Hi all;
Recently I needed to cut some wenge veneer to inlay into a Demilune table. The table is part of a private veneer course I’m teaching, and will be included in either an e-book, or a printed book. The fellow is writting it as I’m teaching, taking pictures as we go. One of the projects in the book has an wenge inlay.
If you’ve ever worked with wenge, you know it’s a bit of a nasty wood to work with. Cutting it with a knife is difficult, as the wood tends to split. Since I’m doing a 1/4” wide inlay on a half round, and my usual tools weren’t working out too well I had to come up with a different way.
I got to thinking a router would be a good way to go. I decided to make use of a Dremel set I got a few years back, since it was small and easily managed. It did have an edge quide, which doubled as a circle cutter but it was a bit cumbersome to use.
I decided to make an adapter to fit the base of the router, using a piece of 1” thick lexan. I threaded it to accept a Veritas compass beam.
The compass beam is very nice, and will making circles as small as 1”, and as large as 40”, with the pieces that come with it. It has small sections of rod that screw together allowing different lengths.
Using a jig and laminate trimmer, I routed a ledge to sit on the router base, giving it a bit more stability.
Then I drilled and tapped the edge for the compass beam.
I then mounted it to an existing hole on the base of the router. The lexan fits tightly against a piece in the casting, so it doesn’t pivot. I’m happy to say it was worth the effort, as it worked quite well.
The woods are Figured Black Limba, Swiss Pear, and Wenge
Thanks for looking.
Lee
-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com
32 comments so far
bigike
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4023 posts in 1460 days
#1 posted 742 days ago
saweeeeeeeeeet looking table.
-- Ike, Big Daddies Woodshop, http://www.icombadaniels@yahoo.com
tenontim
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2129 posts in 1916 days
#2 posted 742 days ago
Thanks for the tutorial, Lee. That’s a nice adapter for the router. I guess most of what I know about veneering, I learned from you. Beautiful table. Thanks for the post.
-- Tim-- http://www.tmuli.com
Dan'um Style
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10794 posts in 2154 days
#3 posted 742 days ago
very nice. the colors work very well together.
-- keeping myself entertained
shipwright
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#4 posted 742 days ago
Nice work Lee.
-- Paul M ..............If God wanted us to have fiberglass boats he would have given us fiberglass trees. http://prmdesigns.com/
Patrick Jaromin
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346 posts in 2004 days
#5 posted 742 days ago
Absolutely beautiful work, Lee. Thanks for sharing!
-- Patrick, Chicago, IL http://www.TenonAndSpline.com/blog
savannah505
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1608 posts in 1758 days
#6 posted 742 days ago
You know I love your work Lee, this is no exception, how are you, I need to call and say hi. It’s been awhile.
-- Dan Wiggins
Karson
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34370 posts in 2572 days
#7 posted 742 days ago
Lee Beautiful and a great jig tip.
You da man!!
-- I've been blessed with a father who liked to tinker in wood, and a wife who lets me tinker in wood. Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †
Grumpy
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17840 posts in 2022 days
#8 posted 742 days ago
Lee, there is nothing like a great jig that works well. An excellent result on the table buddy.
-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python
grizzman
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5397 posts in 1475 days
#9 posted 742 days ago
oh come on lee, couldnt ya just slap this table together…ha..great job and a great way to figure out your inlay…its a beautiful table…
-- GRIZZMAN ...[''''']
CharlieM1958
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14865 posts in 2390 days
#10 posted 742 days ago
Great idea, Lee, and stunning work as always.
-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"
Jack Barnhill
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362 posts in 1537 days
#11 posted 742 days ago
Thanks for the information about the technique, the adapter, and the compass beam. All very useful. The table is pretty great too. Nice job!
-- Best regards, Jack -- I may not be good, but I'm slow -- www.BarnhillWoodworks.com
GaryK
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10263 posts in 2160 days
#12 posted 742 days ago
More than one way to skin a cat, huh?
Great looking table. Swiss pear is a great wood to work with, isn’t it? I wish I could afford it to use it all the time.
-- Gary - Never pass up the opportunity to make a mistake look like you planned it that way - Tyler, TX
lanwater
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2425 posts in 1105 days
#13 posted 742 days ago
Great looking table. Very nice work.
patron
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#14 posted 742 days ago
excellent work as always lee
and a great trammel
and adaption for it
-- david - only thru kindness can this world be whole . If we don't succeed we run the risk of failure. Dan Quayle
Sheila Landry (scrollgirl)
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5944 posts in 1091 days
#15 posted 742 days ago
As everyone said, it is certainly a beautiful table. Thanks so much for the tutorial on how you accomplished it. It is absolutely gorgeous! Your work is always top notch!
Sheila
-- Contributing Editor, Creative Woodworks and Crafts, Sheila Landry Designs http://www.sheilalandrydesigns.com "Knowledge is Power"
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