I have learned that wood will never be perfect, but the flaws in wood can be highlighted even more for a more rustic look to the design. Sometimes I even look into the perfect flaw. That will drive a person mad going for that. I have to relax, step back, and look at what the design is as a whole and see if the flaw and imperfections make it look better or make it look too busy. Then I call it done and move on. Sometimes simpler is better.
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That’s my logic when I give myself a haircut. 
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I made a jig (first pic) to hold coasters that my other half brought home from the Dollar Store the other day. Our friends have a cottage that they spend a lot of time at in the summer so I thought a couple sets of coasters would be a nice gift for them to use out there.
And after reading @Bigsmooth911 post above…yeah these have a few imperfections but they’re perfect 
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Very nice! l like the definition of the raised inlay
That is very nice,like the colours
We did some remodeling to a couple of hundred year old buildings so I needed to come up with a project for the old trim and wall boards we removed. I decided to make a map of the U.S art project. I found a map online and separated each state. I recessed each state in 1/2 plywood about 1/8" to make the background. I then started randomly cutting out the states using the inlay tool. As I cut each piece I would sand the face down to reveal the colors underneath. Project dimensions are about 44 wide and 31 high.
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I LIKE IT! +1
Especially that part about Texas!
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For other folks who want to do this, here is a corrected version of the map from Carbide 3D Elements:
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After seeing @SLCJedi tiling fence for the 4x4 S5 pro, and since I’m getting ready to start a large tiling job, I knew I had to make one. This is the link to his CutRocket project that I modified. Thanks, Josh, for sharing it! Made mine out of Maple.
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That came out beautiful. Well done. Good painter !
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Thanks. I can’t claim any of the painting other than the primer 
Did they paint in the highlights for depth perception ? Or did you plan the photo shoot ?
The picture is mint.
Well, it was 2” material to start and the backplane now is .75 so there is plenty of depth. The horse is 3D carved. The rest is normal 2D machining.
She did a great job with the paint though.
Here was a shot in her house just after painting.
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Not complaining! But this piece is a good example of needing at least 4 coats of a good glossy lacquer.
Before mounting it outside she applied a top coat specifically for HDU that’s is supposed to help protect from the elements. I need to find out what that was. I don’t know if that’s supposed to be better than laquer.
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Do the individual states that are also in the elements? Fit into the USA map you posted?
Almost inlay style? Because @ALLYBLAK map is inspirational
Yes, the states are individual element — note that actually cutting and fitting isn’t taken into account — for that, either V-carve inlay will need to be used, or each state will need to be inset by the diameter of the desired tool, then offset to the outside by the radius and any gaps addressed.
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