Question: inlay

diane b · Aug 17, 2014

I want to inlay a border in the shape of a rectangle and then engrave on the inside of this rectangle. My question is what is the sequence for this. Do I cut the border, inlay this and finish the inlay - sanding to finished state- and then do my engraving inside the rectangle? Do I do the inlay last after I have engraved inside the rectangle and then do all the sanding at one time before I do the shading? Or neither of the above. Thank you.

diane b

Mike Fennell · Aug 17, 2014

Inlay and sand first. Then engrave and background. Then shading.

diane b · Aug 17, 2014

mike, thank you so much for the information and taking the time to reply to my question. i'm off and running
diane

SamW · Aug 17, 2014

I usually cut borders and inlay first, but leave a little extra gold in the border line so that if I mar the border while working on the rest I have enough to repair without removing and re-inlaying. Sometimes I cut the cavity before engraving within the border area but wait until I have my design done before inlaying the border line. Doesn't seem to matter much which way, but I have had a time or two when I marred a finished border inlay that had been trimmed down flush with the steel surface and had to pull some gold and replace.

diane b · Aug 18, 2014

sam, thank you for your information. i hadn't thought about leaving the extra metal in the cavity, and am glad you pointed that out. the design almost touches the border - all it takes is one little slip. thank you for taking the time to answer my question.
diane

Mike Fennell · Aug 18, 2014

That is good labor-saving advice, Sam. I will keep it in mind.

LVVP · Aug 19, 2014

Sam, thank you for your information, very useful. Thanks

Thierry Duguet · Aug 19, 2014

I would do all the inlay first, then sending, then engraving. If my inlay is less than perfect I would fix it first then send again. Since I want to keep my engraving sharp I never send after shading.

diane b · Aug 22, 2014

Thierry, thank you for taking the time to reply to my question and sharing your information. I appreciate it.
diane b

Beathard · Aug 22, 2014

As long as the border is uninterrupted the order is correct. If you have an interrupted border you might want to cut you main lines, inlay, sand, background and shade. The answer might need to be... "It depends on the project."

Question: inlay

diane b

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