Making and Inlaying Fans From simple to exotic

A simple fan that I have done.

More complex fans I can likely do.

Inlay I dream about but need a CNC machine and laser cutter.

Use a Coleman stove or possibly a hot plate. Use ¼” – ½” depth of sand but remember more sand takes longer to heat. I used ½”. Use 100 grit clean washed silica sand or like me use Joe’s bag of sand from the garage. Notice the rather coarse distribution of grit in the picture.

Use a handle for high temperature. The one on the right began to smoke during the exercise.

Burn both sides of the sample to get two wedges. Burn on an angle so there is little or no shade at the point of the wedge or burn evenly and remove the edge to get no shade at the point of the wedge.

Shading removes moisture and the veneer curls. Add some moisture with a misting bottle and flatten the shaded pieces.

Clamp between cauls and allow the veneer to dry. Likely 1 to 24 hours.

Use a shooting board to flatten one side Use a shooting board to flatten one side. You may cut the sample on an angle first to remove some shading near the point.

Using a shield the size of the finished fan segment to mark a line on the shaded material for the top of the segment. Use this line to position the piece on the cutting board.

On a soft wood cutting board draw two perpendicular lines On a soft wood cutting board draw two perpendicular lines. Draw a large radius. Use a divider to make 3 or 5 equal segments. Draw a radius of the finished fan.

Cut the fan segment on the cutting board. Then with an 18 degree angle plane the cut side on the shooting board.

Stretch blue tape on the cutting board sticky side up Stretch blue tape on the cutting board sticky side up. Tape the edges to the board. Place fan segments on the tape good side up.

Put veneer tape on the face or good side Put veneer tape on the face or good side. Use a maximum of 4 overlap thicknesses. Let the tape dry.

Rough cut the fan and remove the blue tape Rough cut the fan and remove the blue tape. Glue this to a second large piece of veneer 1/16” thick. I used a thinner backing veneer. Note the grain direction.

Cut a disk the same radius as the finished fan Cut a disk the same radius as the finished fan. Mount in a dremel and sand round. Using a guide such as an awl put the centre of the disk at the point of the fan.

Clamp the fan and disk to a scrap board. Cut the fan out and sand round. Plane the flat edges on a shooting board to adjust the fan to 90 degrees.

Clamp, double side tape or hide glue the fan to the finished piece. Trace its outline with a sharp knife.

Roughly route out the fan shape. I used a 1/8” straight bit Roughly route out the fan shape. I used a 1/8” straight bit. Set the depth of the bit using scrap. Its easier to increase depth than reduce when setting the depth. The veneer should be slightly proud of the background.

Clean the shape working toward the previous knife lines using a chisel or knife. Slowly fit the fan. Glue and clamp the fan in place using a tape covered caul. Plane or scrap the surface of the fan. Enjoy your finished piece.

References 1. Creative String Curves Steve Latta Fine Woodworking Sept 2010 2. Exotic Inlays Craig Thibideau Fine Woodworking Dec 2010 *3. Fan Inlay Garett Hack Fine Woodworking March 2009 4. Inlaid Feet Band Garett Hack Fine Woodworking Feb 2014 5. Legs with Inlayed Square Garett Hack Fine Woodworking Sept 2009 6. Line and Berry Inlay Steve Latta Fine Woodworking #196 7. Make Your Own Banding Freddy Roman Fine Woodworking Aug 2016 8. Sand Shading for Marquerty Paul Schurch Fine Woodworking Feb 2011 *9. Sand Shading Techniques Janet Collins MP4 Video *10. Sinuous tapered string inlay Steve Latta Fine Woodworking Jan 2018 11. String Inlay Made Easier Michael Fortune Fine Woodworking Feb 2013 *12. The Inlaid Fan Bob Van Dyke July 2017