Inlay question

[Tim Wells]

I understand how to cut a cavity, make a burr field, and undercut the perimeter to punch in a wire inlay or sheet. My question goes beyond the basic and into details.

Suppose I want to inlay a springer spaniel or other long wispy haired dog. I don't want there to be a hard line around his profile; rather I'd like to be able to inlay the thing and when I'm done have the hair tufts sticking up in the natural way a dogs hair does when he's in a field with the wind in his hair.

In other words I want the edges to be soft and mostly made of hair and not look like a cookie cutter in the shape of a dog cavity that somebody filled with gold or silver. I want it to look natural like he's coming out of the gun without having to do a raised or sculpted inlay.

I know I want a lot but that's how it is. Does anyone know how this would be approached?

 

[Sam]

What you want is not unreasonable at all, Tim. The hard edge portion of the dog can easily be inlaid in a solid piece of gold sheet, with the small tufts of hair either done before or afterward in bits of sheet and/or wire. Trying to saw out the entire thing from sheet gold will probably be impossible, plus the gold moves and stretches as it's being keyed into place. You could always inlay the tufts first, stone them flush, then inlay the larger piece to complete the job (but be very careful to have a clean, undamaged intersection of the gold pieces). Depending on the inlay shape, you might do the tufts last. I don't believe there are any hard and fast rules here.

 

[fegarex]

Tim,
Sam mentioned a couple of methods to do this but for the smaller tufts you can move the gold to them. You make your cavity and prepare it in the proper manner and then add some "soft edges" to the cavity. Use a 90 degree or onglette to make some "hair" and try to give them some minor undercuts. Once the gold sheet is placed and set you can move the gold enough to pick up some of the smaller tufts. I use my Gravermach to set the gold and can really move the gold around with a brass punch with a rough face. I then switch to a smoother face to smooth things out. Of course, this all applies to a flush inlay. If you are doing a raised inlay you can work the excess gold to achive the soft look.

 

[Tim Wells]

Thanks guys, I ordered some fine silver 28 guage wire today to try it out for the first time. That stuff is cheap! John B told me quite a bit about inlaying fine silver in particular. I'll just have to figure out how to cut the mini micro channel or cavity for the tufts.

I saw one that was in progress somewhere that Winston Churchill did either on his site or GRS I forget which. But I saved the photo to study and it isn't even the focus of the shot, it's more about the pheasant but it shows the effect I'm after if you look at the dog real hard.

 

[fegarex]

Tim,
The channels for the tufts don't have to be near as deep as the body inlay. I can tell you that if you get the silver down pat, you can do gold like a champ. The silver is just enough tougher to make it interesting. Not impossible but tougher.
You might have a tougher time "moving" the silver to the tufts compared to gold however.
Just like tool choices, everyone has a method to do inlays. I never liked wire for cavity inlays but others wouldn't do it any other way. I would suggest giving both a try. Use whatever works best for you.

 

[Tim Wells]

Tim,
The channels for the tufts don't have to be near as deep as the body inlay. I can tell you that if you get the silver down pat, you can do gold like a champ. The silver is just enough tougher to make it interesting. Not impossible but tougher.
You might have a tougher time "moving" the silver to the tufts compared to gold however.
Just like tool choices, everyone has a method to do inlays. I never liked wire for cavity inlays but others wouldn't do it any other way. I would suggest giving both a try. Use whatever works best for you.

Thanks Rex, I was at work when I called RioGrande and ordered that wire today. My crew was running an engine on an F-22 into afterburner at times and It was hard to talk to her. In my haste to be off the phone, I didn't have the presence of mind to order some sheet, I should have.

I'll practice my first inlays with the cheap stuff and to see what it will do and not do as far as manipulation. I just want to try something new other than scrolls by themselves. If it turns out decent I'll post it but I have to learn to do a little banknote/bulino first. Gotta start cramming...

 

[fegarex]

Another tip.. Use a butane or propane torch to anneal the silver. Using the afterburner of a F-22 is a little hard to control.......
Amazing how "inspired" one can get after coming back from Reno, huh?? I still do after 25 years.