AmbersBear Decorative Inlay Kit EZInlays

AmbersBear Decorative Inlay Kit

$50
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Dimensions: 6" Tall, 5-1/2" Wide

Instructions to build the Decorative Inlay Kit AmbersBear

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AmbersBear Instructions

This Build

Christmas Build

1st Build

What's Included in the Kit

For $50 you'll receive a decorative wood inlay kit, consisting of 4 templates to build the Ambers Bear inlay. It only takes a couple of hours to add the AmbersBear decorative inlay into your project.

By following router based inlay techniques you're guaranteed to build an inlay that looks like something only the highest skilled craftspersons could make.

Best of all you don't need to be a master crafts-person, much less a woodworker, to build this inlay. All you need is a few basic tools that are inexpensive as well as safe and easy to use. Click here review the Router Based Inlay Tool List.

Never built an inlay before? Click here to Learn How To Build Any Wood Inlay.

Select and Prepare the Inlay Materials

When selecting the inlay materials you want to keep a few things in mind. The first is contrast. You want the inlay to stand out against the backing material, in this case Padauk.

You want the base material to be at least 3/8 of an inch thick, much thinner than that and there is a real good chance your inlay will warp!

INLAY MATERIALS

    * Padauk 7" x 8" x 5/8" - Base material (the lid)
    * Olive Wood 6" x 6" x 1/8" - Face and Legs
    * Walnut 5" x 3" x 1/8" - Chest
    * Honduras Rosewood 3" x 4" x 1/8" - Paws and Outer Ear
    * Yellow Heart 3" x 2" x 1/8" - Inner Ear and Heart
    * Purple Heart 2" x 2" x 1/8" - Eyes
    * Red Heart 2" x 2" x 1/8" - Nose
    * I have no idea! 2" x 2" x 1/8" - Muzzle

GENERAL GUIDELNES

The main thing you want to pay attention when selecting the material for any type of decorative inlay is contrast. There are two type of contrast to keep in mind, color and grain pattern / direction.

It's possible to get decent contrast from two similarly colored woods as long as there is a sharp contrast in grain patterns and direction. Without this contrast your inlay will not look it's best!

Low Contrast Inlays

Picture of inlay with high contrast eyes and ears

High Contrast Inlays

Here are two examples of how and why contrast is so important. The first time I added the eyes I used Yellow Heart in Olive wood. The amount of contrast just isn't there so the eyes seemed to blend into the face and disappear. This wasn't the look I wanted so I replaced the eyes with Purple Heart.

The same thing applied to the inner ears except that the colors were reversed. In the case of the ears the Purple Heart kind of blended into the Rosewood so I replaced them with Yellow Heart inlays instead. Now I think about it I probably should have replaced the nose too.

Cutting an Inlay Procedures

Configure your router by taking the BUSHING OFF and setting depth of plunge to cut all the way through the inlay material.

Align and, using double sided tape, affix the template to the inlay material.

Use quick release clamps to secure the inlay assembly to the workbench

Position the router inside the cutout shape, turn it on, and plunge it into the inlay material. Carefully guide the router around the perimeter of the shape keeping the bearing in constant contact with the template wall. After the pass is complete turn the router off, un-plunge it, and set it aside.

Ensure you cut all the way through the inlay material. If not readjust the depth of plunge and make another pass.

Carefully remove the template and the inlay from the backing material.

Click here review how to Cut Inlays.

Layer 1 Pieces 1 and 2

Layer 1 Inlay

For Layer 1 you will be cutting the inlays used for the head and legs / lower body. I prefer to cut the head and leg inlays from the same piece of wood, but that is your choice! This example uses Olive Wood for both pieces.

For these pieces it's recommended that the grain direction flows in a similar direction or has a similar type of pattern. Also ensure there is good contrast with the background material.

Layer 2 Pieces 1, 2, and 3

Layer 2 Pieces 4 and 5

Layer 2 Inlay

For this layer you'll cut five inlays that comprise the bears chest, eyes, and two of the paws.

For the chest select a color and grain patter that contrasts with the head and legs. It helps the overall effect if there is good contrast with the background material too.

As mentioned earlier on this page, Yellow Heart turned out to be a bad choice because the eyes blended into the Olive wood. The contrast, and overall effect of the inlay was greatly enhanced by replacing the eyes with Purple Heart.

When cutting the eyes pay special attention to affixing the material to the backing board. Because the pieces are so small they tend to move during the cutting process unless FIRMLY affixed with double sided tape!!! To combat this I like to sand the bottom of the inlay material to help give the tape more surface area to stick against.

For the paws it's recommended the grain direction flows vertically. When selecting these pieces keep in mind you'll be cutting two more paws on Layer 3.

Layer 3 Piece 3

Layer 3 Pieces 1, 2, 4, and 5

Layer 3 Inlays

The inlay numbered as L3P3 is the muzzle. Once again select a color and a grain pattern that offers good contrast with the rest of the face.

When selecting this piece keep in mind you'll be inlaying another small piece of wood in the middle of it, as well as the eyes. Contrast is everything!

L3P4 and L3P5 are the other two paws that go along with the paws cut on Layer 2. Notice, the grain directions is the same for all four the paws.

L3P1 and L3P2 are the outer ears of the bear. While I prefer the ears match the paws, there isn't any rule that makes it so. Just a personal choice that you get to make for yourself.

One thing I would recommend though, unless you want a demented looking bear, ensure the grain direction is the same for both ears! :)

Layer 4 Pieces 1, 2, and 3

Layer 4 Inlays

The inlay numbered as L4P1 and L4P2 are the inner ears. For this piece select a grain direction that flows from the bottom of to the top. Something about a horizontal grain pattern inside the ear makes the bear look a little off.

L4P3 is the nose. Grain patter for this piece doesn't seem to make that much of a difference, unlike the ears. Weird... Anyway... the main thing you're looking for with this piece is good contrast with the muzzle. In the case of this build the nose and muzzle really don't provide good contrast. If you look at the bear pictures at the top of the page I think the 1st Build bear has the best contrast.

Cutting Voids And Assembly

Configure your router by putting the BUSHING ON and setting depth of plunge to cut a void as deep as the inlay material without cutting all the way through the base material.

Use the circular alignment marks to align the template to the base material, then use double sided tape to affix the template in place. Use quick release clamps to secure the assembly to the workbench.

Position the router inside the shape, turn it on, and plunge it down. Guide the router around the perimeter of the shape and then move it back and forth to remove the material. After the majority of the material is removed turn the router off, un-plunge it, and set it aside. Clean out the debris then make another pass to get clean edges for the inlay to fit into and to remove any remaining knobbies.

Carefully remove the template from the base material.

Pre-fit the inlay into it's void and sand to fit if necessary. Once the fit is satisfactory smear glue on the bottom of the inlay and in the void. Place the inlay in it's void and use a soft mallet to tap the inlay until it's fully seated.

Click here review how to Cut Voids and Assemble the Inlays.

Layer 1 Voids

Layer 1 Assembled

Layer 1 Voids

The first thing you need to decide is where you're going to place the inlay. Use the Layer 1 template to position the inlay. This template will give you a good feel for how tall and wide the inlay is.

After positioning the inlay use a pencil to draw the circular alignment marks on the base material and then the outline of the template. You can review the alignment procedures here.

Using the registration marks, not the template outline, position and secure the Layer 1 template to the base material with double sided tape. Route the voids for the head and legs using the Cutting a Void procedure. DO NOT ROUTE THE ALIGNMENT MARKS!!!

After the voids have been cut gently pry the template off the base material using a paint scraper. When finished the voids should look similar to the Layer 1 Voids picture.

Assemble the two inlay pieces into their respective void. After the pieces are assembled let the glue dry for fifteen to twenty minutes. The drying time isn't required, just a recommendation. The voids that will be routed on Layer 2 removes a fair amount of material in and around the inlays. Letting the glue dry a little will help prevent any movement of the already inlaid pieces.

Layer 2 Voids

Layer 2 Assembled

Layer 2 Voids

For this layer you'll cut the five voids for the bears chest, eyes, and two of the paws.

Using the registration marks, not the template outline, position and secure the Layer 2 template to the base material with double sided tape. Route the voids for the eyes, chest and eyes using the Cutting a Void procedure. DO NOT ROUTE THE ALIGNMENT MARKS!!!

When cutting voids make sure you pay attention to the depth of cut. If your inlay material has different thicknesses you'll have to reset the depth of plunge for each thicknesses.

After the voids have been cut gently pry the template off the base material using a paint scraper. When finished the voids should look similar to the Layer 2 Voids picture.

Assemble the five inlay pieces into their respective void. After the pieces are assembled let the glue dry for fifteen to twenty minutes. The drying time isn't as important on this layer as it was for Layer 1. The voids that will be routed on Layer 3 doesn't remove as much material around the edges of the inlaid pieces as Layer 2 did. Still it never hurts to let the glue dry for a while!

By this point in time you're probably aware that the process gets a little repetitive. You're just doing the same thing over and over again...

Layer 3 Voids

Layer 3 Assembled

Layer 3 Voids

For this layer you'll cut the five voids for the bears ears, muzzle, and the other two paws.

Using the registration marks, not the template outline, position and secure the Layer 3 template to the base material with double sided tape. Route the voids for the ears, muzzle and paws using the Cutting a Void procedure. DO NOT ROUTE THE ALIGNMENT MARKS!!!

When cutting voids make sure you pay attention to the depth of cut. If your inlay material has different thicknesses you'll have to reset the depth of plunge for each thicknesses.

After the voids have been cut gently pry the template off the base material using a paint scraper. When finished the voids should look similar to the Layer 3 Voids picture.

Assemble the five inlay pieces into their respective void. Glue drying time isn't that important on this layer because the next layer only removes material from within the inlaid pieces The next layer doesn't remove any material around the perimeter of the inlaid pieces. Still letting the glue dry for a while doesn't have any downside either.

From a process perspective... same old... same old...

Layer 4 Voids

Layer 4 Assembled

Layer 4 Voids

For this layer you'll cut three voids for the bears ears and nose.

Using the registration marks, not the template outline, position and secure the Layer 4 template to the base material with double sided tape. Route the voids for the eyes and nose using the Cutting a Void procedure. DO NOT ROUTE THE ALIGNMENT MARKS!!!

When cutting voids make sure you pay attention to the depth of cut. If your inlay material has different thicknesses you'll have to reset the depth of plunge for each thicknesses.

After the voids have been cut gently pry the template off the base material using a paint scraper. When finished the voids should look similar to the Layer 4 Voids picture.

Assemble the three inlay pieces into their respective void and let the glue dry for a few hours or overnight is better. Glue drying time becomes critical now because the next step involves sanding and finishing the inlay. As the glue dries I've noticed that sometimes the inlay pieces change height.

I'm not really sure what the cause of this is, maybe when the glue dries it contracts the material and different densities of wood contract more than others. Either way if you sand it when the glue is still wet the inlay tends to not stay flat!

Heart Void

Heart Assembled

Layer 4 Voids

This layer IS NOT part of the AmbersBear kit, rather it's the HeartEZ template.

You can't use the registration marks to position this template, you have to eyeball it! Position the template where you want the heart to be inlaid and trace out the heart on the bears chest. If yo like how it's positioned secure the HeartEZ template to the base material with double sided tape. Route the void for the heart using the Cutting a Void procedure.

After the void has been cut gently pry the template off the base material using a paint scraper. When finished the void should look similar to the Heart Void picture.

Assemble the heart inlay into it's void and let the glue dry for a few hours or overnight is better. Glue drying is critical now because the next step involves sanding and finishing the inlay.

After the glue is completely dry proceed to the final sanding and finishing procedure.

BTW... You may have noticed I replaced the eyes and inner ears prior to adding the heart to the bear.

As another option you could inlay the Yin Yang symbol on the bears chest if you have the CrafterEZ template.

Final Sanding and Applying Finish

To fix any gaps in the inlay smear a small amount of glue into the gap, wipe off the excess glue, then sand over the area. The sanding action will cause sawdust to mix with the glue in the gap blurring it out.

After all the gaps have been filled sand the entire inlay until it's flat. This process is best done after the glue has completely dried!

Once sanded apply the finish of your choice. Personally I like to apply three coats of Tung Oil followed by three coats of a polyurethane finish that has a UV inhibitor in it. The UV protection will help keep the woods from changing color over time.

Click here for more information about Sanding and Finishing Tutorial.