# Pantograph for inlay work



## difalkner (Mar 11, 2013)

A few weeks ago I finished the pantograph I designed for doing inlay work on guitars. This was initially for use with my Dremel and flex cable. I did one simple test with it and that worked fine but I'll do some more before I cut into some nice exotic wood or Abalone. Since I built and posted the video I have modified the pantograph to mount my Dremel directly because I discovered the flex cable chuck runout was too great to do accurate work. Also, I have added a micro-adjustment to the stylus since the video.

It's very smooth and precise so I'm pleased with that part of it. It will do 2:1, 3:1, and 4:1 reductions.

My target testing piece is in the upper right hand corner of the video -

Pantograph for inlay





































Enjoy!
David


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## Redoak49 (Dec 15, 2012)

Very nice….a really good build


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## difalkner (Mar 11, 2013)

Thanks! It was kind of fun doing this one.


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## custer (Mar 11, 2016)

This is one of the best (if not the best) pantograph builds I've seen. Thank you for sharing.


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## difalkner (Mar 11, 2013)

> This is one of the best (if not the best) pantograph builds I ve seen. Thank you for sharing.
> 
> - custer


Thanks so much, Custer!


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

Smart looking machine. Well done.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Nice job!


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

*difalkner*, really nice addition for your work!
I remember seeing a machine like this in the model shop where I used to work a few decades ago.
I assume that these have all been replaced by CNC like machines.

I see you discovered the run out of the *Dremel flex shafts* too.
I wrote to Dremel about it but never got a response.


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## difalkner (Mar 11, 2013)

> *difalkner*, really nice addition for your work!
> I remember seeing a machine like this in the model shop where I used to work a few decades ago.
> I assume that these have all been replaced by CNC like machines.
> 
> ...


Thanks! Yeah, I have had this Dremel for about 20 years and never used the flex shaft, so I was a bit surprised it had so much runout. I modified the pantograph to accept the Dremel directly but it also has a bit of runout. Right now I don't need a new Dremel but I'm wondering if a new one has less runout than my old one.


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

*difalkner*, I was/am really dissapointed with the Dremel!

Have you checked into of the Foredom
I see a lot of carvers use these but I don't know anything about run out but the model above will do 18,000 RPM.

I wonder if these flextools could be adapted to other motors?


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## difalkner (Mar 11, 2013)

> *difalkner*, I was/am really dissapointed with the Dremel!
> 
> Have you checked into of the Foredom
> I see a lot of carvers use these but I don t know anything about run out but the model above will do 18,000 RPM.
> ...


I am familiar with Foredom but have never used one. It has to be better than the Dremel. If it turns out I need this pantograph often then I may look into getting a Foredom.


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

*difalkner*, do a search for *Foredom* on this site and you will see reviews and that there are many who use this tool..


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