How to make a tiger eye inlay

4393 Views 19 Replies 11 Participants Last post by BCR, Aug 27, 2019

Mickeyfolse

Discussion Starter · Apr 30, 2019

Hey y’all it’s been a while. But i just finished a project i been working on a little at a time for over a month now. Finally fruits of the labor! It’s not perfect but I’m pleased with the results. only because i made the stencil. Had i purchased it (and there’s no place to purchase one) I’d have issues with it. But it’s mine. And I’m fairly proud of it. It gives me some things to improve on and to be more careful of next time as well. I learn from every piece i do.

I’m thinking this piece will end up serving as the lid of a keepsake box for a friend of mine who had a son playing for LSU and was killed late last year.

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Mickeyfolse

Discussion Starter · #2 · Apr 30, 2019

In case it isn’t obvious, the woods are purpleheart and yellowheart

. Not sure how the pictures will show up.

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RainMan 2.0

· #3 · Apr 30, 2019

That’s very nice , I’m always impressed by inlays

Mickeyfolse

Discussion Starter · #4 · May 1, 2019

RainMan 2.0 said:
That’s very nice , I’m always impressed by inlays

Thank you! Compliments from this crowd are always felt deepest. There are things i wish I’d done differently.... but at least i have the stencil and can do those different things on the next try!

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JOAT

· #5 · May 1, 2019

Nice work. And always nice to make something yourself, that way you get what you want, not what someone else thinks you want. But totally missing a tiger eye.

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Gene Howe

· #6 · May 1, 2019

Great job on an interesting design. My templates are purchased. I'd like to try making my own. Sure would open up some possibilities. Yours look very professional.

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Mickeyfolse

Discussion Starter · #7 · May 1, 2019

JOAT said:
Nice work. And always nice to make something yourself, that way you get what you want, not what someone else thinks you want. But totally missing a tiger eye.

It’s supposed to be a replica of this...

There are several versions out there each with subtle differences. I can’t say for sure this is the exact one i tried copying. Mine is far from perfect but i have full confidence an LSU fan would instantly recognize it!

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Mickeyfolse

Discussion Starter · #8 · May 1, 2019

Gene Howe said:
Great job on an interesting design. My templates are purchased. I'd like to try making my own. Sure would open up some possibilities. Yours look very professional.

Far from professional but i appreciate the kind words. I’ve been doing this less than a year and am still learning. If i had a laser cutter I’d be knocking it out the park! Lol

This one you’re seeing is only 4” tall. It’d be easier and likely look cleaner had i done it bigger. But i had no real use for a bigger one. Not yet anyway.

All you need is a compass opened to whatever the offset of your inlay kit has. Then trace around the design. Unfortunately the little donut is approx .5” so it can only fit into relatively large spaces. That’s why the design is broken into so many pieces.

Once all traced out, it’s a simple matter of transferring your design to wood all referenced from the corner of the stencil card. You might be able to see the numbering and the arrows written on the stencil cards shown.

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DesertRatTom

· #9 · May 1, 2019

You're right, that would make a great lid for a box. It took me awhile to figure out the tiger eye thing, but then, I live out west.

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Mickeyfolse

Discussion Starter · #10 · May 1, 2019

Probably at this size, freehanding it would look a little nicer. The wood grains wouldn't collide as much as they do here. Some pieces would have looked better if they could have been combined into one.

When i do this design again, I'll probably chisel out the corners of the recesses rather than sand down the sharp corners of the inlay pieces.

It probably took longer to break this thing into "chunks" and draw it out than it did to complete the whole inlay.

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MEBCWD

· #11 · May 1, 2019

Nice tight inlays. Did you use an inlay collar set to do the inlays?

JOAT

· #12 · May 1, 2019

Mickeyfolse said:
It’s supposed to be a replica of this...

Well, I'm still not sure of a tiger eye, but you did a good job of duplication, and it does look like an eye of something now. And you'll just keep getting better and better. I think the only thing I would have done different than you would have been to make one or two out of cheap wood first.

Mickeyfolse

Discussion Starter · #13 · May 1, 2019

MEBCWD said:
Nice tight inlays. Did you use an inlay collar set to do the inlays?

Yes i did. That's why it had to be broken into so many different pieces.

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Mickeyfolse

Discussion Starter · #14 · May 1, 2019

JOAT said:
Mickeyfolse said:

It’s supposed to be a replica of this...

Well, I'm still not sure of a tiger eye, but you did a good job of duplication, and it does look like an eye of something now. And you'll just keep getting better and better. I think the only thing I would have done different than you would have been to make one or two out of cheap wood first.

Click to expand...

I did a test of sorts on an old scrap wood. I only routed out the recesses and it looked, well... like it looks lol. With the inlay kit i figured the inlays would fit near perfectly by default.

I do plan to do one freehand one of these days to compare. I think it'll look nicer in some ways, but obviously there will be a few more visible gaps. It'll be a matter of how well i can hide them.

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marecat3

· #15 · May 1, 2019

look very nice love the wood

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ScottyDBQ

· #16 · May 1, 2019

Lots of work in making those patterns and in making very tight inlays - super job and great looking result.

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Mickeyfolse

Discussion Starter · #17 · May 1, 2019

Thanks Scotty! The tight inlays are a function of using an inlay kit. It's almost guaranteed to fit tight except for sharp points. I could have chiseled them out, but i chose to sand the inlay pieces instead. The most time spent was on making the patterns and being as precise as possible in laying them out on the stencil cards.

This would have looked nicer if done freehand, but I'd lose repeatability. I may also try one using a metallic gold epoxy instead of yellowheart. But I'll definitely freehand the recesses for that one.

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harrysin

· #18 · Jun 14, 2019

Really nice Mickey but would have been so much better if you had taken progress shots showing the making so that other members wouldn't have to "re-invent the wheel".

twmv86

· #19 · Jun 14, 2019

3

this might be harder to inlay without slicing.:surprise: ive had this 7 lb chunk of tiger eye for years. i dabbled with rocks awhile with my grandad. ive been thinking of taking translucent slabs i cut years ago and inlaying them in a table top and illuminating them from underneath

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BCR

· #20 · Aug 27, 2019

Mickeyfolse said:
Probably at this size, freehanding it would look a little nicer. The wood grains wouldn't collide as much as they do here.

Completely agree. I am actually good with inlays. Not only freehand, but using veneers would have come out with exact detail, as needed. Using a Dremel to cut lines smaller than 1/8 and trim router (again freehand) for anything larger than 1/8"
That's how I would have done it. Will have to post some work sometime. Granted have not done an inlay in quite some time and it is an art form in itself, with LOTS of patience needed.
But yes, nice tight grain. :smile:

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