TrailRat wrote:
How does one go about inlaying metal into wood. I'm talking about
metals like alu, brass, gold and silver. I was thinking it would be
as
easy as simply melting the metal over a bunsen burner in a crucible
and
pouring it in carved channels on the wood. Would this work? What
would
the effect be on the wood itself? I would like method that would
allow
the metal to be flush with the wood when finished.

For gold and silver I thought of gilt but it doesn't produce the
right
finish for me.


One of _The Woodwright Shop_ episodes demonstrated this. You
can probably order the tape from PBS.

Basicly small chisels and gouges are used to part the wood without
removing wood. The fibers are crushed back away from the groove.

The inlay is made with a thin ribbon of metal. One edge of the metal
is folded over so as to be double thick and that edge goes down
in the groove. Then the wood is allowed to relax back into place.
My guess would be that a little moisture would help, but I don't
remember if they used any. Then the surface is scraped or sanded
flat again.

I do not recall any tecnique for broad areas, just that thin line
scrollworks sort of inlay.

Only low-melting point metals like pewter could be cast into the
wood. Some alloys expand when they transition from liquid to
solid, those would lock into the wood better, the trick would
be to undercut the edges of the groove in the wood so the inlay
doesn't just pop out.

Another possibility might be to use tempura paint pigments in
epoxy to make a putty, maybe JB Weld would give you the effect
you want.

I've beveled the edges on through dovetails and fingerjoints and
then puttied them with a contrasting wood putty for a reasonably
nice effect that helps to hide the slop in the fitting of the
joint.

--

FF