Inlayed strike plates

[Kidder]

This forum has been an amazing resource so I thought I’d share something I’ve learned in hopes of giving back so someone else can hopefully benefit from it. That said, here is how I inlay strike plates. For this example I’m using buffalo horn but it should work with any inlay material

I start by imagining the shape I’d like. I then rasp the horn to shape making sure I flatten the inside face and slightly taper the thickness edges.

[Kidder]

I then lay the material where I’d like it on the bow and trace an outline on it. I always lay it slightly lower than I want showing so there is no gap between rest or grip and the strike plate.

[Kidder]

I then use an exacto knife set to scribe the line, cutting fairly deep. From there I proceed to remove wood between the line to recess the strike plate. I make sure that I don’t go too deep and that the strike plate stands plenty proud.

[Kidder]

Once I’ve “dry fit” the strike plate and am satisfied with the fit I squirt a good amount of gap filling CA glue into the cavity and insert the strike plate, applying pressure until it is set. I then wipe off any glue that has squirted out.

[Kidder]

Once the glue has dried I proceed to rasp off the excess til near flush. From there I sand it down with progressively finer sand paper until it’s completely flush. Here I used 80, 120, 220, and 320. If there is a gap around the edge it can be filled with sawdust the same color as your wood and then covered in thin CA to fill the gap. That wasn’t necessary here though. This one showed some white streaking and I think came out pretty cool! Thanks for looking and hope this helps someone.

[Pat B]

Nice work and thanks for the how to.   

[Lehtis]

I’m doing it in opposite way: I first cut the wood and then file and sand a piece of horn to fit in. Same outlook in the end.

[JEB]

That really looks nice. Thanks for the post.