johnsilver Posted January 15, 2005 Report Share Posted January 15, 2005 (edited) Here is a pic of a fretboard for an LP that I inlaid with MOP blocks. My problem is that the blocks in the 5th and 7th fret positions don't match the rest of the blocks very well. Most of the blocks have good figure and color but those two are milky without color. The pic isn't very good but you probably can get the idea. Apart from the obvious, which is to ensure a match BEFORE inlaying, should I: 1) leave them as is and let it bug me forever 2) route them out, cut some new pearl and re-inlay and risk ruining the whole thing 3) put it on the guitar I'm making for my son and maybe he won't notice Does the difference bother you? Thanks. Edited January 15, 2005 by johnsilver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clavin Posted January 15, 2005 Report Share Posted January 15, 2005 1) leave them as is and let it bug me forever 2) route them out, cut some new pearl and re-inlay and risk ruining the whole thing 3) put it on the guitar I'm making for my son and maybe he won't notice Does the difference bother you? Thanks. It bothers me enough. Rout and re-do. You already tried that once. You won't screw it up. Just re-sand carefully, watch the radius, and switch to a higher grit earlier than normal so you don't re-scratch the others beyond repair. Take your time. There is WAY to much figure in the other pieces for it to look consistant. Craig L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marzocchi705 Posted January 15, 2005 Report Share Posted January 15, 2005 Redo, the 5 and 7 look far too dull and stick out like a sore thumb. Or just play on thoes frets all the time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsilver Posted January 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2005 Dadgummit!!! I knew the answer, but I was hoping someone would talk me out of it. I already ordered and received the pearl. It is a good match for the other pieces. Craig, what is your process for cutting rectangular pieces of pearl and getting them square? You probably just cut them square to begin with, but my cutting is a little off so I end up filing to square up. By the way, thanks for all your help with this inlay. I am working on another fretboard now with the Gibson style trapezoidal blocks. All I can say is thus far I have learned from my many mistakes on this board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsilver Posted January 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2005 Redo, the 5 and 7 look far too dull and stick out like a sore thumb. Or just play on thoes frets all the time... ← I get it. The ol' 5-7 blues shuffle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clavin Posted January 16, 2005 Report Share Posted January 16, 2005 Craig, what is your process for cutting rectangular pieces of pearl and getting them square? You probably just cut them square to begin with, but my cutting is a little off so I end up filing to square up. That's all there is to it. How good your final inlay looks depends first and foremost on how good your drawings are. Filing is fine to make things a little better, but square drawing with thin lines is a better start. Then just file for roughness. Your getting there. The more complex my inlays get the more I keep having to remind myself of the basics. They just don't go away. The highest amount of time on my more complex inlays these days is spent staring and re-fixing potential problem areas. I have a very, very complex one now just sitting there glued up. I am going to map out the problems and list them out first, then tackle each one seperately before I scribe and rout. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsilver Posted January 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 Well, here are the replacement blocks I inlaid (reinlaid) because the others were mismatched colors. It came out pretty well - the color and figure are much more consistent. As suggested, I took my time and was careful. I guess the positive side of this is I didn't ruin the board and got more practice inlaying. One other positive is that the blocks I replaced were real b*****ds to get out, so I must have put them in there ok. Thanks again for continued advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Headen Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 Looks great to me. I think you'll be a lot happier this way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clavin Posted January 24, 2005 Report Share Posted January 24, 2005 Looks great. You see that it's easier then it looks! Especially in ebony. I have an inlay heading for the scribe phase, it took weeks to get cut, and most likely hours to scribe as well. Pics soon maybe. Craig Lavin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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