Inlay Wire Diameter

pmace · Jan 25, 2018

Iâ€™m doing inlay on lettering with lines that vary in thickness. The main line is sized for 26 gauge wire but it flares out in spots to maybe 1-1/2 to 2 diameters. Whatâ€™s the best way to handle this? Do I use wire big enough for the wide spots for the whole line? Do I use smaller wire where it fits then â€œspliceâ€ in a piece of larger wire in the wide spots? Or do I do the whole thing with smaller wire and force a second piece in beside the first in the wide spots? Iâ€™ve tried all 3 ways and neither works as well as I would like. Is there another method Iâ€™m missing? Thanks.

John B. · Jan 25, 2018

Hello Paul.
You can splice in a thicker piece where the line is wider or just lay in an extra piece of wire beside the other one.
I find the two wire method the easiest and quickest but your results may vary.
Give both a try.
Best regards.

pmace · Jan 26, 2018

Thanks John. The two wire method seems to work best for me. I guess I just need to practice some more to get the technique down. I just thought there may be an easier method out there because it can be a bear to get that second sliver in the channel sometimes. Thanks for the reply. It was a pleasure meeting you at FEGA.

Marrinan · Jan 26, 2018

There are a couple of tricks when end butts are required or best for application. see tutorial section for more on this topic. my method varies to much to describe

pmace · Jan 26, 2018

Thanks Fred. I'll take a closer look at the tips section. I didn't see anything at first glance but I'll go over it in more depth.

John B. · Jan 26, 2018

pmace said:
Thanks John. The two wire method seems to work best for me. I guess I just need to practice some more to get the technique down. I just thought there may be an easier method out there because it can be a bear to get that second sliver in the channel sometimes. Thanks for the reply. It was a pleasure meeting you at FEGA.

Hello Paul, I enjoyed seeing you at FEGA.
To help with inlay and to manage the wire I suggest you make a special but simple tool.
Take a 4 inch piece of 3/8 inch brass. Chuck it up in a hand drill and taper the end against a grinder wheel to create a 1/8 flat.
Repeat on the other end and then center drill one end with an 1/8 inch drill about an inch deep.
Solder in a 2 1/2" piece of 1/8" drill rod or a broken drill shank.
Shape the drill rod like a regular flat screwdriver. Then with a wiping motion against 320 sand paper sharpen the end knife sharp.
The sharp end will cut your wire to length and the flat side will maneuver it into position.
Then reverse the tool in your hand and use the taper end of the Brass to tack the wire into position ready for setting.
Very handy tool and a must have when inlaying small lettering etc.

pmace · Jan 26, 2018

Thanks John. That sounds like a really nifty tool and I can see where it would come in handy for holding things in place. I use a pair of flush cutting tweezers made for fine electronic wire to do the cutting but they are no good for holding stuff down. I’ve got some brass rod and a spare Ngraver chisel handle laying around so I’ll give it a try. Thanks again.

dlilazteca · Jan 29, 2018

John B. said:
Hello Paul, I enjoyed seeing you at FEGA.
To help with inlay and to manage the wire I suggest you make a special but simple tool.
Take a 4 inch piece of 3/8 inch brass. Chuck it up in a hand drill and taper the end against a grinder wheel to create a 1/8 flat.
Repeat on the other end and then center drill one end with an 1/8 inch drill about an inch deep.
Solder in a 2 1/2" piece of 1/8" drill rod or a broken drill shank.
Shape the drill rod like a regular flat screwdriver. Then with a wiping motion against 320 sand paper sharpen the end knife sharp.
The sharp end will cut your wire to length and the flat side will maneuver it into position.
Then reverse the tool in your hand and use the taper end of the Brass to tack the wire into position ready for setting.
Very handy tool and a must have when inlaying small lettering etc.

Please post a picture.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

jerrywh · Jan 30, 2018

Sometimes I use different thicknesses of wire for script letters. One thing that helps a lot is to use square wire in stead of round wire. Square wire when placed in the grove on edge will work on about any width of line because it fits down in the grove where as round wire that is too big will not. One problem is it is impossible to find a square draw plate that is real small. I have a rolling mill that will roll square wire down to about .020" or 24 ga. Triangular wire is good also.

pmace · Jan 30, 2018

I can see where square wire would be really helpful. After playing with it some more I'm finding that if I don't set the main wire too tightly at first in the wide spots it allows the little add-on piece more room to slip in. If you can manage to work from the center outwards it cuts down on the wires overlapping and getting all mangled up. Thanks.

Dave London · Jan 30, 2018

Also as mentioned by Brian M the wire has to be perfectly clean no finger oils etc so It will cold weld

SamW · Jan 31, 2018

I often take a larger wire and tap it flat along one end, then anneal and use an exacto knife to cut off what I need. Fills a wide variety of needs. I use a piece of aluminum for an anvil and cutting board which helps preserve the blade.

pmace · Jan 31, 2018

Thanks Sam. I'll give that a try.

EThomas · Feb 1, 2018

Paul-
Another method that may work is to heat the end of your wire until it balls up just slightly. You can make the ball end as large as you need, and then shape the ball to fit the larger space as needed. Keep in mind, it doesn't take much; a very small ball goes a long way. This method may or may not be applicable in your circumstance, it's hard to say without seeing exactly what you're working with. It works well for swells at the end of strokes, serifs and such.

Inlay Wire Diameter

pmace

Elite Cafe Member

John B.

Lifetime Pledge Member

pmace

Elite Cafe Member

Marrinan

~ Elite 1000 Member ~

pmace

Elite Cafe Member

John B.

Lifetime Pledge Member

pmace

Elite Cafe Member

dlilazteca

~ Elite 1000 Member ~

jerrywh

~ Elite 1000 Member ~

pmace

Elite Cafe Member

Dave London

~ Elite 1000 Member ~

SamW

:::Pledge Member:::

pmace

Elite Cafe Member

EThomas

Member

Latest posts

Sponsors