Good day all,

Here is a synopsis of inlaying the compass rose in the plywood soundboard of the harp I'm building. Sure, it's not a kayak, but no different from inlaying in a stitch-n-glue kayak, so I thought I'd share it.

First I layed out the inlay and traced around it with a drafting pencil with a chisel point. The chisel point lets you trace right up to the edge of the inlay. Then I went around that with an x-acto knife, cutting deeper than the inlay would be so that the shavings will be sure to end there.

Next I used a 1" chisel to remove the waste in the middle, and a 1/2" chisel to go around the edges. It was rather easy because the next layer of plywood was a different color. I layed the chisel flat to the work, and used my right palm as a mallet, and guided it with my left hand layed flat on the chisel.