Inletting an oval

Hatchet_Jack

Hatchet_Jack

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Sep 18, 2022
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Hi all,

I'm a beginner beginner in the knife fiddling space. I wouldn't say building because I'm still buying pre cut knife blanks and just doing the wood and handle side of things until I get that down pat.

Anyhow, I'm wanting to inlay a brass oval/elliptical plaque into a knife handle with engraved initials. But I don't know the best way to do it. I've tried looking online and have had trouble finding what im after, any suggestions?

I had planned to specifically do it for a knife I'm putting together as a gift but I've decided against it because I don't want to risk screwing it up. Once I can find a good method I'll start practicing on scrap wood until I'm confident going forward.

Thank you

Hatch
 
Pantograph yes, but you can find videos how they create a pantograph with scraps and bits.

Search term are steady stidy some variation of spelling that.
file the patten out of a plate, use it to guide the cutter - much like router templates.

Make the hole and the plug tapered and extra deep, finish smooth when it's together.
 
I used a dremel to inlay slipjoint shields for the first year of making them. I cut the pockets before contouring the scales since is was easier to inlay on a flat surface. I printed out a shape I liked, glued it to steel/brass/copper/micarta, then cut, filed, and sanded the shape out. Put a tiny dab of glue on it and put it where you want on the handle. Scribe around with a very sharp scribe. Remove shield and start dremeling out the interior of the scribe lines. Do a lot of test fits and be really careful near the lines. Once it fits well, I soldered a pin on the back, glued the whole thing in place and then peened the pin. I don’t know if that last step would be applicable to you. This approach is not quick, but I got some really good results with it. Here are some pictures of that process:

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Make the oval shield from a piece of metal thicker than you need. The excess will be removed in finishing. Make the sides with a slight taper - about 15° is good.
Clean the sides up with very fine file or 400 grit paper. You want smooth sides.
When it is all done put small a drop of super glue on the handle or scale where the oval will go and place the disc in place.
If it looks right, take a #11 X-acto or scalpel blade and scribe a line as close as possible to the disc.
Pop the disc off careful (heat it a tad and it will come right off) and start the inlay recess.
Don't go all the way to the edge at first.
Make the middle half of the hole deeper than the sides, too. This will allow easier fitting as well as a reservoir for the adhesive later on.
Sneak up on the fit by regular checking until it is almost there.
Placing the shield in place and tapping it down gently will help in adjusting the edged of the recess as needed until you can get the oval all the way down. The excess thickness of the shield allows using a sharp knife to lift the oval from the recess as you get it tightly fitted.
Once you are happy with the fit, epoxy the oval shield in place. Drilling a small hole through the scale in the center of the recess will allow the excess resin to squeeze out the back side.
For an even more secure installation, solder a pin on the back of the shield and peen it.
Once the resin is cured fully, file and sand the oval shield flush with the handle/scale.
 
I recommend drilling the through hole first, that way you can pop out the inlay from the back if it gets stuck during fit up.

There is a router base for dremels that might help, I think it's popular for guitar neck inlays. Google stewmac precision router base. They also have a handpiece for the Foredom that fits the router base.
 
The Stewmac router is great, but not cheap and requires some skill to use properly. If using one, run the flex shaft or mini router ate full speed. The faster the better for a clean edge.
 
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