Text Inlay

[gitCAD]

hi

I have two issues where I would want to engrave text and fill it with MOP and Abalone.

Both is created from ordinary true type fonts for the PC , just not "Arial" , some kind of "designer" font but only true type not A-CAD compatible

First one is a creation from different pt sizes, all together pretty small and wants to be in a peaghead .

The other wants to be in a pickguard ( I know not very common but I like it) and is a little bigger , font size 18pt or so

I imagine, may be with Coral Draw it can be CNC engraved or laser cut and hopefully the MOP can be cut as well to fit and fill the depth of the material.

Does anybody know a place that services this kind of thing - the only one I know is kind of expensive and they normally don't bother with single jobs, I think they start at 4 - I like it well done but not expensive you know.

It's actually not totally due, you wouldn't start the project with the dot over the "i" but I 'd like to plan and calculate the project, and I finished designing the peaghead today, want to get the idea of how where and for what money as I said

thanks for any hint

[i-j-c]

This might be a tip for you - or others for that matter. If like me, you would love to do inlay...but are not as practised at it...or it's proving expensive...here's what I do...it's a cheat but works well.

I got images of about 30 different types of pau (abalone) from an Hawaiian fishing website. I then used PSP and wrote my text on the image using just outline on another layer. I then copied the layer image to a new image...and printed this (highest photo quality) on acetate paper...then using a craft knife cut it out...used some contact adhesive (a pritt stick)...stuck it on the headstock....then it's ready for several coats of laquer..

Here's one on my test neck before laquering...also, if you make a mistake or do not like the look of it...just peel it off and do another....as I say I have about 30 or so...and can create new ones all the time by using a different portion of the abalone images..

[gitCAD]

hi

well thanks for the tip, but I want to go for the real MOP.

btw there is a site somewhere where you can buy abalone image on foil

It looks good though, I have created pearl and abalone images in PS before, I have never heard of acetate paper before

I was already thinking of doing a waterslide for the peaghead, but I still want the MOP in the pickguard and since it is so , I will do the peagveneer with the MOP as well

I am sure the engraving can be done quiet easy, but imagine that this tiny little letters

would come out best if cut with a laser - I have no experience with it what so ever

The nut on your guitar, is it a brass ot a germen silver - I always wanted to try a german silver on a strat

[LWiedenman]

you might be surprised at what is possible with the human hand, given that the person doing the inlay is enough of a perfectionist. Lettering is one of the hardest things, at least for me, to get perfect results with.

I believe there are a few companies that do this. DePaule Supply has either a laser or cnc, i'm not sure which. And i think Custom Inlay Inc. would do this for you as well, i know they have standard fonts, but for an extra charge will do others.

I have a friend that has a laser, we did some experiments with it and cutting inlay. At least with his particular laser there was a problem with burning the edges of the piece. The other problem is that a laser cannot cut a reflective surface, because it will reflect the laser back into itself and destroy the machine. Before we tried shell we called the manufacturer and they advised against it. I think it's for this reason that most production inlay companies don't use lasers, but cnc mills instead. Shell can also be cut with a watersaw.

Unfortunately, all of these options will likely be cost prohibitive unless you do a run. If that's the case, look around for custom inlay. Look at the close up photos to see how perfect their detail work is. If they don't show closeups, it means the work isn't good enough to show a closeup.

[gitCAD]

hi

since this post already goes some time back I have learned a little more.

e.g. if I redraw the text, which is actually done quiet easily - I enlarge 1600 times and redraw the edges, no problem - then I can export to a regular CAD format *dxf - done

no more font business neaded - at least for the cnc mill

I would imagine that a bit of sticky tape on the pearl would put an end over reflexions, but that is only theory, I wouldn't like to say anything about it, I have no experience at all with it

Somebody once told me that you have to use nitrogene instead of oxygene when cutting with the laser, because "Fire" needs oxygene to start burning - but as I say- another theory that I have no clue of

I will search the web a bit for custom inlay - stupid that I did not have this idea, but I have found someone with a cnc who wants to give it a try ...

[jnewman]

I would imagine that a bit of sticky tape on the pearl would put an end over reflexions, but  that is only theory, I wouldn't like to say anything about it, I have no experience at all with it 

The only problem with this is that once the sticky tape burns through, you're back to reflective shell .

Somebody once told me that you have to use nitrogene instead of oxygene when cutting with the laser, because "Fire" needs oxygene to start burning - but as I say- another theory that I have no clue of

←

I would think that'd work fine, as the black is caused by the oxidation of the material (the material's molecules are broken up then reform with oxygen added), and with no oxygen, that can't happen. That said, I've never tried it before and can't really tell you - and the edges still might get hot enough to melt and not give you sharp edges. It all depends on how the pearl behaves when heated, and that's something I just don't know.

[LWiedenman]

I would imagine that a bit of sticky tape on the pearl would put an end over reflexions, but  that is only theory, I wouldn't like to say anything about it, I have no experience at all with it 

I have heard that using the tape method on metals works. I would think that it would work with shell too. The concept is that as long as the surface is not reflective to begin with it will etch the shell and scatter the beam after it starts cutting, but having been discouraged by the manufacturer neither of us really wanted to gamble with 40,000 bucks (which isn't an expensive laser)

[PatientZero]

The method I use is a little involved, but with a little patience, and a lot of attention to detail, I've gotten beautiful results. Using whatever design program you have, print out two copies of the text that you want. Make it actual size. One copy you want to adhere to the peghead (or whatever you're inlaying), and the other is for the material you're using for the inlay. Using an X-acto knife, scribe the outline of the lettering in both materials. In the peghead, use a dremel type flexshaft with a very fine engraving bit to carve out the inside of the design. In the inlay material, use the same flexshaft with a fine grinding bit to shape the letters outside of the lines that you scribed earlier. You should end up with inlay material perfectly sized for the cavity it goes in.