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Don’t you just love it when something
that looks extremely difficult
turns out to be oh-so easy?
Making butterfly inlay with a plunge
router is a good example. The technique
is very easy to learn. All it takes
is a set of router accessories and some
1/4-in. plywood or hardboard to
make your own template.
Butterflies appear to bind two
pieces of wood together, but they’re
really just for show and are only
1/8-in. thick. Few pieces of authentic
Mission-style furniture were
dressed up with butterflies, but in
recent years they’ve become a common
decorative theme in reproduction
Mission furniture, adding a
light touch to heavy-looking pieces.
Your router
The easiest way to make inlay is with
a plunge router, but it’s possible to
use a fixed-base router instead. The
only problem with using a fixed-base
router is that you’ll have to tip it into
the cut by hand, which takes some
practice. This technique may also
put a good deal of stress on a fragile
router bit.
Whatever kind of router you use,
its base must accept a Porter-Cablestyle
template guide. This is a stationary
ring that screws onto the router
base. If your router’s base doesn’t
have a hole sized for a Porter-Cablestyle
template guide, you can buy an
adapter base.
The inlay kit
Inlay kits are available from several
manufacturers, but they’re all very
similar. You get
a template guide, a 1/8-in.-thick collar
that snaps onto the guide and a 1/8-
in. solid-carbide bit. The bit is usually
a spiral downcut that cuts exceptionally
clean, chip-free edges.
The inlay set we used also includes
a centering pin for installing the template
guide in your router base. If the
guide isn’t centered, the inlay may not
fit well in the recess.
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