# Vcarve inlays on non-flat surfaces **URL:** \ **Category:** General Chat\ **Created:** [April 17, 2023, 2:36am UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/vcarve-inlays-on-non-flat-surfaces/1975 "2023-04-17T02:36:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![corbin](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.avidcnc.com/corbin/32/2800_2.png) [@corbin](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/corbin)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 2:36am UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/vcarve-inlays-on-non-flat-surfaces/1975/1 "2023-04-17T02:36:45Z")
Curved v-carve inlays (projected onto my model). I’m getting pretty good results with the Avid! Walnut with maple. ![IMG_0033.HEIC](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/uploads/avidcnc/original/2X/1/12abca12af9b044b799ce759f0f020429eee47d3.jpeg) ![IMG_0032.HEIC](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/uploads/avidcnc/original/2X/4/463c891070049f1ef07014398a3a3ee548447204.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![14Acre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/bc8723/32.png) [@14Acre](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/14Acre)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 6:05pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/vcarve-inlays-on-non-flat-surfaces/1975/2 "2023-04-17T18:05:33Z")
Looks great. Did you do the female 3D toolpath in V-carve w “project onto 3D” and then insert thin male inlay piece? ---
**Author:** ![corbin](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.avidcnc.com/corbin/32/2800_2.png) [@corbin](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/corbin)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 6:09pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/vcarve-inlays-on-non-flat-surfaces/1975/3 "2023-04-17T18:09:50Z")
Yup! The male inlay I also projected onto the model – the model for that was just the negative of the regular model – I think I did subtract for the combine mode in VCarve. I’ve got a video of me making them on my older CNC: [CNC Woodworking - Wood Spoon with Curved Wood Inlay - (Files Available) Making a CNC Project - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8ydj9g1BQU) ---
**Author:** ![Eric](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.avidcnc.com/eric/32/3220_2.png) [@Eric](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/Eric)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 6:13pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/vcarve-inlays-on-non-flat-surfaces/1975/4 "2023-04-17T18:13:57Z")
That’s awesome. Have you ever messed around with G Code Ripper? ---
**Author:** ![da-kengineer-meister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f1d935/32.png) [@da-kengineer-meister](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/da-kengineer-meister)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 9:45pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/vcarve-inlays-on-non-flat-surfaces/1975/5 "2023-04-17T21:45:44Z")
That looks fantastic. I like that you can see the grain of the lighter wood in there. At first take I thought, epoxy, but when I zoomed in closer and saw the grain, the light bulbs went on. 🙂 Nice job @corbin ---
**Author:** ![corbin](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.avidcnc.com/corbin/32/2800_2.png) [@corbin](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/corbin)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 10:50pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/vcarve-inlays-on-non-flat-surfaces/1975/6 "2023-04-17T22:50:00Z")
> [@Eric](#): > > Have you ever messed around with G Code Ripper? I haven’t heard of it, but I just googled it. Looks super interesting to play around with, I’ll have to check it out. Thanks for the tip! ---
**Author:** ![corbin](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.avidcnc.com/corbin/32/2800_2.png) [@corbin](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/corbin)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 10:50pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/vcarve-inlays-on-non-flat-surfaces/1975/7 "2023-04-17T22:50:38Z")
> [@da-kengineer-meister](#): > > At first take I thought, epoxy, My first couple of test ones were epoxy…but my end-goal was wood on wood. It took me countless tries to get it just right! ---
**Author:** ![DavidsPostProcessor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@DavidsPostProcessor](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/DavidsPostProcessor)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2023, 4:53pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/vcarve-inlays-on-non-flat-surfaces/1975/8 "2023-04-18T16:53:37Z")
I like how this looks and I can’t wait until you share how it’s done 😃 ---
**Author:** ![corbin](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.avidcnc.com/corbin/32/2800_2.png) [@corbin](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/corbin)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2023, 8:44pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/vcarve-inlays-on-non-flat-surfaces/1975/9 "2023-04-18T20:44:28Z")
Thanks David! I’ve got two videos using my Tormach PCNC making them: Spatula - [Wood Spatula on a CNC & curved wood inlay - FILE AVAILABLE - Projected VCarving w Vectric VCarve - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0utopXNmHg) Spoon - [CNC Woodworking - Wood Spoon with Curved Wood Inlay - (Files Available) Making a CNC Project - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8ydj9g1BQU) I spent a lot of time designing the shape, so I ended up selling the files for a minimal cost, but I’m happy to help people figure out how to do it on their own. Vectric VCarve has an option for the vcarve toolpaths called “Project onto model/surface” (or something like that), which does a 3d projection of the 2d vector onto the curved surface. I used that feature for the female inlay. For the male, I did a negative union to create a concave version of the spatula handle, and also projected the same shape onto it. I then did a typical vcarve plug, removing the material from outside of the design. It took a lot of practice to get the settings dialed in, but now I know the tricks for figuring out what to adjust to get it just right (I should do a video on that). Moving the design to the Avid took me two practice carvings to get it lined up. I usually just do a standard 2d engrave of the rose shape as a test, so I don’t waste doing the whole design and failing on the engrave. ---
**Author:** ![DavidsPostProcessor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@DavidsPostProcessor](https://forum.avidcnc.com/u/DavidsPostProcessor)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2023, 2:00pm UTC](https://forum.avidcnc.com/t/vcarve-inlays-on-non-flat-surfaces/1975/10 "2023-04-20T14:00:54Z")
Hey Corbin, thanks man! I’ve started a short project with a 2D inlay. I had ideas for a 3D inlay project but didn’t pursue yet - having an example road map (yours) helps plan the necessary steps for when I circle back to those other projects. Enjoyed the theatrics you salted it with too, pretty clever stuff 😁