Introduction: CNC Wood Inlays - Using Free Software

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Doing wood inlays with a small (affordable) CNC machine is a blast. And using free software (Inkscape for the CAD, and Jscut.org for the CAM side) makes it all even more awesome.

Any design either one that is created in a vector program, drawn out on paper, or snagged online somewhere can be transformed into an inlay. Basically there are two parts to doing the inlay; (1) Making a pocket or void for the inlay to seat and; (2) Cutting the insert/inlay.

Both cuts (the pocket, and the inlay) can be done with the same end mill (router bit). For this demo I used a 1/8" inch end mill bought on eBay for about a buck.

The above demo was done using a piece of pine for the pocket side and then 1/4" plywood for the inlay/insert.

The trick to making this process work with Inkscape is to use the 'linked offset' and ' break apart' tools.

The video shows the process.

Thanks for taking a look!