Roger,
Roy's explaination was right on! Not because it's what I did (which it is...), but because it works. Make sure you "ramp up" or "feather out the epoxy from the edge of the raised veneer. This tapered epoxy will prevent air bubbles during the glassing as well as to help diminish the effects of the raised areas. Believe me...when all the people are looking at your gourgeous design and yak, they never notice the slight "waviness" as a result of the overlay. Only you as THE builder notice those things.

I also second the difficulty that one would have in removing a precise 1/32" on deck for the inlay to set in, not to mention how the edges of the inlay meet the adjioning deck. Check out the post by Rod Tait on Nov. 28 on the inlayed swirl on a friends deck that he posted and you can see what I'm talking about. Bjossa did a nice job on his VERY DIFFICULT swirl inlay design, but there appears to be a few "gaps" between the inlay and the adjacent deck. Don't get me wrong, Bjosse did a nice job on a most difficult inlay. A simpler design may be easier. I've attached a prior post of an overlay that I did this past year. Sorry it is a production picture. I still owe all you guys who supported my building a finished picture. But since it's snowing here in Michigan, you'll probably have wait til spring.

Good luck on your decision.

DAVE