Calling all wood-turners and cabinet makers - how the heck do they make these inlays?

kidcongo

kidcongo

Joined
Jan 12, 2013
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I know there's gotta be some folk with some woodwork skill on this forum. I am plagued by a question:

I can't figure out how CRK might make these wood inlays? It is a closely guarded secret, and does not appear in any of the videos. They show Lisa applying an inlay, but not the making of the inlays themselves. I have worked with wood quite a bit, and it can be frustrating stuff to get perfect. Now these inlays are more than perfect. They are absolutely precise, down to under a millimeter. I can't figure out what sort of CNC machine or whatever could be punching these out, cutting them out, or whatever at such precise tolerances, with no splinters, chips, or other goof-ups, which is especially interesting with all the different wood options. They are clearly not hand-fit or hand sanded as they are too perfect for human intervention IMHO. I know quote a bit about manufacturing, but these inlays baffle me. How do they round the corners etc? Is it the sharpest router ever? Seems too little material to apply any force to with a spinning bit without it shattering etc.

Any guesses about the secret process??

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On a CNC mill-

Pretty easy to do..and yes..Tolerance is well under a millimeter (.03937in). Probably closer to .002.
IIRC, the inlays are stabilized (except micarta)
 
bhyde said:
On a CNC mill-

Pretty easy to do..and yes..Tolerance is well under a millimeter (.03937in). Probably closer to .002.
IIRC, the inlays are stabilized (except micarta)
Click to expand...

OK. I guess I just can't see how the surface ends up so smooth and perfect. I guess I am not familiar with machinery of this level of precision when working in wood.
 
It might help to imagine that the wood, after stabilized, isn't much different than plastic to machine. The inclusions, voids are filled under high pressure with a material that is similar to a clear epoxy.

A combination of tools and the proper offsets in the machine help a great deal :)
Believe me..It get's quite boring pushing the green button on a job like this. LOL
Very glad I don't run production of any kind anymore.
 
I was thinking Elvin magic, but bhyde's answer makes good sense. Great ? though- they all fit tight even the mammoth.
 
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Yup, they are machined, sharp bits at the right speed make for easy and smooth sailing on wood even when it's not stabilised. :):thumbup:
 
The CRK DVD shows them milling them out of a block. Alot of the material is actually wasted while making the inlays. They are milled from a block at a very high rate of speed.......think if a wood router only on a much more precise scale. And throwing CRK's ultra tight tolerances into the mix and its pretty remarkable. The woods are stabilized which makes it work as just regular wood has way too much movement in it. I have been a woodworker all my life and used to make knives 15-20+ years ago. So have lots of experience with it.
 
Once a cnc is programed, it can mill both the titanium slabs, and the inlays the same dimensions over and over again. That's perfection!

Its incongruous, I guess, but looking at Stradivarius violins, which were handcrafted one at a time in the 17th and 18th centuries, with no two exactly alike, are often described as "perfect".

Hey, maybe that's an idea for the next iteration of a CGG Sebenza--a Stradivarious violin!!

Who's on board for that??!
 
Just use the wood for an inlay.......:p

Barry H said:
Once a cnc is programed, it can mill both the titanium slabs, and the inlays the same dimensions over and over again. That's perfection!

Its incongruous, I guess, but looking at Stradivarius violins, which were handcrafted one at a time in the 17th and 18th centuries, with no two exactly alike, are often described as "perfect".

Hey, maybe that's an idea for the next iteration of a CGG Sebenza--a Stradivarious violin!!

Who's on board for that??!
Click to expand...
 
I like it! I might finally be able to convince the wife that my knives are not a colossal waste of cash if I can find one that has her interests engraved on it!
 
Not all woods are stabilized. Cocobolo, for example, is not (I asked CRK). I don't know which woods actually are stabilized.
 
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