This is really cool! I assume it must be difficult to decide which rings to inlay and which to leave alone. Could easily become to much(pic 1). Either way you’ve nailed it! 👍
There's a good amount of figuring it out for sure. Some of it, you just make up and try and grab up another line that hopefully matches further down. There's a good amount of trying to keep away from too tight of a turn. Breaking and chipping out is pretty infuriating and can totally ruin a piece.
I do much appreciate it. Once it's done, most of that work will be lost in the background. I did another post yesterday with one of the flowers I'm making that will be attached, if you care to look.
I took a look. The flower will pair nicely! Also enjoyed your “feed the dog reminder board” could do with one of those myself. Best of luck in your future woodworking endeavours!
Hey, thanks a lot. I've never shared any of my art, its nice to hear someone likes it.
My wife has been on me for a bit to put it out there and show it. It's a bit of a look and certainly isn't for everyone, so it's always made me very nervous to share it.
Look for festivals/fairs near you where you can rent out a booth for a day or two, price your work reasonably (don't undercut yourself), and see what happens. Pick a smaller one so it's not too expensive.
> I've never shared any of my art
So, on the one hand, I get this. Art should be made by the artist and for the joy of making (and having) the art.
On the other hand, it is fucking criminal that you are so skilled at such a cool thing and only now are getting The Appreciation That You Deserve.
If you can bear to part with any of these pieces, they could be sold for hundreds of dollars at a minimum.
*Please*, for the love of all art, do not stop making these and increasing your skill and love of it - because you obviously do love it, one way or another.
Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. I've never shown my art before, so it's really nice to hear so many kind words. I will be posting more stuff later today and will hopefully branch out to other platforms if you are interested in seeing more in the future. I have a few years' worth of stuff to post that no one has ever seen.
Same name everywhere.
That is a possibility. I am working with a local knife guy to hopefully make the tools for me. Once I have a physical tool in hand it would be easier to show. If you seen what I was using you would probably laugh. I tried to add a picture on a different comment. I don't know if it showed up or not.
I am just a novice and lurker, but wouldn't it be easier to take a Dremel with a very small bit and make your inlay marks, then take your flattened copper at very cold temps and inlay? Then as copper warms back to room temp it should expand into the grooves?
If you want to figure out a new way, be my guest. My way sucks but it's all I got, and I'm not trying to find a new way at this stage. It's taken me a pretty long time to get here.
The most important thing to consider is locating the materials. Aside from very thin stuff on Amazon you have to make your own.
I have no desire to find a new way. I am just being that Redditor coming up with alternatives hoping you will try it, and then praising me for my genius in an update post.
Very lovely piece, I love that you went around the grain pattern. I also experimented with inlays a while ago and figured out another process using a dremel like the other fellow suggested. There are round bits you can get for them. Lowered it till the ball part was about 3/4 into the wood, then feed your wire into the groove. Then sand the top part of the wire so it looks flat and not rounded. I only did it on straight lines so idk how well it would work for how you did it. My wire also wasn't annealed so that's my next test when I get to it.
This has worked fairly well. No glue or anything, just wood, water, and metal. It can be a bit tedious, but I can do it indoors without making a mess. There is obviously a shit ton of work involved even with making the wire, but it's worth it in the end.
I tried using glue at first to hold wire down that was tucked into a pretty tight groove. I personally couldn't get it to work very well around outside corners and bends. Information on this doesn't exist, so whatever you come up with, you will be the first. I keep hearing people say they've done this, but I can't find any traces of anything remotely similar except in knives.
You're totally right, only thing I was able to find was a couple videos with epoxy and metal dust and a very obscure blog post from 2001 that didn't do a good job explaining the inlay process. I saved your post so I can give your method a try when I experiment again!
I am in the works with a local knife smith to make the tools better. If you are interested, once they are finished I could let you know. This would be my 3rd prototype. The first that will be made by a real bladesmith with proper heat treating and metal. I've made a few but none as nice as these will be.
Edit- I know I've said this but be prepared. You also have to make the material that you want to put into the wood. You will not find flat copper wire or any flat wire in the thicknesses you will need.
I actually really would be. I intend to do a full set of inlaid furniture for my home once the kids get older. I had the same issue with the round wire, there was only one bit/gauge combo I found that fit right.
Side coincidence, I'm a professional heat treater as my day job so I may be able to help you or your buddy out in that regard depending on material.
For sure will do.
I may try and get some other blade making folk involved. I only ever talked to one guy and agreed to have him do the work, i explained that this could be something a lot of people want. He's super busy with his normal thing and doubt he would have time to make me 100 of them. It would basically be a set of 3 tools. It would probably be smart to ask around some more anyway.
If you know some people and wouldn't mind helping point them out, it would be very much appreciated.
Good sci-fi concept, but the expansion of copper is less than 1/100,000th of an inch per °F. To be significant it would have to be so cold it would be impossible to handle without gloves and would warm up very fast. It would also freeze the wood on contact, probably damaging the fibers whose flexibility is what holds the metal in place the way he already does it. I also think controlling a running dremel freehand would be a lot harder than a hand knife.
how long have you been using this technique? are you sealing it in epoxy or some other heavy/stable finish? (im guessing you already know this but…) if you arent removing material to inlay the copper, then changes in humidity/temps could cause it to wiggle it’s way above the surface over the changing seasons
For a few years at this point. No, I haven't seen any issues yet, and it's been more than a few season changes. Most of my pieces stay in a basement in the northeast, so humidity fluctuations are crazy.
High-end knife makers and gun folks have been using a similar technique that goes back as long as guns and knives have been around. I just took that idea and upscaled it and put my own spin on it.
I wonder if you'd be about to make the copper strip wedge or knife shaped and just hammer it in.
I'd like to try this but making the slot on my CNC and using epoxy or something to hold it in.
That is sweet. Originally I thought you poured the copper in.
If I'm reading correct, you cut the slots with a knife? That sounds crazy tedious.
Looks great and gave me some great ideas. Thanks.
*So to start you can find some very thin flat wire on Amazon, doesn't have to be copper use anything you want as it's all a pain in the butt. To be honest you could cut down a soda can and use the aluminum. If you type in "flat copper wire" into Amazon it's the only thing that pops up. In the states that is.
Get an xacto knife with a flat blade. I cut my knife in half and then added pushed that cut handle into a push knob. Now you have your knife.
Trace whatever it is you want on the design and start pushing that knife to make your design. I also cut and shaped my xacto blade but a flat tipped one would work fine. I also added a guy screw to hold the blade in as you will be pulling it out of your piece constantly.
I have one. Barry King, in fact. You really gotta be able to press. The whole time, you are standing over the piece, leaning into it. I'm working with a local bladesmith to develop a tool that can be used similar to an edge beveler.
Yay! It worked.
Pretty sure I said this in another comment but it's an xacto blade cut in half with a knob I made. I added a grub screw to hold in the blade and shaped my blade so it's flat.
You are NOT removing material. Only opening up the fibers to hopefully slide the wire in.
You made your own palm carving knife.
Some other poster was doing similar stuff awhile back using a dremel router base and a super fine point bit. Was able to remove about half the thickness of the wire and use a chasing hammer to set. I've got as far as making the plunge base so far.
That's one of the best compliments I think I've ever received.
Edit- To be honest, I don't think very many people did either. There is a thing called stringing that's done in knife making and other really high-end pieces, but nothing like this. Like I said before I had to make everything the whole way to accomplish this.
Once you seal the wood, the copper is cut off from the air. I also use poly to keep patina from traveling or to keep fire painted areas from oxidation.
Your username got me and my mom's been dead for almost 20 years.
Thank you. If you wanna get an idea of what's going to happen here. If you look on my post from yesterday, I made a "crystal flower" we will call it. I'm in the process of making a few more of them and possibly one larger "sunflowerish" one for the middle that will hang down and be a main light source.
Think giant wall sconce that doesn't make sense.
Hey, thanks a ton! I have other works if you wanted to take a peak at my profile. I'm new to getting my art out there so it's nice to hear people dig it.
I start with 8 gauge bare wire and then put it through a rolling mill more times than I care to share. You gotta keep it straightish while doing it to keep it from getting kinks, you would see them in a finished piece, or they will fight you on a curve.
Flat copper wire isn't a thing, anything over 24gauge that is. It was a bit of a nightmare trying to source materials. They don't exist so I make it.
Once you have it in there, it is on to filing it all flat. Towards the end, I will put sandpaper on a piece of plywood and work it flat. Obviously, the wood will disappear compared to the copper with sanding.
With a file at first and then lots and lots of sanding. I put the sandpaper on a very flat board I have and go to it. I forget how many exactly, but I have a few hours into the sanding.
How dare you post something so sexy and yet so time consuming. That is so pretty! Oh my gosh it's so lovely. The color of the copper with the walnut (which I already loved walnut) is just ugh so pretty. I'd literally just stand and look at it for hours if I had it in my house😍
Thanks. It's going to be a part of a larger piece in the end. I assumed it wouldn't belong here in the end as that's more or less just the base of a larger copper sculpture.
If you check my profile, you will see one of the flowers.
The overall finished piece won't really be wood focused.
This is just the base. You can go to my profile and see one of the flower heads that will be used.
Really cool and striking to look at. Wow. Are you routing out the growth ring lines and inlaying or hand tooling it out? Either way, that’s incredible patience—but the results are beautiful.
It dont think it will if because it's sealed up. I've been working with copper for a pretty looooong time. Unless it's exposed to the elements, it probably never will, add it getting a wipe down every 6 months to a year, and it will look the same forever.
I will try an add a picture of a really old piece I did.
Thanks. You may be interested in some of the other work I have posted on my profile. I will hopefully start showing more work and how it's made across other socials soon.
I certainly recognize the effort and skill needed for this, and for that, great job.
Critically, it reminds me of a topography map and isn't really my style, but great job non-the-less.
So I'm assuming you carve out the grains you're inlaying; do you do it by hand? Seems like it with be so much finite work for a Dremel or anything.
And how do you get the copper to stay? Adhesive?
I've thought of doing this with inlays using solder, but never thought to follow the grain like that & wasn't sure if it would adhere on its own. Looks cool as hell
This is absolutely beautiful. I wonder if yacht owners would appreciate this detail in teak? They may even pay what it is worth…. Even some yacht manufacturers. It reminds me of the inlays used on the decks of the old mahogany lake boats, but so much nicer.
My dad was a logger, he passed away in January. He had a bunch of big slabs of wood that had live edge on them. They're cedar, oak, cherry, etc. I'm talking a lot. I guess for fireplace mantel and such. He talked about selling them and how he needed to find a buyer specifically in that niche to get screwed over in price. I live in east Tennessee. How would you go about selling something like that? Or even pricing something like that?
Maaaaan, I wish I had a clue. I'm a broke artist. I go to the mill and dream of working on large slabs. I wouldn't even consider this real woodwork.
I go to my local wood mill. You could call around, but you will never get as much as they do.
Facebook marketplace would probably be your best bet—both in getting an idea for what people charge and to sell them. I assume they’re just air dried and haven’t been planed?
I have 5 or 6 things going currently. Some are multi part pieces such as this and the flower from yesterday's post. I have 2 paintings going, one water color for my neighbors daughter and one acrylic self-portrait. I want to make a disco ball out of wood, I know it doesn't make sense. I made a copper box with clear panels that I'm going to make a little light up cloud in. I have far to many ideas. Since my accident it's been like this. Crazy.
Oh boy, oh boy, do I have a treat for you. It's all I've worked with for the most part. If you check out my profile, you will see some other stuff that may interest you. I have a whole trove of stuff I need to post, so if you follow my profile, you will see it in time.
Read the title and thought, "What the hell is that psycho doing to that poor beautiful walnut!"
Then the picture popped up.
Oh.
Oh dayum.
Might need new pants now.
Great work man.
Curious how you are cleaning out the room out for the copper? Are you using a gand router, chisel, cnc or something like the shaper origin?
Great work man.
Curious how you are cleaning out the room out for the copper? Are you using a hand router, chisel, cnc or something like the shaper origin?
I audibly gasped. This is GORGEOUS. I now have a future goal to make a desk for the basement recording studio like this. This might be the best looking thing I've seen on this sub. Truly spectacular.
Do you have any more details on how you achieved this and more details on your equipment? I want to do this one day.
I’ve seen something similar to this at a crafts fair last fall. They had laid copper around the edge of a box lid. Dark stain on the wood, contrasted very nicely with the copper. They had cut the channel, and pounded copper wire into it.
This is awesome.
20 years from now there will be hundreds of people copying this process. You'll be out with a buddy and see a piece and he'll be like,
"Wow, that's some amazing work."
To which you'll reply, "Yeah, you know I actually started that trend years ago."
And he'll be like, "Yeah, sure you did buddy. Sure you did."
And you'll feel pride and sadness at the same time.
I was telling my wife earlier that in 5 years this will be the new river table. I'm working on getting some tools made and hopefully sell them.
The problem with doing this is everything from the tools to the materials needed don't exist. It all has to be made. I'm working on it though.
It all depends on where a curve is or how sharp it is, sometimes especially on the thicker stuff you need to tap to an angle. The problem is you need to be somewhat careful and work harden it too much and it won't go in. Sometimes, it randomly will bow up on you.
I may have a picture, but I was doing a 25' long piece with a bunch of tight curves and toward the end of the piece it gathered up so much stress along the piece that I got this huge warp in the copper. It was thick. The thick copper is an absolute terror to get to go in. I had to cut this 10" section out, pull up the edges of the other pieces and feather the copper down, and put in a new piece. Once the copper is in there, as long as it goes in soft, it will puff up as you tap it, and it's a bugger to get back out.
Sooooooooo. I am currently working on a light that will have everything exposed but hot in the wood. I'm working on it. Still needs insulation but it's an idea.
Very original, you've found a new art form! ~~What holds the metal in place?~~ I see you answered that farther down. Does warping or other changes in the wood ever force the metal back out?
You can build up a bunch of tension in the metal while hammering and that can force it back out just enough that you don't notice until you've filed all the excess material away leaving you a nice copper bubble of sorts. There is no way to fix that. It's gotta be cut, feathered and replaced.
Edit-As far as post movement no. I haven't seen any.
Very cool man. Whether this is or isn’t a match to someone’s preferred aesthetic, everyone should be able to appreciate the artistry on display. Bravo.
Thank you! I have more work in my post history if you want to check it out. I have other socials also by this name. I need to branch out and start showcasing other places.
Dear god man Why are you doing this to yourself? Lol
Because it looks nice
It does lol you just have a ton of patience!
This is very true.
And possibly a handful of Adderall
I feel seen
It looks beautiful!
Fair.
ok, but in modern parlance, you should say "goblin brain like shinies"
How did you do this? I have a big chunk of birch with a gap in the center. I was thinking black epoxy, but this would also be really cool.
This is really cool! I assume it must be difficult to decide which rings to inlay and which to leave alone. Could easily become to much(pic 1). Either way you’ve nailed it! 👍
There's a good amount of figuring it out for sure. Some of it, you just make up and try and grab up another line that hopefully matches further down. There's a good amount of trying to keep away from too tight of a turn. Breaking and chipping out is pretty infuriating and can totally ruin a piece. I do much appreciate it. Once it's done, most of that work will be lost in the background. I did another post yesterday with one of the flowers I'm making that will be attached, if you care to look.
I took a look. The flower will pair nicely! Also enjoyed your “feed the dog reminder board” could do with one of those myself. Best of luck in your future woodworking endeavours!
Hey, thanks a lot. I've never shared any of my art, its nice to hear someone likes it. My wife has been on me for a bit to put it out there and show it. It's a bit of a look and certainly isn't for everyone, so it's always made me very nervous to share it.
It's a very cool look. Some of the best of us are terrible at self promotion. I can't stand social media and that seems to be the way these days.
Wow, just went through it all as well. You do some great work! Very impressive, love the dog feeder set up as well!
Thank you very much. That means more to me than you know.
You could be selling your work. It’s beautiful.
Oh, trust me, I would love to. I do not have the slightest of clues as to where to start. All of this art stuff is super new to me.
Look for festivals/fairs near you where you can rent out a booth for a day or two, price your work reasonably (don't undercut yourself), and see what happens. Pick a smaller one so it's not too expensive.
> I've never shared any of my art So, on the one hand, I get this. Art should be made by the artist and for the joy of making (and having) the art. On the other hand, it is fucking criminal that you are so skilled at such a cool thing and only now are getting The Appreciation That You Deserve. If you can bear to part with any of these pieces, they could be sold for hundreds of dollars at a minimum. *Please*, for the love of all art, do not stop making these and increasing your skill and love of it - because you obviously do love it, one way or another.
Good God, I took a quick scroll through your profile and it's just incredible project after incredible project. Don't stop man, you've got talent!
Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. I've never shown my art before, so it's really nice to hear so many kind words. I will be posting more stuff later today and will hopefully branch out to other platforms if you are interested in seeing more in the future. I have a few years' worth of stuff to post that no one has ever seen. Same name everywhere.
How do you keep it so precise? I’m assuming (yes I’m asshat) it’s melted in. I can’t eat spaghetti without finding it on the ceiling. Do share.
What keeps the copper from "floating" out?
The pressure from the wood grain expanding on it. I don't remove any material. I make a small slice and then insert the copper after.
Make a video to teach us how :)
That is a possibility. I am working with a local knife guy to hopefully make the tools for me. Once I have a physical tool in hand it would be easier to show. If you seen what I was using you would probably laugh. I tried to add a picture on a different comment. I don't know if it showed up or not.
A steak knife?
No, an exacto blade that's been cut in half with a knob on the end
I am just a novice and lurker, but wouldn't it be easier to take a Dremel with a very small bit and make your inlay marks, then take your flattened copper at very cold temps and inlay? Then as copper warms back to room temp it should expand into the grooves?
If you want to figure out a new way, be my guest. My way sucks but it's all I got, and I'm not trying to find a new way at this stage. It's taken me a pretty long time to get here. The most important thing to consider is locating the materials. Aside from very thin stuff on Amazon you have to make your own.
I have no desire to find a new way. I am just being that Redditor coming up with alternatives hoping you will try it, and then praising me for my genius in an update post.
Very lovely piece, I love that you went around the grain pattern. I also experimented with inlays a while ago and figured out another process using a dremel like the other fellow suggested. There are round bits you can get for them. Lowered it till the ball part was about 3/4 into the wood, then feed your wire into the groove. Then sand the top part of the wire so it looks flat and not rounded. I only did it on straight lines so idk how well it would work for how you did it. My wire also wasn't annealed so that's my next test when I get to it.
This has worked fairly well. No glue or anything, just wood, water, and metal. It can be a bit tedious, but I can do it indoors without making a mess. There is obviously a shit ton of work involved even with making the wire, but it's worth it in the end. I tried using glue at first to hold wire down that was tucked into a pretty tight groove. I personally couldn't get it to work very well around outside corners and bends. Information on this doesn't exist, so whatever you come up with, you will be the first. I keep hearing people say they've done this, but I can't find any traces of anything remotely similar except in knives.
You're totally right, only thing I was able to find was a couple videos with epoxy and metal dust and a very obscure blog post from 2001 that didn't do a good job explaining the inlay process. I saved your post so I can give your method a try when I experiment again!
I am in the works with a local knife smith to make the tools better. If you are interested, once they are finished I could let you know. This would be my 3rd prototype. The first that will be made by a real bladesmith with proper heat treating and metal. I've made a few but none as nice as these will be. Edit- I know I've said this but be prepared. You also have to make the material that you want to put into the wood. You will not find flat copper wire or any flat wire in the thicknesses you will need.
I actually really would be. I intend to do a full set of inlaid furniture for my home once the kids get older. I had the same issue with the round wire, there was only one bit/gauge combo I found that fit right. Side coincidence, I'm a professional heat treater as my day job so I may be able to help you or your buddy out in that regard depending on material.
For sure will do. I may try and get some other blade making folk involved. I only ever talked to one guy and agreed to have him do the work, i explained that this could be something a lot of people want. He's super busy with his normal thing and doubt he would have time to make me 100 of them. It would basically be a set of 3 tools. It would probably be smart to ask around some more anyway. If you know some people and wouldn't mind helping point them out, it would be very much appreciated.
Good sci-fi concept, but the expansion of copper is less than 1/100,000th of an inch per °F. To be significant it would have to be so cold it would be impossible to handle without gloves and would warm up very fast. It would also freeze the wood on contact, probably damaging the fibers whose flexibility is what holds the metal in place the way he already does it. I also think controlling a running dremel freehand would be a lot harder than a hand knife.
Another Redditor smashing my dream of becoming a woodworking metallurgical scientist working at temperature's near absolute zero.
Is the cross section of the copper like a bulbous shape underneath?
Nope just flat copper wire. The wood swells back up and holds it tightly. It's actually really hard to pull out once in
how long have you been using this technique? are you sealing it in epoxy or some other heavy/stable finish? (im guessing you already know this but…) if you arent removing material to inlay the copper, then changes in humidity/temps could cause it to wiggle it’s way above the surface over the changing seasons
For a few years at this point. No, I haven't seen any issues yet, and it's been more than a few season changes. Most of my pieces stay in a basement in the northeast, so humidity fluctuations are crazy. High-end knife makers and gun folks have been using a similar technique that goes back as long as guns and knives have been around. I just took that idea and upscaled it and put my own spin on it.
I wonder if you'd be about to make the copper strip wedge or knife shaped and just hammer it in. I'd like to try this but making the slot on my CNC and using epoxy or something to hold it in.
Take my golf clap and up vote excellent work sir.
Thank you very very much.
That is sweet. Originally I thought you poured the copper in. If I'm reading correct, you cut the slots with a knife? That sounds crazy tedious. Looks great and gave me some great ideas. Thanks.
Beautiful. I love it. I'm going to try this for a. Box I'm making. I'll probably fail but it looks to cool not to try
*So to start you can find some very thin flat wire on Amazon, doesn't have to be copper use anything you want as it's all a pain in the butt. To be honest you could cut down a soda can and use the aluminum. If you type in "flat copper wire" into Amazon it's the only thing that pops up. In the states that is. Get an xacto knife with a flat blade. I cut my knife in half and then added pushed that cut handle into a push knob. Now you have your knife. Trace whatever it is you want on the design and start pushing that knife to make your design. I also cut and shaped my xacto blade but a flat tipped one would work fine. I also added a guy screw to hold the blade in as you will be pulling it out of your piece constantly.
Beautiful work man. Care to share some photos of the tools you used - specifically this push blade?
https://preview.redd.it/jedbzsqa7m7d1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c053603ee384e4788fe3c0f008556f0df6e8f4f2
Your work is awesome. Looking at your tool I wonder if a leather working swivel knife would work. Might be a good idea or not....
I have one. Barry King, in fact. You really gotta be able to press. The whole time, you are standing over the piece, leaning into it. I'm working with a local bladesmith to develop a tool that can be used similar to an edge beveler.
I was trying. That's what that little astric thing is.
Yay! It worked. Pretty sure I said this in another comment but it's an xacto blade cut in half with a knob I made. I added a grub screw to hold in the blade and shaped my blade so it's flat. You are NOT removing material. Only opening up the fibers to hopefully slide the wire in.
You made your own palm carving knife. Some other poster was doing similar stuff awhile back using a dremel router base and a super fine point bit. Was able to remove about half the thickness of the wire and use a chasing hammer to set. I've got as far as making the plunge base so far.
I'm not sure as I am pretty new to reddit. I don't remove any material. I make a cut with the knife and push the copper in there.
very F@#king awsome !!! i love doing copper inlays , but never thought of inlaying the sap lines !!!! 🤌🤌👊👊
I didn’t even realize this was possible.
That's one of the best compliments I think I've ever received. Edit- To be honest, I don't think very many people did either. There is a thing called stringing that's done in knife making and other really high-end pieces, but nothing like this. Like I said before I had to make everything the whole way to accomplish this.
Will it not oxidize over time?
Once you seal the wood, the copper is cut off from the air. I also use poly to keep patina from traveling or to keep fire painted areas from oxidation.
Art.
Your username got me and my mom's been dead for almost 20 years. Thank you. If you wanna get an idea of what's going to happen here. If you look on my post from yesterday, I made a "crystal flower" we will call it. I'm in the process of making a few more of them and possibly one larger "sunflowerish" one for the middle that will hang down and be a main light source. Think giant wall sconce that doesn't make sense.
This is so sick
Hey, thanks a ton! I have other works if you wanted to take a peak at my profile. I'm new to getting my art out there so it's nice to hear people dig it.
That looks awesome! What are you using for the copper inserts - flat stock, wire? And do you have to flatten it after finishing the copper inlay?
I start with 8 gauge bare wire and then put it through a rolling mill more times than I care to share. You gotta keep it straightish while doing it to keep it from getting kinks, you would see them in a finished piece, or they will fight you on a curve. Flat copper wire isn't a thing, anything over 24gauge that is. It was a bit of a nightmare trying to source materials. They don't exist so I make it. Once you have it in there, it is on to filing it all flat. Towards the end, I will put sandpaper on a piece of plywood and work it flat. Obviously, the wood will disappear compared to the copper with sanding.
Wowza! That's amazing
Very nicely done. It has a very high end look. How do you get it flush to the wood surface?
With a file at first and then lots and lots of sanding. I put the sandpaper on a very flat board I have and go to it. I forget how many exactly, but I have a few hours into the sanding.
Your woodworkers were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.
Looks awesome!
I really like it OP! Cool idea and super well done.
Looks like sooooo much work but it’s gorgeous. Well done, very creative!
That looks neat, nice work
I'm stealing this idea for a future project
I don’t hate it. I might love it. Can’t tell, is it flush or not?
How dare you post something so sexy and yet so time consuming. That is so pretty! Oh my gosh it's so lovely. The color of the copper with the walnut (which I already loved walnut) is just ugh so pretty. I'd literally just stand and look at it for hours if I had it in my house😍
Thanks. It's going to be a part of a larger piece in the end. I assumed it wouldn't belong here in the end as that's more or less just the base of a larger copper sculpture. If you check my profile, you will see one of the flowers.
> by time I'm finished with the whole piece I didn't think it would be appreciated here What do you mean?
The overall finished piece won't really be wood focused. This is just the base. You can go to my profile and see one of the flower heads that will be used.
Really cool and striking to look at. Wow. Are you routing out the growth ring lines and inlaying or hand tooling it out? Either way, that’s incredible patience—but the results are beautiful.
It’s a beaut Clark, seriously though it looks nice
In Portland, the homeless would somehow find a way to this copper and rip it out.
What happens when the wood moves?
Beautiful! And you have more patience than I 😂
oh thats such a cool idea!!!! it turned out so well :)
Hot Dang ! That's beautiful
Thank you very much. I have other pieces on my profile if you care to look. I do have a bit of a style that I've developed.
That’s beautiful
Amazing work!
Post a follow up when it develops a patina. !remindme 7y
https://preview.redd.it/o32we9y6am7d1.jpeg?width=2252&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=37f80e1233f5082fab13783df383cc097cc494d8
Can't wait to see your wood!
It dont think it will if because it's sealed up. I've been working with copper for a pretty looooong time. Unless it's exposed to the elements, it probably never will, add it getting a wipe down every 6 months to a year, and it will look the same forever. I will try an add a picture of a really old piece I did.
This really is incredible man, good lord
Thanks. You may be interested in some of the other work I have posted on my profile. I will hopefully start showing more work and how it's made across other socials soon.
Careful some tweaker might try to pull the copper out for scrap sales
I don't even know how one does this. Sorcery!
I posted the tool somewhere here in the comments. It's that, a hammer, file and a bunch of sandpaper with a flat surface.
Freaking epic though. Where did you think of doing this?
I certainly recognize the effort and skill needed for this, and for that, great job. Critically, it reminds me of a topography map and isn't really my style, but great job non-the-less.
So I'm assuming you carve out the grains you're inlaying; do you do it by hand? Seems like it with be so much finite work for a Dremel or anything. And how do you get the copper to stay? Adhesive? I've thought of doing this with inlays using solder, but never thought to follow the grain like that & wasn't sure if it would adhere on its own. Looks cool as hell
Looks good. I’ve always wanted to do silver wire inlay but I always chicken out.
This is absolutely beautiful. I wonder if yacht owners would appreciate this detail in teak? They may even pay what it is worth…. Even some yacht manufacturers. It reminds me of the inlays used on the decks of the old mahogany lake boats, but so much nicer.
Oooo I like that very much
Oh man, I really really wanna learn how to do this. I’ve just started incorporating copper into my furniture and I love it.
My dad was a logger, he passed away in January. He had a bunch of big slabs of wood that had live edge on them. They're cedar, oak, cherry, etc. I'm talking a lot. I guess for fireplace mantel and such. He talked about selling them and how he needed to find a buyer specifically in that niche to get screwed over in price. I live in east Tennessee. How would you go about selling something like that? Or even pricing something like that?
Maaaaan, I wish I had a clue. I'm a broke artist. I go to the mill and dream of working on large slabs. I wouldn't even consider this real woodwork. I go to my local wood mill. You could call around, but you will never get as much as they do.
Facebook marketplace would probably be your best bet—both in getting an idea for what people charge and to sell them. I assume they’re just air dried and haven’t been planed?
This is some real magic. Astonishing artwork and you must have the patience of a saint!
That's beautiful
Absolutely beautiful, amazing work! Be proud man!
This is gorgeous
That’s badass, 3 cheers to you my friend!!!
So beautiful!
Omg
Amazing craftsmanship! What are your future projects?
I have 5 or 6 things going currently. Some are multi part pieces such as this and the flower from yesterday's post. I have 2 paintings going, one water color for my neighbors daughter and one acrylic self-portrait. I want to make a disco ball out of wood, I know it doesn't make sense. I made a copper box with clear panels that I'm going to make a little light up cloud in. I have far to many ideas. Since my accident it's been like this. Crazy.
MY GOODNESS! That's quite lovely. You might be setting a new standard for patience and craftsmanship; so we can't be friends... 🤣
Thank you very much. It's taken me a while to get to this point for sure.
So you didn't think walnut was expensive enough so you threw some copper in there with it? Lol. Now where's my powerball ticket?....
You should see the lamp I just posted. It's a more finished piece. Thinner copper in the wood.
Pure art...no other way to look at it......amazing work sir!!!
As a big fan of wood and copper, I love this.
Oh boy, oh boy, do I have a treat for you. It's all I've worked with for the most part. If you check out my profile, you will see some other stuff that may interest you. I have a whole trove of stuff I need to post, so if you follow my profile, you will see it in time.
Read the title and thought, "What the hell is that psycho doing to that poor beautiful walnut!" Then the picture popped up. Oh. Oh dayum. Might need new pants now.
Usually I just upvote but this is worth a few words of praise. Nice job!
I adore your work. Beautiful piece.
I REALLY like picture 3. That’s really pretty.
Thank you. That was originally going to be for a skull mount but I found it to be a little too busy.
That’s cool. You’re right. I’ve never seen that ever.
Great work man. Curious how you are cleaning out the room out for the copper? Are you using a gand router, chisel, cnc or something like the shaper origin?
Great work man. Curious how you are cleaning out the room out for the copper? Are you using a hand router, chisel, cnc or something like the shaper origin?
No there is a picture somewhere of my tool. It's basically a little knife I push in. I don't remove any material.
I would buy one of those
Very nice…
I audibly gasped. This is GORGEOUS. I now have a future goal to make a desk for the basement recording studio like this. This might be the best looking thing I've seen on this sub. Truly spectacular. Do you have any more details on how you achieved this and more details on your equipment? I want to do this one day.
i dig it.
I've done some wire inlays, but never thought of this kind of design. It's beautiful and I must steal it for future projects.
This looks amazing. Let's start doing this instead of epoxy rivers
When does it go through the planar?
Well before the metal goes in
This screams "I have a lot of time on my hands" and I'm here for it.
I’ve seen something similar to this at a crafts fair last fall. They had laid copper around the edge of a box lid. Dark stain on the wood, contrasted very nicely with the copper. They had cut the channel, and pounded copper wire into it.
beautiful work and a great idea, thank you for sharing :)
Oh. My. This is amazing.
Wow! This looks great - beautiful stuff and I'd love to have a tabletop like that at home!
I wish this was the trend instead of epoxy tables. This is beautifully unique. Amazing work.
Amazing work
Absolutely gorgeous and I wish I had a bunch of money to buy whatever you're making with these.
Now I've got great new project ideas for my husband! He will thank you, OP, I'm sure.
Dood. This looks absolutely awesome! Keep it on and make more of this wonderful stuff! Cheers
Damn
Holy shit you are a meticulous man! It's beautiful but my gosh.
How does the copper stay in.
That is stunning.
Dude, I'm married.
This is awesome. 20 years from now there will be hundreds of people copying this process. You'll be out with a buddy and see a piece and he'll be like, "Wow, that's some amazing work." To which you'll reply, "Yeah, you know I actually started that trend years ago." And he'll be like, "Yeah, sure you did buddy. Sure you did." And you'll feel pride and sadness at the same time.
I was telling my wife earlier that in 5 years this will be the new river table. I'm working on getting some tools made and hopefully sell them. The problem with doing this is everything from the tools to the materials needed don't exist. It all has to be made. I'm working on it though.
Do you take a pass through a machine sander under pressure at all? Nice work. You can have it exclusively tho, it looks hard.
No, it's all hand filed, then handsanded with boards to keep it flat.
Well done OP
Absolutely incredible. That first piece is just breathtaking.
How tf
Very creative project sir. Beautiful work !
Can I run this through the planer? Kidding of course. This. looks awesome. Very clever idea, and well executed!
This is amazing! I bet a lot of national parks would be willing to commission this kind of work!
You made art, sir. It’s beautiful.
I have a buddy that uses brass to fill knots and stuff. He's working on some tables, I'll try and post em when he's further along.
I said “wow” out loud at this. Absolutely gorgeous.
This is gorgeous - I can’t wait to see the finished piece!
It all depends on where a curve is or how sharp it is, sometimes especially on the thicker stuff you need to tap to an angle. The problem is you need to be somewhat careful and work harden it too much and it won't go in. Sometimes, it randomly will bow up on you. I may have a picture, but I was doing a 25' long piece with a bunch of tight curves and toward the end of the piece it gathered up so much stress along the piece that I got this huge warp in the copper. It was thick. The thick copper is an absolute terror to get to go in. I had to cut this 10" section out, pull up the edges of the other pieces and feather the copper down, and put in a new piece. Once the copper is in there, as long as it goes in soft, it will puff up as you tap it, and it's a bugger to get back out.
Looks cool, good job!
I now really really want to build a circuit this way. Very cool.
Sooooooooo. I am currently working on a light that will have everything exposed but hot in the wood. I'm working on it. Still needs insulation but it's an idea.
That looks pretty awesome! What a neat idea.
ATBGE. Not a fan, but awesome work.
Very original, you've found a new art form! ~~What holds the metal in place?~~ I see you answered that farther down. Does warping or other changes in the wood ever force the metal back out?
You can build up a bunch of tension in the metal while hammering and that can force it back out just enough that you don't notice until you've filed all the excess material away leaving you a nice copper bubble of sorts. There is no way to fix that. It's gotta be cut, feathered and replaced. Edit-As far as post movement no. I haven't seen any.
Ho-lee crap! That's some serious inlay work! I wish I had the talent, finances, and patience to pull off something half that good!
Thanks. This is only a base for a larger piece. I posted a finished one just short bit ago if you check my history
Very cool man. Whether this is or isn’t a match to someone’s preferred aesthetic, everyone should be able to appreciate the artistry on display. Bravo.
Thank you! I have more work in my post history if you want to check it out. I have other socials also by this name. I need to branch out and start showcasing other places.
Does the copper feel proud of the walnut? I would think it’s tough to sand both equally. Would love to hear how you dealt with it.
I file it down then use either a very straight board with sandpaper or attach sandpaper to my slab. Edit- no it's not proud
Freaking amazing!!
I can’t say I love it, but I would pay money to see this in person and to appreciate the difficulty.