ring/inlay question

jecues

jecues

JE cues
Silver Member
I am new and starting to make some decoritive rings iam inlaying sterling silver strips in double black linen. the strips are .50 mm thick which is .0197 would a .0200 end mill give enough room to install these strips. what glues does everyone use? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Depends on how much run-out your tool has. .020 would probably be too tight for me in my current setup, but on my old machine, I would have to use something smaller. Probably a .018" would have worked. I'm assuming you're not using CNC so just trying to make due with what you have.

If you're going to be cutting the rings off through the silver, I wouldn't use anything other than slow setting epoxy, such as West 205 or 206. Even then if you get them too hot when parting them off, the silver could come out.
 
thirteen thousandths is going to be too much. Depending on how much runout your router spindle has (assuming you're using a router on the Deluxe), you'll have an even bigger slot.
You could start with the .200 and check the slot to see what your actual size is.
I'll defer to Tony on the rest of this... he's on it and has more expertise.
 
yes i am using the router. I am starting to understand a little better why you said .018 for the end mill.
 
The trouble is, using the router and that small of an end mill, you have a good chance of breaking quite a few bits. The router probably has a good deal of run-out. You also need to make sure your lathe is clean and the carriage is moving as smooth as possible. Any runout or sudden vibrations can easily break your bit.

Like the other poster said, make a cut and measure it. It might be hard to measure that thin of a slot. Maybe try drilling a hole with a .125" cutter and measure that. Any movement in the cross slide though will compound your results.

There's not really an easy way to figure it out except by knowing your machine and trial and error.

When I first started doing my barbell type rings, I did them on the Hightower Machine. I first tried a dremel, but they are pretty bad. I bought a Proxxon tool, which is a lot like a dremel, but it a lot more accurate. Some of the rings I did on manually like that came out better than some I did on my first CNC machine.
 
Try it and see... if your strips are nice and straight, it should be ok. Silver inlaid into black wont show glue lines, but if the silver is not nice and straight, you'll notice it if the slot has a lot of slop.
If you can get the slots .02, you'll be golden.
G5 Epoxy.
If you have a lot of slots, you might want something slower, so you can get them all in before the glue kicks.
 
I use a hightower with a porter cable router and whenever I'm cutting slots for 50mm silver strips in linen I use a 1/64 end mill. Before you start cutting the linen you should wait a few seconds for the router to reach full rpm's and to get the initial start up vibrations out and then feed at a medium rate. If you go to slow you'll get vibration and they'll snap easy and if you go to fast they'll snap almost instantly. You'll probably snap a few before you find the right feed rate. Also before I start I take the linen down to about .10 over finished diameter so I don't have to use the whole cutter depth, I've found that it helps not to snap as many bits. I use the system three slow setting epoxy and let it sit for a couple of days to make sure it reaches it's maximum hardness before is start cutting on them, Hope this helps, Todd
 
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Yes .020" is what I would use. I like to run forward and backwards in the slot to open it up a little more.
 
jecues said:
so i guess start with.016 and see how much run out i have and go from there.
Click to expand...

Try the .020" first. I have cut hundreds and hundreds of slots through the years. The .020" is what you want if you are using a good 1/8" collet adapter like I sell in the PC router.
 
I agree with using the ".020 ", go slow with your feed and you shouldn't break a bit ... I use epoxy in a small squeeze bottle with an extended tip , like you use with CA glue . Wrap in wax paper , then wrap tightly with surgical tubing to cure ... Epoxy is overkill but makes a super bond . You can use a med. CA glue but make sure you have plenty of ventilation as the fumes will kill you!:eek::cool:
 
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