# Inlaying Pens ...



## Willee (May 18, 2017)

The price of CNC inlay machines has dropped a lot in the last few years.
You can buy a 3 axis CNC milling machine on eBay for around $500.
A 4 Axis machine is not that much more.

Here is a photo of some of my inlay projects using one of those machines.


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## Woodchipper (May 18, 2017)

Nice inlays in the blanks.
Not a bad price if it is a quality machine.  If they were selling them for $5.00, all I could say is "My, aren't they cheap."


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## EBorraga (May 18, 2017)

Willee said:


> The price of CNC inlay machines has dropped a lot in the last few years.
> You can buy a 3 axis CNC milling machine on eBay for around $500.
> A 4 Axis machine is not that much more.
> 
> Here is a photo of some of my inlay projects using one of those machines.


 
Looks good Willee!! Do you miss making cues?


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## leehljp (May 18, 2017)

Very nicely done! Love it. A CNC might be in my future - in another year or so.


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## Tom D Waldron (May 18, 2017)

*Request info*

Any recommendations as to where to buy turquoise for inlay?
Thanks


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## keithbyrd (May 18, 2017)

That looks pretty good!  Can you share more info on the type of machine etc?


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## Woodchipper (May 18, 2017)

Question here- do you do the inlays before turning or after?  Does the CNC do the blank and the inlay as separate pieces then the inlay is applied?  I see endless things that can be done.


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## magpens (May 18, 2017)

Well done !!!!

Can you please give the brand name of the machine ... I can see CNC in my future too.

Sheesh ... this hobby gets more expensive every day !!!!


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## NLAlston (May 18, 2017)

Mighty freakin' awesome, Willee .  I really do think that you did a superb job, with your inlaying.

Like some others, here, I (too) am interested in picking up a CNC Milling machine.  You mentioned that they can be had for as low as $500, and it would be interesting to know which machine YOU have, and if yours fell within that lower cash bracket region.  

Yes....I am very impressed.


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## magpens (May 18, 2017)

Tom,

If you can use powdered turquoise, I think you can get it from BearToothWoods.com .... it might be man-made though.




Tom D Waldron said:


> Any recommendations as to where to buy turquoise for inlay?
> Thanks


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## Willee (May 20, 2017)

Woodchipper said:


> Question here- do you do the inlays before turning or after?  Does the CNC do the blank and the inlay as separate pieces then the inlay is applied?  I see endless things that can be done.



The Slightly oversized pen blank is placed into the machine and the cutter depth is set to cut the inlay pocket into the wood just down to the brass tube.

These are not filled in with anything (like InLace or powder) they are solid wood.
The inlay piece's are cut separately from flat stock (about 20 or more at a time) and are glued into the pocket like a puzzle piece.

Each design has two programs ... one for cutting the pocket and one for cutting the inlay piece.

Once the glue has set, the blank is turned and finished on a lathe.

The 6040 and 3020 size CNC machines sold on Ebay come without software.
You will need a PC and a program like BobCad to design the inlays and another program like Mach 3 to run the CNC machine.

The one I use is a 3020 size 3 axis and I manually turn the blanks to the position I want each inlay to be. I will soon get a 4th axis set up so the blanks will rotate automatically.

If you are thinking about buying a CNC for pens give me a call and I will try to help you understand what all is needed.


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## SteveJ (May 20, 2017)

Willie, those are some pretty cool blanks.  Thanks for sharing your work.


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## magpens (May 20, 2017)

Willee, thanks for sharing the information in your reply to "Woodchipper".

One other thing: . is there a rule of thumb for the difference in sizing between the cavity cut dimensions and the inlay piece cut dimensions ?


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## Paul in OKC (May 21, 2017)

Good to see your work again, Willie. I have used a cnc at work to do some of that. The blank looks pretty small in an 8" chuck on a 3000 lb machine though


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## Woodchipper (May 21, 2017)

Thanks for the info.  CNC not in the budget but have seen CNC machines in manufacturing.  Amazing how they can be programmed to cut all kinds of shapes.  My complements on the inlays in the blanks!


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## Bob Kardell (May 21, 2017)

Do you think a CNC machine works better for inlays than lasers?  Or just two different approaches? 


Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app


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## mark james (May 21, 2017)

G'Day Willie.

I poked at some of your past threads, and found this beautiful display:  http://www.penturners.org/forum/f13/snakewood-siera-metal-inlays-68015/

Some wonderful artistry there!  Hope you stay around and inspire us.

Cheers.


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## Paul in OKC (May 21, 2017)

Bob Kardell said:


> Do you think a CNC machine works better for inlays than lasers?  Or just two different approaches?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app



I think it's just two different approaches. Either way you are cutting out a pocket, and cutting out a piece to fill in. It is just knowing the offset of the laser beam verses the cutting tool. At least that is my thoughts.


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## Willee (Jun 10, 2017)

Bob Kardell said:


> Do you think a CNC machine works better for inlays than lasers?  Or just two different approaches?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app



The two machines and the programing are very much the same ... the difference is the cutter.  My machine uses small end mill cutters and the laser uses ... well ... a laser to cut with.  My only experience has been that the laser "burns" the wood leaving a dark like around the inlay. The end mill leaves a very sharp clean edge.

Willee
Untitled Document


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## Willee (Jun 10, 2017)

magpens said:


> Willee, thanks for sharing the information in your reply to "Woodchipper".
> 
> One other thing: . is there a rule of thumb for the difference in sizing between the cavity cut dimensions and the inlay piece cut dimensions ?



When I draw a design outline I usually make a .003" difference between the pocket size and the inlay size. 
That is the pocket is .003" bigger than the inlay piece.
Ideally the inlay should fit into the pocket snug and be pressed in with your thumb.
It should not just fall in and rattle around.

Willee
Untitled Document


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## Willee (Feb 3, 2019)

If anyone is interested in my small pen inlays I would be happy to EMAIL you my CNC files.
To view the drawings you would need BobCad (any version above 20).
The program that runs the machine is Mach3 and use text files.
You can either use them directly, modify them, or use them to learn.

I am fairly sure these CNC text files will run on laser machines as well as cutter machines.

Willee
n5wrx@stx.rr.com


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## mark james (Feb 3, 2019)

I appreciate your effort to share your knowledge and background work for your designs.  While I may never take advantage of the offer for viewing/usage of the CNC files, the offer is outstanding and speaks volumes of your effort to promote others interests and skills.  Well done!

I do hope that you continue to participate in expanding the designs for pens.  I do not sell/market any pens, but boy I would love to play with your designs, just to see if I could...

Cheers, Mark


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## the_PEN_man_10 (Feb 27, 2019)

Hi All - I'm a newbie here. I'm interested in incorporating natural stone/mineral elements into pens - particular an outer sleeve of solid stone material. Do you have any experience with this and specific instruction on how best to do it? The material can be pretty brittle. Thanks!


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## jttheclockman (Feb 27, 2019)

the_PEN_man_10 said:


> Hi All - I'm a newbie here. I'm interested in incorporating natural stone/mineral elements into pens - particular an outer sleeve of solid stone material. Do you have any experience with this and specific instruction on how best to do it? The material can be pretty brittle. Thanks!



Hello Randy

Welcome to the site. I see this is your first post here and it is a very ambitious project you seem to want to try. I applaud this. But I also would suggest you post this question in the generic pen turning forum or even in the advance pen turning forum to get more answers. a little background from you about yourself and what it is that you want to accomplish will help in answering. 

With that said Willie is a cue maker and he has access to an inlay machine and I will let him answer if he happens to see this. 

But for others this probably can be accomplished a couple different ways. You could choose to adhere stones to a tube via epoxy and then just turn and polish if that is possible due to the hardness of such stones. Or you can adhere thin layers of stones and then cast in a resin and it will be  encased. Or you can carve out or route out some relief and inset stones and go this route. Maybe a few photos of examples would help.


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