Confused with results with Inlay Mode

Software Carbide Create
1

I have a quick question based on the results using inlay mode.
Here are the inlay plug settings:

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The stock for the plug is .20 thick.
What I expected was for the Pocket and V-Bit to cut .18 into the stock and leave .02 remaining.

But this is not what happened. Instead, The passes for both the pocket and V-bit descended to .20 - cutting completely through the stock. The resulting plug was much too small for the cavity it was designed to fill.

I’m confused. Maybe I just don’t understand the geometry. If I specify a plug depth of .18, should the passes include cuts at a depth of .20?

  • Gary
2

Yes. The total cut depth for plugs is Top Gap + Plug Depth.

3

OK…so would it make sense that if I used the settings I did, the plugs would come out undersized? When I used .16 and .03 in previous runs, the plugs fit but had more on top and more space underneath than I wanted, so I changed to .18 and .02

4

This is some of the best videos that help with understanding inlays better and knowing your complete setup and design.

5

Eli, I went through those tutorials when I first asked and didn’t find answers to the specific problems I’m having. That’s why I’m asking the specific question here.

6

What I’ve done successfully is to take the inlay depth, subtract 0.02, and use that for the Plug Depth (D). This leaves a glue pocket and ensures a snug fit for the plug without bottoming out. Next, I’ve set the Top Gap (S) to 0.10, which gives me a small gap for the bandsaw blade to slot into, and some compression space when I clamp the plug into the inlay. I use a 30-degree, 1/4" shank v-bit, likely similar to your Amana bit, as my Vee tool.

For example, I typically set my inlay depth to 0.25. To create the plug, I set Plug Depth (D) to 0.25 - 0.02 = .23. Next, I set the Top Gap (S) to 0.10. That means my plug stock needs to be greater than 0.33 (0.25 - 0.02 + 0.1). I’ve been using 1/2" stock successfully for the plug.

Hope this helps.

7

Actually…that does help. The idea of having the stock bigger than the total makes a lot of sense. Although, I’m trying to minimize the amount of overlap space there is outside of the inlay pocket because multiple inlaid pieces need to sit side by side and I’d rather not glue, trim, glue, trim, etc. I want to glue it all up at the same time and with the chess squares that need to sit adjacent to each other, I can’t allow almost any overlap