End Grain Inlays

Space Teams CNC
1

Is it any more difficult to do Vcarve inlays with end grain wood?

2

@jamesfreeman would be in a good position to answer you.
He’s done end grain inlays with CIC Workshop Inlay Kits.
I haven’t gotten around to mine yet so no opinion. :innocent:

3

Thanks, Travis. After I posted, I thought about the CIC kits, so I’m guessing (hoping!) that’s it’s not going to be an issue.

4

In general, end grain doesn’t glue well to end grain.
Strongest bonds are edge grain to edge grain.
That said, maybe your use doesn’t require strength?

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Wouldnt an end grain inlay actually be gluing to the faces of the material? Assuming the end grain is whats facing up?

6

I didnt actually use both end grain pieces for my project. I was being cheap so I inlayed a walnut panel into an end grain maple piece.

The wood was all from CIC and very nice quailty stuff. Its the same as the pieces available in the lobby.

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If we compare wood’s structure to a “bundle of straws”, the ends of a board are end grain while the long grain sides are either face or edge grain. The long grain glued to long grain is strong. The end grain glued to anything is weaker. That’s why in joinery we’ll do such things as box joints or mortise and tenon joints if we want strength. End grain to end grain is just plain weak.

Edge+end+grain
Edge+end+grain1009Ă—1027 56.6 KB

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No, it won’t require strength, but that’s a good point. The inlays will be the numbers of s clock.

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My concern was the actual carving of the end grain. I’m wondering if it will be as sharp as face grain, or if the “straws” will “fray.”

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“Fraying” or “blowout” can happen at the edges but, aside from there, the end grain is tightly packed and cuts just fine. You shouldn’t have any problems.

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The best channel for end grain inlays on YouTube. It comes down to your vector design, the angle of your bit, the flatness of your substrates, your depths and how good a job you do at your glue ups. He has a course he sells on it as well as some premade CNC files. His videos are amazingly intricate.

Please do it Frank! Excited to see your progress

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“…how good a job you do at your glue ups.” Uh oh…

Thanks, Steve!