I have sawn holly to a thickness of about 1/16" thick by about 1" wide. I am working on cutting stringing from these strips. The 1/16" dimension is the width of the holly stringing that will be installed in the piece.
How wide do you cut your holly strips for inlay? Do you try to go for 1/16" square, 1/8", or more?
Also, what do you use to cut your stringing? I've tried a home built cutting tool, a slightly modified cutting gauge, and am about to try the wheeled marking gauge.
Should I go with a power tool and put a fine tooth blade on the bandsaw and rig up a zero clearance base to cut the stringing?
I have had mixed success with my attempts so far which could be because of the crudity of my jury rigged tools, inexperience, or a combination of the two. I have not resorted to crushed mother of pearl and epoxy just yet.
We usually make the groove so the depth is about twice the width of the stringing. We don't want it to fall out. Sometimes we slice off a strip with a cutting gauge, scoring it from both sides. The cut from this operation is not perfectly square, but we have a little extra width to plane flush with the surface.
1/8” is a good depth, pretty much independent of width. Like the others, I like 1/32–it’s not intuitive, but the thinner the width, the more eye-catching and striking is the effect.
Up to 1/32, I have cut the strings to depth with a sharp, thin cutting gauge. 1/16 kinda overmatches a cutting gauge. I have used a bandsaw with 6-tooth blade for the job, and it works fine. Probably your best move.
I have had a tough time getting reliable results with a string sizer on either ebony or holly. By string sizer, I mean a cutting gate that you pull the string through. Undoubtedly my technique. But what worked very well was planing the strings to final width—cut the string over long, clamp one end down and use a small plane. Keep track with a micrometer to control the width. Put a slight top-to-bottom taper on the string will help things along. You want the string a few thousandths less than the channel width, because when the glue hits the string, it will both expand and soften it, so there is very little persuading you can do once the string is in the channel, particularly at 1/32 or less. At 1/16, less of a concern.
When it comes to making the channel, the best tools I have found are these from Lee Valley:
I have tried the sawtooth tool recommended by Steve Latta, and prefer the LV channel tool; however the LV tool is designed for 1/32 and smaller. For wider strings, the Preston type stringing router, or a tailed demon might be better.
To square up the channel ends, you will need a very thin chisel, and excellent eyesight (magnify if required). To trim the string to length in the channel, and to work the corners to full depth, you’ll need a tiny thin chisel the width of the channel. Dry fit and cut the string to exact length outside the channel, if you can. Sometimes I have dry fit but then left the string slightly long, and cut it in to final length in the channel. Interested in what others say about this.
I like hide glue, because it will not affect the final finish in any way.
What Warren said about setting the string slightly proud and planing or scraping flush is good advice IME.
Just nail a fence to the edge of some MDF and leave 1/32" of it sticking proud as a fence.
1/16" string in Line and Berry looks crude. Ditto for drawer borders. However for a top border 1/16" could be ideal. Practice with 1/32 for your pattern to see how it looks. About 1/16" trough depth is about optimum. If the string stays in the trough without glue the depth is oki. Do not make string fit too tight. I use white glue. You want quick set our it will take an eternity to do a Line and Berry pattern.
If you are just getting started I urge you to buy the Latta DVD on stringing. I have done enough of it that I don' t find it challenging any more ( I struggled with how to describe my level of experience and there are no "we" involved with it. ). I have worked personally with Latta and got some other tips. I would be glad to answer questions, more than I care to type . Email me for phone number.
I bought and promptly sold the LN straight line cutter. However I like the circle cutter. Some custom made tools are handy if not essential.
I bought the LV marking gauge shown in PIC. With an Exacto blade mounted it cuts holly string easily. With a 3-4 tooth section of 0.032" 12 tpi band saw blade mounted in it it cuts straight line troughs quickly. For a lot of straight troughs use a Dremel and fence.
I get more satisfaction stringing than any other woodworking I do. It is not hard to learn but requires practice.
Wiley said: "Sometimes I have dry fit but then left the string slightly long, and cut it in to final length in the channel. Interested in what others say about this."
I cut trough, add glue, add over length string, Chisel off the end either orthogonal or at 45 degrees if a corner, press into place. I do what Latta teaches. Seems to work.
As Wiley stated, tiny details are the difference between an attractive job and one that looks armature. When working at 1/32" a fourth of this amount error on an intersection can degrade the result.
For example on this Spice Box. If the arcs don't meet in a way where each arc diminishes the same amount at the tip, the tip will not be sharp.
A caution on long drawer borders. If you precut a long sting to run the length of a drawer it probably will not fit when it is actually installed. I don't know why, but I found it essential to cut the ends of string as it was being pressed into troughs.
Above all....practice. I always make a practice pattern on identical wood. The practice reveals where the problems will be encountered and you have the opportunity to practice solving them. A lot of strategy is involved in what to cut first. Ideally plan to make intersections where the 2nd trough neatly trims the end of the first one. For example on the box, the interior loops were installed and then the interior diamond clipped their ends off to yield a perfect joint.
