wjffineww Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 I had a question about wood movement in regards to some inlay I was planning to do. I will try to explain this as best I can. I wanted to inlay a rectangle shape on a table top. The strips would be about an inch wide and maybe 1/4'' thick. I'm wondering if this would affect the movement across the width of the table. Just to give a little more info let's say the table is 24'' wide and 36'' long, and the inlay rectangle in the middle would be about 6'' wide and 18''(outside to outside) long I tried to attach little drawing not sure if it will work. Hope this makes some sense. Although I just re read it and I'm confused... untitled inlay.bmp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iSawitFirst Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 The inlay that is perpendicular to the top's grain is the one to watch. The table will have much more movement across the grain than parallel to it. However, since the piece is only 24" wide and I assume it will be in a controlled environment, you're probably OK. Here's a link to the Shrinkulator. Put in your data and it will tell you how much expansion you can expect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon003 Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 One of the nice things about inlay is when you're using such thin wood, it will tend to move with the surface it is inlaid into. At 1/4" you're talking about a very thick inlay. Most people who really want to work with solid wood end up doing something closer to 3/32 or thereabouts. (They cut to around 1/8th" then drum sand it smooth.) Is there a reason you're planning for 1/4"? I've inlaid the commercial 1/40" stuff and once or twice done home made without any problems, but I've never tried anything as thick as 1/4". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wjffineww Posted January 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 It definitely doesn't have to be that thick, it can be any thickness I want to make it, so if thinner is better I will go that route. Thanks for the replies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wjffineww Posted January 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 Here's a thought/question. I don't know if anybody would have the answer to this but I was just wondering a little more about wood movement. If the top was fixed with this inlay, let's say it's 3/32'' thick, could there still be enough movement from the bottom side, let's say around 5/8 '' or so, or does it have to be free all the way through the thickness of the piece? Does that make any sense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nateswoodworks Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 I would say make it thinner if you can, 1/16 to 1/8 would be great, this will keep the inlay from being significant enough to interfere with the rest of the top. For your second question do you mean is it better to have the the middle (basically the inlay) be as thick as the top and glue it up vs a thinner piece inlayed to the top? If so inlayed is much better because in your drawing there would be end grain from the inlay glued to end grain for the surrounding top making a very weak joint. When your inlay is thin your main surface is the structure and the inlay does not affect it's strenth, but if your inlay goes all the way through then end grain glue up is basically like a perforated piece of paper. Hope I understood your question and this helps otherwise. Nate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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