January 18, 20233 yr Popular Post Those YouTube videos from Infinity and purveyors of templates make it look so easy. We'll, that's just B.S. Of course, they have properly deminsioned stock and a completely outfitted and correct size of router. Not to mention, their proprietary router inlay kit on hand. For the inlay I'm doing on Phyl's mesquite coffee table, only two woods, walnut and maple, are used. Both need to be at 1/8th thick. Or, so I thought. In my stash, I found some walnut I'd reasawn to close to 1/8. Not so lucky with the maple. But, I managed to get it down to close with the bandsaw. Here's where my lack of foresight once more bites me in the a$$. I took great pains to plane the stock to precisely 1/8". I could have simply set the router's depth to the thickness the stock off the bandsaw. Dumb! With the stock prepared, it was time to set up the router. I had originally planned to use the Bosch Colt because of it's small size. After a couple of fruitless hours of fiddling, I found there ain't no way Bosch's base plate will accept the Infinty inlay kit. There are several base plate adapters and none work. I tried them all. So, it was time to break out one of the PC 690s. The Infinity kit requires some pretty fine router adjustments which required removing the base plate on the 690, inserting their centering pin in the router chuck, then reinstalling the base plate with the inlay kit bushing set attached. Thereby insuring the precise alignment required. I was surprised at how much play there was in the base plate screw placement. With all the above accomplished, I'm pretty sure I'm ready to start cutting. Well, that's after theTarter Woodworking templates are all in place and secured. All in all, getting to this point consumed most of yesterday. Nap included of course. It's a new day and new adventures await. To be continued...
January 18, 20233 yr I've done some inlay work with my PC690. I agree that the Colt would be my go-to for the job if it accepted the inlay kit that I have... do you know if Bosch offers one for the Colt?
January 18, 20233 yr Author Popular Post 4 minutes ago, Cal said: I've done some inlay work with my PC690. I agree that the Colt would be my go-to for the job if it accepted the inlay kit that I have... do you know if Bosch offers one for the Colt? My Bosch accessories include several different sized template guides but aren't compatible with the Infinity system I have. With some fiddling, they might work for template guided things, but, one would have to start from scratch and, I doubt it would be precise enough for inlay work. It would be great for template guided engraving or individual cut outs. I'd have to check but, I think one of the several sizes of guides accepts 1/8th bits.
January 18, 20233 yr Author @Cal I found a Bosch inlay kit at Highland Woodworking. Looks very similar to the Infinity kit. Sorry. I'm on a phone and couldn't copy the address.
January 20, 20233 yr Author Frustration abounds. Seems I can't follow a template. ... or set a bit depth accurately. Glad I planed extra 1/8th material.
January 20, 20233 yr Author Popular Post 25 minutes ago, Cal said: But you've done it before, right? Yeah, but I've slept since then.
January 20, 20233 yr On 1/18/2023 at 9:13 AM, Gene Howe said: I had originally planned to use the Bosch Colt because of it's small size. After a couple of fruitless hours of fiddling, I found there ain't no way Bosch's base plate will accept the Infinty inlay kit. There are several base plate adapters and none work I made a base plate for my Colt to use the bushing kit I had. The bushings are off-brand and I figured that was the reason. I guess Bosch just prioritized the Colt.
January 20, 20233 yr 3 minutes ago, Gene Howe said: Never thought of doing that. Thanks for your suggestion. The tough part is getting the right size hole. I used the lathe to get the hole to size. Centering it on the machine wasn't to hard.
January 20, 20233 yr Author 8 minutes ago, HandyDan said: The tough part is getting the right size hole. I used the lathe to get the hole to size. Centering it on the machine wasn't to hard. No lathe, here. I wonder if I have or can find a Forstner bit of the right size.
January 20, 20233 yr 3 minutes ago, Gene Howe said: No lathe, here. I wonder if I have or can find a Forstner bit of the right size. All you can do is try. Your Shopsmith would do, plastic cuts easily.
January 21, 20233 yr 22 hours ago, HandyDan said: I made a base plate for my Colt to use the bushing kit I had. The bushings are off-brand and I figured that was the reason. I guess Bosch just prioritized the Colt. Did you make it from plastic Dan? If so, what type of plastic did you use? I've never done any 3-D printing, I wonder (musings on musings) if a 3-D printed plate could be made that would be accurate & tough enough for the task... Maybe @4DThinker can chime in here... Edited January 21, 20233 yr by Cal
January 21, 20233 yr 51 minutes ago, Cal said: I've never done any 3-D printing, I wonder (musings on musings) if a 3-D printed plate could be made that would be accurate & tough enough for the task... Maybe @4DThinker can chime in here... I can chime, but I'm better at whistling. Making precise things with my 3D printers IS possible, although holes in them are the tough thing to make precise. I can't remember what the last precise thing I fiddled with was, but it took making one, measuring the holes with a digital caliber to see how close they were. If too small or big I redrew the hole a bit larger or smaller to allow for the error factor. Re-3Dprint and check again. Usually the 3rd try would be the perfect one, or at least close enough to work. 4D
January 21, 20233 yr 1 hour ago, Cal said: Did you make it from plastic Dan? If so, what type of plastic did you use? It was clear so plexiglass or acrylic. Not sure what it was but it was.
January 21, 20233 yr The last baseplate for a router I made was from clear acrylic 1/4" thick. Cheaper plastic sheets you find at hardware stores often tend to melt when being drilled though or cut with a CNC. 4D
January 21, 20233 yr Author Popular Post On 1/20/2023 at 8:01 AM, HandyDan said: I made a base plate for my Colt to use the bushing kit I had. The bushings are off-brand and I figured that was the reason. I guess Bosch just prioritized the Colt. In the process of making a base plate for the Bosch. I got lucky and found, among my router paraphernalia, a clear plastic base plate, virgin and already milled to accept the brass inlay bushings. Just need to drill and countersink for the Bosch screw pattern. Edited January 21, 20233 yr by Gene Howe
January 21, 20233 yr 34 minutes ago, Gene Howe said: I got lucky and found, among my router paraphernalia That's exactly why we save everything. Finding it when we need it is paranormal. Just as a reminder, your bushing kit should have a centering pin to aid the install. Edited January 21, 20233 yr by HandyDan
January 21, 20233 yr Gene, consider drilling the screw holes a little large and then counter bore for the screw head. That will allow a little play to center the bushing perfectly. Using pan head screws/flat head screws instead of the countersunk ones will allow you to shift it around to center it.
January 21, 20233 yr Author Popular Post 4 hours ago, HandyDan said: That's exactly why we save everything. Finding it when we need it is paranormal. Just as a reminder, your bushing kit should have a centering pin to aid the install. 2 hours ago, Fred W. Hargis Jr said: Gene, consider drilling the screw holes a little large and then counter bore for the screw head. That will allow a little play to center the bushing perfectly. Using pan head screws/flat head screws instead of the countersunk ones will allow you to shift it around to center it. Thanks, Guys. You two must've been chanelling me. Or, we're all on the same wave length. That's what I'm doing this very minute.
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