September 2003
Reviving an 18th century inlay technique.
Sulphur inlay is a rare, near extinct, 18th century inlay technique. But it looked pretty easy, so I thought I'd give it a go.
Test piece - as carved
I started with a small piece of mahogany, about 4" square. Then carved it (badly) with an oak leaf mon.
The grooves are about as deep as they are wide. The sulphur locks in there permanently, as it expands slightly on cooling.
Sulphur poured and allowed to cool
The sulphur is just plain yellow "flowers of sulphur" from a garden shop, or an older ironmongers. Melted in a small tin can over the kitchen stove, it melts very easily. Then just pour it carelessly over the carving.
Scraped smooth and finished
After cooling for a couple of minutes, scrape it flat with a cabinet scraper. You're done !
Not bad. Needs a groove width of about 1/16" minimum. The groove should be square-sided, as narrow V-shaped grooves can fall out.
There are a few air bubbles in the sulphur, particularly down the middle of the wide grooves. I think having the workpiece right next to the stove might give me a quicker pour and runnier sulphur.
Surface when finished is hard and pale straw colour. Definitely needs a dark wood to show it up well.
Raw sulphur isn't whiffy, and it seems to last for a couple of hundred years at least. Only when you're (over) heating it does it smell a bit of cheap coal fires.
I discovered sulphur inlay whilst reading this:
Treasure Chests: The Legacy of Extraordinary Boxes
2002
Taunton Press
1561583626
A woodworker himself, and a frequent contributor to Fine Homebuilding and Fine Woodworking magazines, Schleining presents a stunning selection of boxes crafted for a variety of purposes by people with various backgrounds and expertise.
This book tries to do two things simultaneously, and manages both.
First of all, it's a glorious coffee table book. Lots of high quality illustrations of beatiful and inspirational work. If you appreciate fine cabinetry, you'll love looking at these.
Secondly, it's clearly trying to inspire other makers too. It's not a "how to" book, and you need to be pretty skilful to start emulating the quality of the work in here, but it's also full of new and exciting ideas to motivate your own designs.
