silver inlay

[endgrainguy]

I'm looking to do some silver inlay work. I'm experienced at doing inlays in wood, including very hard woods like ebony, but I"m not sure how to go about working with silver, or if it's possible. I need to produce some logos around 2" diameter. Can I cut it as if it were wood? What's ideal spindle speed? Slowest available to me is about 8,000 RPM. For .025 thick sheet, can I glue sheet to a wood backer, cut (how many passes, using .032 endmill?) and sand off backer? Any help would be appreciated. See my work at www.alladd.com.

[awerby]

I don't think it's that difficult. Silver cuts pretty well with rotary tools; much better than most kinds of aluminum. For small cutters like you're using, high rpms are good; if you can spin at 10,000-15,000 rpm that should work for your .032 endmill. Make sure it's a center-cutting type, though, that can plunge as well as traverse. If you go with smaller cutters, then raise the rpms. Go with slow feedrates like 5 ipm until you're confident that this is working, then you can gradually try going faster. Try multiple passes, dipping about .010" per pass. Squirt it with a little WD-40 to keep chips from sticking to the cutter.

Sheet metal doesn't cut like wood; the main problem I've had with it is a tendency to lift up and break cutters. So your idea of gluing it down to a backer board makes sense. I'd look for a glue that won't gum up the cutter, and can be removed easily, without sanding. If you use epoxy, some heat will release your parts. If you use cyanoacrylate, acetone will dissolve it. If you use regular white glue, then water should work.

You've got some nice work on your site! Let me know how the silver-cutting works out for you, okay?

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

Originally Posted by endgrainguy I'm looking to do some silver inlay work. I'm experienced at doing inlays in wood, including very hard woods like ebony, but I"m not sure how to go about working with silver, or if it's possible. I need to produce some logos around 2" diameter. Can I cut it as if it were wood? What's ideal spindle speed? Slowest available to me is about 8,000 RPM. For .025 thick sheet, can I glue sheet to a wood backer, cut (how many passes, using .032 endmill?) and sand off backer? Any help would be appreciated. See my work at www.alladd.com.

[endgrainguy]

Thanks for all that info. The job is just at proposal stage, so let's hope he doesn't freak out at the price. Wants an all ebony box with hard gloss finish. Will let you see results iif its a go, or otherwise they'll be a job in silver somewhere down the road... Best, Al

[ImanCarrot]

Nice site, very profession work... absoultely beatiful.