Line & Berry String Inlay by Router: DVD Review
             
            
           
           
            
             by J. Norman Reid
             
             
              Delaplane, Virginia
             
            
           
           
            Recently, I’ve become intrigued with the idea of using inlay to enhance the appearance of my woodworking projects.  But inlay always seemed too difficult and I shyed away from it.  So to prepare myself for this new endeavor, I looked around for resources that could help me develop this new skill.  I found what I was looking for in Glen Huey’s DVD,
            
             Line & Berry String Inlay by Router
            
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            Huey walks through the whole process of creating line and berry inlay, starting with the tools you’ll need and how to draw patterns and cut them with a router using simple templates.  He amply illustrates making stringing using common shop tools and shop-made equipment, such as a rig to steam bend inlay that uses short sections of steel pipe and a propane torch.  He demonstrates cutting and gluing inlay and making and installing berries.  And he lays out his method for finishing an inlaid project.  In sum, this DVD provides an excellent overview of the inlay process that makes it very approachable and has left me eager to get a line and berry project underway.
           
           
            If the DVD has any faults, it’s that Huey gives almost no attention to the process for making templates and assumes that the viewer already possesses the knowledge and skill to cut them and fair the curves.  I would have found a few minutes on this topic helpful.
           
           
            The 97-minute DVD is accompanied by a SketchUp model of a complete line and berry chest, the December 2010 Popular Woodworking Magazine article that describes building and inlaying the line and berry chest, a pattern for the line and berry stringing used in the DVD and photos of several other inlaid pieces that provide examples of other projects that can be attempted.
           
           
            If, like me, you are interested in trying your hand at inlay, this DVD is highly recommended.
           
           
           
            
             
              Purchase your own
              
               Line & Berry String Inlay by Router
              
              DVD
             
            
           
           
           
           
           
            
             The author is a woodworker, writer and photographer living in Delaplane, Virginia, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains with his wife, four cats and a woodshop full of power and hand tools.
He can be reached by email at
             
              nreid@fcc.net
             
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