I would like to undertake a project that would occupy a surface area of about 200mm square and 23mm thick. I am just not too sure of the best way to attack the thin lines. I could increase the offset and have thicker lines to work with. My timber choices are Namibian Rosewood as the highly figured background and then American maple to fill in the illustration.
The attached .png illustration will be converted to a .svg file. I would appreciate any advices because I have not undertaken an inlay project with such thin lines and any information regarding the potential pitfalls I should expect and plan for.
You are making an image of a helicopter and not a helicopter. So why not delete the fine lines. The end project will be the silhouette of a helicopter.
The image is quite busy but you could simplify it. On an inlay the smaller the line the worse the outcome for me. I use a 15/20 degree vee bit for fine lines but it can be hard to get wood to get so thin and small that it fits in the lines on the inlay. If you go just a few thousands too deep when surfacing or sanding you loose the detail.
Yes, good point, Guy. My son is a commercial helicopter pilot and he has just reached 10,000 hours up on this model. I was hoping to make something unique to remind him of his achievement.
The helo silhouette is distinctive and the window layout gives it away as an Augusta Westland 139. I was thinking that the lines iwould help to dentify a lot of the features that mark it out as a AW139. Fetures such as the five blade rotor and the shape and location of one of the engine exhausts. I will see what I can do with the image while not losing the identity of the helo. Thank you, Guy.
Another option for you to consider is an etching in Acrylic,I did this one for a grandson who graduated last year and has gone to Canada for a bit more experience.
I did do something like that on a 150 x 150mm white tile (Norton methd) which came out well. I had some nice acrylic kicking around but I rea;lly wanted to do an inlay, besides which, I have not used any Namibian rosewood (Guibourtia coleosperma) before and I would like to see how it responds to carving. It is pretty hard and beautifully figured. I think it should machine very nicely.
