cowfoot
Established Member
I couldn't find much information or reviews before taking the plunge and buying these tools, so here we go...
No idea how to get photos the right way round, but click for full size and all will be revealed!
Up top is the String Inlay Scraper, with the Inlay tool on the left and the Compass centre (with pencil holder) on the right.
I've never done any of this type of work before, but as usual the Veritas instructions are easy enough to put into action.
First, set the Scraper to the width of inlay required - no fiddling about required, just pop the groove blade (which we'll meet again later) underneath and tighten up.
I then cut a strip of veneer (roughly 1.5mm) on the bandsaw from an offcut of Ash. Not the best material to work with, I suspect, but I'll hopefully be picking up some Holly soon enough.
The instructions for the Inlay Scraper recommended building a jig for batch work and I can rarely resist the temptation to add another jig to the pile...
The Scraper is used just like a cabinet scraper, with the exception that it "bottoms out" on two skates either side of the blade when the depth is reached. Not sure that ply is the ideal material for my jig as the skates are digging in a bit.
With the veneer scraped level and to size, it was time to get the Inlay Tool out.
This comes with a slicing blade (for trimming veneer into strips) and a groove blade (for making grooves in the workpiece). They're interchangeable but it's a bit fiddly, and I can see myself hunting for the screw/washer combo amongst the shavings on the floor at some point. Either that, or shell out for an extra cutter head and have a dedicated one for each operation. Here's the slicing blade in action -
Yep, I built another jig to hold the veneer in place.
There's a couple of detachable rods that line up alongside the cutter head; a very useful touch as you can introduce the blade lightly as they ride on the jig's fence.
Stringing sorted, time to lay out and cut some grooves...
No idea how to get photos the right way round, but click for full size and all will be revealed!
Up top is the String Inlay Scraper, with the Inlay tool on the left and the Compass centre (with pencil holder) on the right.
I've never done any of this type of work before, but as usual the Veritas instructions are easy enough to put into action.
First, set the Scraper to the width of inlay required - no fiddling about required, just pop the groove blade (which we'll meet again later) underneath and tighten up.
I then cut a strip of veneer (roughly 1.5mm) on the bandsaw from an offcut of Ash. Not the best material to work with, I suspect, but I'll hopefully be picking up some Holly soon enough.
The instructions for the Inlay Scraper recommended building a jig for batch work and I can rarely resist the temptation to add another jig to the pile...
The Scraper is used just like a cabinet scraper, with the exception that it "bottoms out" on two skates either side of the blade when the depth is reached. Not sure that ply is the ideal material for my jig as the skates are digging in a bit.
With the veneer scraped level and to size, it was time to get the Inlay Tool out.
This comes with a slicing blade (for trimming veneer into strips) and a groove blade (for making grooves in the workpiece). They're interchangeable but it's a bit fiddly, and I can see myself hunting for the screw/washer combo amongst the shavings on the floor at some point. Either that, or shell out for an extra cutter head and have a dedicated one for each operation. Here's the slicing blade in action -
Yep, I built another jig to hold the veneer in place.
There's a couple of detachable rods that line up alongside the cutter head; a very useful touch as you can introduce the blade lightly as they ride on the jig's fence.
Stringing sorted, time to lay out and cut some grooves...
