Inlaid Metal in Wood?

[wooginator]

So I'm not sure if this is the right place for this since I don't think steel would be the ideal metal. I'm looking to inlay a wooden handle roughly an inch in diameter with ornamental metal bands (thin, silver in appearance). They rise a little bit above the wood in the item I'm trying to replicate, but they're not round so I can't just use plain wire. Does anyone know anything about this? I'd attach a picture but I honestly can't find one online. If any of you are huge nerds like I am, I'm talking about the handle of Thor's hammer Mjolnir from the Avengers movie.

[ThomasPowers]

You might look for inlaying of silver on wooden knife handles---a fairly common thing with several sites with how to's out there, They usually use strips of material tapped into thin grooves made with a chisel.

[wooginator]

Cool, thanks! Did some googling, and it looks like the best bet would be to make little grooves like you said and then to get soft silver wire and hammer it into the grooves so it flattens out a bit.

[ThomasPowers]

No! you want strip and for a starter project I'd suggest nickle silver strip, some folks will file the edge slightly on one side to make it easier to tap into the slices.

if you get wire, anneal it and run it through a rolling mill to produce strip.

[IronAlchemy]

I just sat through a very good hands on session by Ron Claiborne at the Batson Blade Symposium on how to do silver wire inlay. You can find some good descriptions online as well as a section in Joe Keeslar's book, "Handles and Guards".

A few pointers from what I was taught and have barely used myself:

• The wood that you use is important. The preferred wood is curly maple since it will not chip or split easily.
• The wire used is actually rectangular not round. Using a chasing hammer, you only lightly tap it into the groove you cut. You are not really upsetting it into the groove.
• The wire is held in place by lightly moistening the surrounding wood to swell the groove closed when you are done.
• Cutting the groove is like chasing. Ron used tools made by grinding down the ends of 2-3 inch sections of old hacksaw blades. The tool thickness should be about the thickness of your wire, 20-24 gauge. These tools are hand held and struck with a chasing hammer.
• You lightly chisel a groove to about the depth of your wire height, tap in the wire, dampen it, file flush and finish along with the handle.
• You can use nickel silver, fine silver, gold and I am sure other malleable metals. Joe Keeslar recommends 0.013 x 0.055 or 0.008 x 0.055 wire in his book.
  

The technique is very doable requiring a minimum of tools, a steady hand and a little practice. Good luck with it and please share back how it goes for you.

- Doug

[trying-it]

Another woodworking option is to cut grooves, wrap a few layers of masking tape (or light cardboard and tape) leaving a small hole, pour pewter into tape. Remove tape and sand finish the pewter. Molten pewter will not burn the tape or wood. (Note: cast lead-free pewter needs to be used if it will ever be near food and is healthier for casting)

I'm pretty sure a google search will have a few how-to's online.


pic #1 at this link shows cast pewter on wood results and its lurking potential.

http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib/pScott/sGrandstaff/screwdrivers.htm

[wooginator]

Thanks for all your help guys. Honestly I was just planning on using a segment of dowel from Home Depot, sanding it down and staining/polyurethane-ing it after the inlay. This all seems a bit tricky.

[IronAlchemy]

LOL...you have to be careful what you ask for around here. :D

I learned a cool new and potentially useful technique on casting pewter on wood though. Very nice. Thanks for posting the question!

- Doug

[Drewed]

Take the end of the dowel and cut it off. Glue on alternating layers of wood dowel and satinless steel fender washers. Run one long screw up from the bottom when done to really hold it all togeather.

[pkrankow]

You can used plumbing solder as "pewter" and cast it into a card stock mold. there are several threads on doing this for pipe hawks here and on other sites.

Be careful of your temperatures and be prepared to put out a fire.

Phil

[wooginator]

Take the end of the dowel and cut it off. Glue on alternating layers of wood dowel and satinless steel fender washers. Run one long screw up from the bottom when done to really hold it all togeather.

That's not a bad idea. I'm using this as the handle for something that weighs 15-20 pounds, and so I've been concerned that when I swing it the dowel would snap. If I do this though then I can run a steel rod up the middle to reinforce it.

[ThomasPowers]

Cut down a broken pickaxe or sledge hammer handle and use a handle for the handle! Large dowel is usually poor quality wood for impact loads!

[ianinsa]

One you have the right handle,and as Thomas sugested pickaxe is good. carve your patern out.then get Aluminium dust(carefull it's explosive)and mix with resin(the type for glassfibre)you need a thick firm mix and add catalist. Now smear (real men smear!! :D reference to the birdcage)into your patern leave to set and sand -----Bob's your auntie!

Not blacksmithing I must admit ;)

[wooginator]

One you have the right handle,and as Thomas sugested pickaxe is good. carve your patern out.then get Aluminium dust(carefull it's explosive)and mix with resin(the type for glassfibre)you need a thick firm mix and add catalist. Now smear (real men smear!! :D reference to the birdcage)into your patern leave to set and sand -----Bob's your auntie!

Not blacksmithing I must admit ;)

Eh, metalworking is metalworking. I'll consider that. Currently I'm liking the idea of cutting it into segments and drilling a hole through the middle, layering it with washers (possibly washers dipped in silver nitrate for a silver plating) and running a piece of round steel stock through the middle. At the bottom I'll pound the round stock until it flattens out some and the wooden/washer bits can't come off, then at the top I'll weld it to the hammer.

[Andrew Berry]

Leather washers threaded over the round steel and tightened down tight works well, too, looks great, and is nice on your hands. And they are easy to shape into whatever's comfortable. I would certainly run the rod all the way through the head of your hammer.