Its been awhile since I have been on the site. I missed you guys :). Who has done cork inlays? How and what did you use to dig and carve them? Any pics? I have been toying with the idea to inlay a pewter redfish. I actually tried on a scrap piece of cork using a dremel tool to carve but just mangled it. I may not have had the correct bit tho.

Dremel makes a router attachment for their moto-tool. This allows you to control the depth, although it's not made for a round surface. Still, you can fashion your own base to make it suitable for surfaces other than flat. I made mine from a piece of wood held against the wheel of a belt sander to form the curve. Works pretty well on most of the diameter grips that I make.

I've used a metallic inlay material sold by several of the wood turning companies. Works well, but you still have the problem of the cork being so much softer than most of the available materials for inlays. This is why it's important to form everything oversized and then reduce the entire cylinder with a scraper or sanding block.

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I've always used an exacto knife to cut the outline and carving chisels for the interior. I've tried using dremel to do it but it always seems to grab at the wrong moment and ruin it. I just like the control that hand tools give me. I'm a total dweeb when it comes to most power tools.

Thanks for the 411 fellas.