Popular Post Gene Howe Posted January 18 Popular Post Report Share Posted January 18 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... John Morris, Cal, Fred W. Hargis Jr and 6 others 7 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Posted January 18 Report Share Posted January 18 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? Grandpadave52, lew and Artie 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Gene Howe Posted January 18 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted January 18 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. KevTN, Artie, Grandpadave52 and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Howe Posted January 18 Author Report Share Posted January 18 @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. lew, Cal, Artie and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Howe Posted January 20 Author Report Share Posted January 20 Frustration abounds. Seems I can't follow a template. ... or set a bit depth accurately. Glad I planed extra 1/8th material. Cal, Grandpadave52, Fred W. Hargis Jr and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Posted January 20 Report Share Posted January 20 But you've done it before, right? Grandpadave52 and Fred W. Hargis Jr 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Gene Howe Posted January 20 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted January 20 25 minutes ago, Cal said: But you've done it before, right? Yeah, but I've slept since then. Headhunter, Gerald, KevTN and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HandyDan Posted January 20 Report Share Posted January 20 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. KevTN, Grandpadave52, Cal and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Howe Posted January 20 Author Report Share Posted January 20 Never thought of doing that. Thanks for your suggestion. Grandpadave52 and Cal 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HandyDan Posted January 20 Report Share Posted January 20 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. Cal, Grandpadave52 and KevTN 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Howe Posted January 20 Author Report Share Posted January 20 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. KevTN, Fred W. Hargis Jr, Cal and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HandyDan Posted January 20 Report Share Posted January 20 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. Cal, Grandpadave52 and Fred W. Hargis Jr 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Posted January 21 Report Share Posted January 21 (edited) 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 by Cal Grandpadave52 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4DThinker Posted January 21 Report Share Posted January 21 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 John Morris, Cal and Grandpadave52 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HandyDan Posted January 21 Report Share Posted January 21 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. Grandpadave52 and Cal 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4DThinker Posted January 21 Report Share Posted January 21 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 Grandpadave52 and Cal 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Gene Howe Posted January 21 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted January 21 (edited) 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 by Gene Howe Grandpadave52, Headhunter, KevTN and 4 others 5 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HandyDan Posted January 21 Report Share Posted January 21 (edited) 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 by HandyDan Gerald, Grandpadave52 and Cal 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred W. Hargis Jr Posted January 21 Report Share Posted January 21 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. Cal, HandyDan and Grandpadave52 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Gene Howe Posted January 21 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted January 21 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. Cal, KevTN, HandyDan and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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