Replies

1. 
   user-148830 | Oct 06, 2008 06:18pm | #1

   Peter,
   You got me thinking. If you use a one point fence you can probably get something pretty close. So make your first cut and then set a one point fence 3/4" away from the blade for the second cut. You can make up a one point fence out of a block of wood that you clamp to your band saw table. Just trim a sharp bevel on the end that your stock will ride against. The problem with this approach however is that you are likely to pivot your stock too much as you cut. You have to be careful.

   Ah, go two point. Make up a V cut in a fence so the curve will always be touching at two points. You'll have to play with the V itself to see how far apart to space the contact points.

   Oh wait, I assumed a convex shape. You said sinuous. So if the curve goes in and out, then you're back at the one point fence adjusting your stock as you need to stay constant with the curve. I would have it marked out onto your piece so you can stay close to your line.

   If you could make a template of this shape then you could template cut it on the band saw but you face the same issues making the template as making the inlay. And if the curve changes from convex to concave I see no way to do this on the router table.

   There is another whole approach to take [caught me answering on a Monday morning and I'm all over the dang place]. Bend your inlay to fit. Now a 3/4" curve is a tough curve to bend but what if you take a page out the guitar maker's notebook?

   Get veneer of the stock you want to inlay. Slice it up with a veneer saw to the depth/ height of the inlay and laminate these strips together, oh probably 25 or 30 to get your 3/4" in a form with the curve cut into it. It's messy, it's a bit slow, but you can get any shape curve, pretty much, that you want. You can also add other contrasting veneers into the laminate. You'll be working with a constant thickness that when glued up should yield you a pretty consistent package. Good luck.

   Gary Rogowski
   The Northwest Woodworking Studio
   Portland, Oregon

1. 
   PeterBF | Oct 06, 2008 06:57pm | #2

   Gary,Thanks for your ideas. This is a tough one. I think I will try the single point fence with a narrow blade on my bandsaw and see if it is precise enough.FYI I also tried steam bending (which it turns out I am not very good at). There were two difficult challenges. First the sinuous curve makes the "second" or reverse curve difficult. Second, because I need multiple pieces, it was difficult to get pieces that matched each other.

1. 
   user-148830 | Oct 07, 2008 05:33am | #3

   Peter,Try that bunched inlay method. It's what folks use for stringing. In your case, it will just be one big goddang string. Good luck.Gary