical home shop tool. Maybe a conical disc would work, but dimensions come into it.

I think a router would work.(?) Cut them very slightly proud and then RO sand them to final. The PowerPro could do this as an overhead router depending on the dimensions. Or if you have an overhead/overarm router that's probably better and would support larger dimensions. For a handheld I liked this jig Nick presents, he calls it a 'router plane' but that terminology was already taken, so maybe it is in jest. You could do a simpler mod to a router plate, the main advantage to his is near the edges of the workpiece.

- David

bainin

Thanks everyone - I'm gonna go stare at it and then try something :)

b

bainin

I think the overhead router is the one that will work best for this. Looking at my router table, hand router, hand planer etc all left me thinking that the tool shouldnt be resting on the inlay surface itself-as this becomes a questionable surface as the cutting begins.

The cutting head distance above the baord needs to be registered to backside of the board, rather than the front side. The backside of the board wont be changed-so provides a solid reference.

I still think that if I shave these down close enough and take baby steps- I may be able to feed the board thru the box planer at an angle for final surface.

Someone asked the dimensions of the board - it is 10" by 15" , I think my planer is 13 or 14" wide.

b

edma194

I'd start with a block plane to cut those strips down much closer to the plywood. Then sanding to get close enough to use the planer.

bainin

yea- I dont have many hand tools - including planes 🙂

Here is the result after overhead routing on the SS to reduce the inlay height, then going thru the planer at an angle.

Thanks for the guidance everyone !

edflorence

That came out really nice! I am impressed that there is no damage to the veneer. How did you control the depth of cut while routing?

bainin

For the routing, i left the bit flying about 1/16" above the actual board surface. I used the miter gauge to drive the board past the router bit while following just the inlay step. Once the inlays were all knocked down to about 1/16" above the board surface, I was able to just run through the planer in very small steps.

edflorence

Thanks for the explanation of how you did it, and glad it worked so well.

JPG

OK! Now what is "it"?

8 x 12 'squares'?

Whatever it is it looks good!!!!

bainin

Aha- I was waiting for someone to take the bait :) It seems almost Karmic that it is the infamous Whatsit maker who couldn't resist...

I'll entertain some guesses ... 8x12 is certainly not for tic-tac-toe !

JPG

IF it were 5 x 15 I would have a 'guess'.

BTW What is there to 'resist'? I admit to being curious.

edma194

Ludus latrunculorum?

bainin

You got it Ed ! Im surprised someone got it ... are you a history buff?

I'm using the Kowalski interpretation and rules.

b

edma194

bainin wrote ... are you a history buff?

Not really, I couldn't remember the name of it and didn't really know that 8x12 grids could be used.

bainin

I'm getting closer now. One thing I havent learned well is the finishing steps. In this case its 2 or 3 coats of polyurethane, but im always wondering

how much sanding between layers is required or if its necessary at all. Between each coat here-I inspected the surface for defects etc and sanded them

a little with 400 grit paper before proceeding to the next coat.

Hobbyman2

JMO,, everyone has their own opinions about finishing, I finish gunstocks , head boards , puzzles for kids , picture frames etc , my best looking finishes seem to come after using 220 grit than going to 1000 grit wet sand paper wet with tong oils / linseed oils etc ,all the way up tp 3000 grit it is the same wet sand paper used for automotive and than, 0000 steel wool dipped in paste wax . each coat should require less sanding between coats ,it will leave a rock hard finish once it fully cures out . if you are using spray on poly then a good light sanding with steel wool between one and two coats should be good , steel wool in between will take out the small scratch marks and the dust particles and the poly should be thick enough to fill in any minor scratches . drying time between sanding and poly coats will be important . my .02