Sulfur inlay is a rarely used technique for decorative surface

inlay Inlay covers a range of techniques in sculpture and the decorative arts for inserting pieces of contrasting, often colored materials into depressions in a base object to form Ornament (art), ornament or pictures that normally are flush with th ...

in wooden cabinetmaking. Sulfur-burning-at-day

The technique originates in the 18th century, but was only used for a short period. Between 1765 and around 1820, German immigrant cabinetmakers in

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Lancaster County (; Pennsylvania Dutch: Lengeschder Kaundi), sometimes nicknamed the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the south central part of Pennsylvania. ...

, used it to decorate the surface of chests. The Deitrich chest of 1783 is now in the Smithsonian. Commercial reproducers of such chests may rarely re-create this inlay technique as well.

Technique

The inlay technique is simple. A small groove is carved into the surface of the wood, then molten

sulfur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...

is poured into the groove. Once cooled and hard, the surface may easily be scraped flush. Sulfur is used as it has a low melting point, easily achieved on a hotplate. This also reduces the risk of charring the wood with a hotter liquid inlay material. On cooling, sulfur also expands slightly, locking it into place. The colour of the sulfur inlay is a pale yellow or off-white. Overheating the sulfur causes it to darken to brown, and also produces noxious fumes and a risk of fire. Antiquarians unfamiliar with sulfur inlay have mistaken old examples for varieties of

beeswax Beeswax (''cera alba'') is a natural wax produced by honey bees of the genus ''Apis''. The wax is formed into scales by eight wax-producing glands in the abdominal segments of worker bees, which discard it in or at the hive. The hive workers ...

white lead White lead is the basic lead carbonate 2PbCO3·Pb(OH)2. It is a complex salt, containing both carbonate and hydroxide ions. White lead occurs naturally as a mineral, in which context it is known as hydrocerussite, a hydrate of cerussite. It was ...

Related techniques

Pewter Pewter () is a malleable metal alloy consisting of tin (85–99%), antimony (approximately 5–10%), copper (2%), bismuth, and sometimes silver. Copper and antimony (and in antiquity lead) act as hardeners, but lead may be used in lower grades of ...

may be inlaid by a similar process, albeit rather hotter, giving a silvery metallic inlay.

Wood's metal Wood's metal, also known as Lipowitz's alloy or by the commercial names Cerrobend, Bendalloy, Pewtalloy and MCP 158, is a metal alloy that is useful for soldering and making custom metal parts, but which is toxic to touch or breathe vapors from. ...

has also been used as a low-temperature alternative. * Sulfur has also been used as a historical hot-melt glue for setting ironwork into stone, or for bonding stone together. *

Niello Niello is a black mixture, usually of sulphur, copper, silver, and lead, used as an inlay on engraved or etched metal, especially silver. It is added as a powder or paste, then fired until it melts or at least softens, and flows or is pushed ...

uses the darkening effect of sulfur compounds on silver.

References

External links

The Worst Way to Inlay
a 2005 replication of the technique by

Theodore Gray Theodore W. "Theo" Gray is a co-founder of Wolfram Research, science author, and co-founder of app developer Touch Press. Education Theodore Gray was educated at the University of Illinois Laboratory High School. He would later graduate wit ...

Surface decorative techniques in woodworking {{furniture-stub