# Texas Star Inlay



## cakman (Jan 13, 2011)

*Tutorial: How to make a Texas Star and Inlay*

My goal in posting this was to give everyone an idea of how I went about making a Texas Star to use in inlay work. There is probably a better way to do this, but this way is safe and effective and requires few tools. I have seen it done this way once and wanted to attempt it myself. I did not snap pics of the build process but I was able to come up with some drawings in sketchup to illustrate each step.

Step 1: Layout

The first thing I considered is what wood to use. It is ideal to pick two woods of different color for a nice contrast. The inlay is going into a walnut table top so I decided on Curly Maple and Brazillian Cherry. Luckily I had some 3/4" stock on hand with appealing (to me) grain pattern so that is what I went with. With the stock clamped up, I marked out the cut lines at the appropriate angles 18° and 36°. Below is a picture of how this was done.

Notice that I am doing the layout on the edge of the board, not the face. This picture illustrates what grain orientation I was after. I wanted the grain to follow the length of each blade of the star. If I had a board with the straight grain on the face and not the edge, I could do this layout on the face instead. Either way works, it is just easier to do it this way I think.










Step 2: Saw Cuts

The next step is to make 2 saw cuts (I chose to cut on the outside of the lines) down the board about an inch. Each cut is displayed in red and blue in the picture below. It doesn't matter which cut is done first, just try to make each cut as square as possible. To aid in sawing, I carried my layout lines down the face of the board as a visual reference to follow with the saw. Don't worry too much if you are a bit off, there will be opportunity to trim things to fit later.










Step 3: Thickness Cuts

I wanted the thickness of my star to be about 1/8" so I cut each piece a little over 1/8" thick. A finished star requires 5 pieces from each wood (10 total). I cut a few extra pieces so I could be selective on which ones I used. If you didn't saw deep enough initially to get the number of pieces you need, then clamp it back on its edge and saw deeper. I found about an inch or an inch and a half to be plenty deep. You will then have the rough pieces that will make up each arm of the star.










Step 4: Planing to Thickness

Unless your sawing skills are very good, you will notice that each piece is a little different thickness and all sides and faces are a little rough from the saw marks. To help with this, I chose to create a block to aid in planing the thin pieces. I grabbed some pine and the largest piece (pick the largest piece because all of the smaller pieces will fit within the mortise and you wont have to re-cut the mortises for each piece). Using a knife and chisels I created two mortises about 1/16" deep in the face of the pine board. Make your mortise depth shallower than the thickness of your pieces so they will sit proud of the surface to be planed. It is important to make another mortise the mirror image of the first so you can plane both sides of your pieces.










Step 5: Matching Pairs

Once you have the faces cleaned up, start matching pairs. I chose the ones that looked best together. You will end up with 5 pairs. It is a good idea to label each pair so you can keep them together. I chose A,B,C,D,E for my labeling.










Step 6: Glue the Pairs

It is important to make sure that each pair has a tight glue line between them. To accomplish this, I clamped my block plane up side down in the clamp and set the blade for a light cut. I then took my matching pair and ganged them together with the show faces facing outward and ran the edges to be glued along the plane blade. This method is sometimes used when clamping a panel up (although you are usually running the plane over the panel pieces instead of the panel pieces over the plane). It pretty much guarantees a tight glue line. When each pair is done, I glued them together using a rub joint and a flat board to make sure the bottom sides of each pair were in the same plane. You will be surprised how well a rub joint will keep the pieces together. Just focus on each pair for right now. Once you have 5 pairs, you can start putting them together.

Step 7: Fitting the Final Star

Now you can put the 5 pairs together to see how your star looks. Chances are they wont fit perfectly right away and you will have to adjust the inside angles to get them to fit. Use the block plane clamped up side down to trim each angle for a tight fit. I had to adjust the inside angle and take a little off the outside faces to make sure all of the intersections lined up well. It doesn't take long to tweak. For the final glue-up, use blue tape stretched along the back to help hold the joint tight. I start by gluing up 2 blades, then add a third, and then fourth, and finally the fifth. Let each glue up dry a bit before moving on. Once the glue dries you are done. Congratulations, a Texas Star. Here is a photo of the one I made.










To make the star smaller or larger you will have to adjust the thickness of stock used or adjust your cut lines accordingly. With 3/4" stock, the star is a little over 6" tall.










I had fun making this and I hope this tutorial will help someone else. It really isn't hard to do and looks mighty impressive. Now to finish the inlay…. Here is a picture of the star in contrast to the walnut table. I think it will look good.


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

cakman said:


> *Tutorial: How to make a Texas Star and Inlay*
> 
> My goal in posting this was to give everyone an idea of how I went about making a Texas Star to use in inlay work. There is probably a better way to do this, but this way is safe and effective and requires few tools. I have seen it done this way once and wanted to attempt it myself. I did not snap pics of the build process but I was able to come up with some drawings in sketchup to illustrate each step.
> 
> ...


Excellent tutorial and very good method for success.


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## cakman (Jan 13, 2011)

*Completing the Inlay*

Here is some more progress of the inlay.

I started off by lightly tacking the star in the position I wanted and tracing the outline with a sharp knife. Light strokes at first and then gradually deeper.










And then using a chisel to remove a little v notch. This allows me to cut slightly deeper with the knife and establishes the outside shoulder of the inlay mortise. It also gives me a visual barrier to look out for on the next step.










I chucked up a small straight cutting bit in my Dremel Trio and started hogging out the waste area. Of course keeping an eye on the v notch and making sure not to get too close to the line.










I then put in the smallest cutter I could find for this tool and cut closer to the line (leaving about 1/16").










Using a chisel and knife I carefully excavated all the waste leaving clean crisp edges. Sorry for the crappy picture.










Now for the stressful part. I carefully checked to see if the star would fit and if there were any spots it was hitting. It is important to not fully seat the star if it is a tight fit or you might not be able to get it out to add glue. Mine was a tight fit so I made a few tiny adjustments and used the knife to very slightly bevel the underside of the star to aid in entry. Moment of truth. I spread glue into the mortise and along the edges and in the nooks, placed the star in the right place, used a sacrificial board and delivered a few generous blows with my mallet. Wow, talk about a pucker moment. There didn't seem to be any splinters or ruined edges so I grabbed some clamps and some boards and clamped the crap out of it and let it sit overnight to dry.










I didn't take a picture this morning but I was able to sneak a peek. It looks like everything seated nicely and there doesn't seem to be any noticeable gaps. So far I am happy with the results. Ill snap a few pictures later when I get it planed and scraped flush.


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## FaTToaD (Oct 19, 2009)

cakman said:


> *Completing the Inlay*
> 
> Here is some more progress of the inlay.
> 
> ...


Looking good! Thanks for the blog, can't wait to see it finished.


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

cakman said:


> *Completing the Inlay*
> 
> Here is some more progress of the inlay.
> 
> ...


Once again, a really good tutorial. I did a little inlay work in the past and though it came out fairly well. As you can see here, your method is much better than what I did at the time. My mistake was in not chiseling the 'V' after scoring the edges before proceeding with the routing and chiseling. I'm sure this will turn out perfect (ok, there is no such thing as perfect, but you know what I mean). Thanks for sharing this with us.


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## cakman (Jan 13, 2011)

cakman said:


> *Completing the Inlay*
> 
> Here is some more progress of the inlay.
> 
> ...


Thanks guys. I just hope this guide will help someone else who is wanting to do the same thing (or something similar). I believe sharing information is the most important part of our hobby/craft.

Unfortunately it was too rainy yesterday to do any work outside. I am itching to grab a scraper and plane to see how this thing is going to look. Maybe later today.


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## cakman (Jan 13, 2011)

*The finished product*

Okay as promised here are the results….. I'm very happy

Here is a picture after I took the clamps off. So far so good.










Here is the star planed and sanded flat. Lookin good










The weather is nice and I have time. Why don't I just prep the top for finish. Here is the top sanded to 320 and 400 on the endgrain.










With the balcony cleaned here goes the first taste of oil. Danish oil makes everything pop. This was probably my favorite part of this project.










Closeup….










And after a night to dry, still looks good.










Well there you go guys. I would say it is a success. Thanks for the kind words and I hope someone will be willing to try this themselves and maybe use some information presented here.

Let me know what you think.

Cory


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## woodsmithshop (Sep 10, 2008)

cakman said:


> *The finished product*
> 
> Okay as promised here are the results….. I'm very happy
> 
> ...


very much a success, great looking board, I really like the star.


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## cakman (Jan 13, 2011)

cakman said:


> *The finished product*
> 
> Okay as promised here are the results….. I'm very happy
> 
> ...


Thanks woodsmith. Not a bad looking board considering its 3 boards glued up. They match well. I love how it looks curly.


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

cakman said:


> *The finished product*
> 
> Okay as promised here are the results….. I'm very happy
> 
> ...


Nice work cakman. I knew it would come out perfect! I like danish oil finishes too. It gives a lot of depth to the grain and a nice satin finish.


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## lumberdustjohn (Sep 24, 2009)

cakman said:


> *The finished product*
> 
> Okay as promised here are the results….. I'm very happy
> 
> ...


nice job!
Great blog.

Thanks for sharing


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## WoodShep (Oct 9, 2013)

cakman said:


> *The finished product*
> 
> Okay as promised here are the results….. I'm very happy
> 
> ...


Awesome! Defiantly on my list of projects to try. Thanks!


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## FaTToaD (Oct 19, 2009)

cakman said:


> *The finished product*
> 
> Okay as promised here are the results….. I'm very happy
> 
> ...


Looks awesome! Great job.


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## IMDHandyman (Jan 27, 2011)

cakman said:


> *The finished product*
> 
> Okay as promised here are the results….. I'm very happy
> 
> ...


I had an "aHA!" moment when I realized you were cutting slices from the end of the board. Nice technique. 
And the end result looks great.
Thanks


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