Metal Inlay

[wellywood]

I'm planning a cutlery box for my son and his fiance who are getting married next Feb.
I want to inlay two entwined rings on the box front and this will be a first for me.
I've considered routing the circles using a guide collar and inlaying thin brass but then I thought of using gold leaf.
If I use leaf, do I rout a recess for it or apply it direct to the face?

 

[marcros]

You could do either, or even have the rings standing proud- in relief is it?

Do some googling for guilding- I think it may be oil guilding that you need, may be water. Big in art and picture framing circles

 

[wellywood]

Excellent idea marcros. I've given it some more thought and like the idea of a relief motif. I have some large-ish wooden curtain rings and I'm thinking about flattening the backs and gluing them on then finishing with gold leaf.

 

[swb58]

Excellent idea marcros. I've given it some more thought and like the idea of a relief motif. I have some large-ish wooden curtain rings and I'm thinking about flattening the backs and gluing them on then finishing with gold leaf.

That will be an easy way to make a pair of rings, but you'll have to entwine them nicely.

 

[Nick Gibbs]

The other thing to consider is to mix metallic 'powder' with epoxy resin and let that into the router circles, then sand back. You won't get as shiny an effect as with gold leaf though.