# Inlay Dovetails.



## MoosegooserDogwood (Mar 14, 2017)

I have a question about how to keep a white color wood used for Inlay against a darker color. How do you keep the contrast as obvious as possible?
Example: soft maple for inlay against Cherry..









any secrets? 
These are machine cut on a leigh D-4

I find it difficult to keep a bright white,when I apply finish (Oil/Varnish blend ) to the piece.. the white sometimes goes darker, or will be blotchy..










Thanks in advance.


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## MoosegooserDogwood (Mar 14, 2017)

These look ok,, but I don't get consistent results.. I don't see the problem till I start finishing.. I have experienced the maple darken enough that it doesn't display the inlay on some boards..


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## Finn (May 26, 2010)

Maybe shellac and/or stain controller on the maple will help. Hard maple may work better.


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## OSU55 (Dec 14, 2012)

The type of finish darkens the wood. Even the lightest shellac will still yellow the wood, and solvent lacquer will yellow over time. Any ob varnish will yellow. A water clear wb finish, such as Target EM9000 poly, will not yellow the wood, but wb finishes on their own look plain, with no chatoyance. Even CA glue, clear as it is, yellows white woods.

One thing I havent tried would be the various wood stabilizers. If they leave the wood white, then the sabilizer would prevent absorption of the top coat and allow trimming the surface away at final assembly. Seems like all of them Ive seen have a yellow cast to one of the components.


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## bigJohninvegas (May 25, 2014)

first of all, Wow those dovetails look great. 
I have never done that sort of inlay you have there, but Jim Finn is right about the hard maple option.
I have made a lot of end grain cutting boards where I am mixing wood colors. I had bought some soft maple not knowing any better, and it would always finish muddy. Never keeps the crisp white color. 
Switched to hard maple and problem solved. Stays white next to both walnut and cherry.


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## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

If you want white, use Holly. I find that French polish with platina shellac adds very little colour and pops grain better than anything else I've tried. Of course you don't need to french polish but it does give a superb finish.


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## MoosegooserDogwood (Mar 14, 2017)

Thank you ALL for the comments.. Its looks like hard maple a a light coat of clear shellac will do the trick..

Thanks again..

Mike


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## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

Yep, in my experience clear Shellac Seal Coat adds almost no color to maple.


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