Tarquinius Posted July 12, 2005 Report Share Posted July 12, 2005 Ok heres the story. Bought an old guitar, want to fix it up, found out i can change inlays and now I'm considering it. I looked at some of the older posts about changing inlays. About like drilling them out and then filling the hole with sawdust and superglue, then putting it in. I have questions in some of the more specific parts of this procedure. So here they are: 1. How far exactly should I drill into the inlay and what type of drill bit 2. Can the sawdust you put in the hole be from any kind of sawdust, i personally rather not sacrifice my fretboard to create new sawdust. 3. What kind of super glue should i use 4. Any precautions i should be aware of? Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted July 12, 2005 Report Share Posted July 12, 2005 1: drill about 1/8." Use a bit about 1/32" bigger than the dot. You don't want to drill so deep that you hit the truss rod, but you have to go deep enough so that what's left of the dot won't resurface when you sand the board. 2:You can use any sawdust you want. Buuuut if you want it to even resemble the same color as the board, you'd better use dust from the same type of wood the fretboard is made of. 3: Use epoxy, not super glue 4: You realize if you want to put a new inlay in, you're going to have to remove all of the frets and then refret the whole board, right? Another thing...you are going to have a very difficult time routing for inlays on a radiused board. It can be done, but it's no cake walk. Depending on how much experience you have with guitars(and I mean working on them), this may be over your head. But hey, it's your guitar. That's about all the advice I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TenderSurrender Posted July 12, 2005 Report Share Posted July 12, 2005 (edited) Hey i have NO experience with inlays BUT can i recommend you give "Maiden69" a message? although hes away we dont know how long for and he has done some inlay work, perhaps he can help? Also try PM'ing LGM as his inlay work is amazing Lastly give "Clavin" a buzz (his thread just a few down) he does some AMAZING inlay work Sorry i cant be more helpful Good luck with your inlays and dont forget to post pictures when your done!! ~~ Slain Angel ~~ Edited July 12, 2005 by SlainAngel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TenderSurrender Posted July 12, 2005 Report Share Posted July 12, 2005 ALSO Nicked these from the Clavin thread (hope they dont mind) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/087...2315098-1120157 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/087...2315098-1120157 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/087...2315098-1120157 Some books on inlaying for you! ~~ Slain Angel ~~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocksolid Posted July 12, 2005 Report Share Posted July 12, 2005 (edited) ALSO Nicked these from the Clavin thread (hope they dont mind) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/087...2315098-1120157 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/087...2315098-1120157 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/087...2315098-1120157 Some books on inlaying for you! ~~ Slain Angel ~~ ← those links dont work for me, i think they only work for the person who did the search, could you list the names of those books? EDIT for some reason these links don't work for me but the ones in the other ones do Edited July 12, 2005 by rocksolid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarquinius Posted July 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2005 ALSO Nicked these from the Clavin thread (hope they dont mind) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/087...2315098-1120157 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/087...2315098-1120157 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/087...2315098-1120157 Some books on inlaying for you! ~~ Slain Angel ~~ ← those links dont work for me, i think they only work for the person who did the search, could you list the names of those books? ← Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TenderSurrender Posted July 13, 2005 Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 Not quite sure why the links didnt work but if you go HERE and scroll down, the orignal links are there... ~~ Slain Angel ~~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batfink Posted July 13, 2005 Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 Ok heres the story. Bought an old guitar, want to fix it up, found out i can change inlays and now I'm considering it. I looked at some of the older posts about changing inlays. About like drilling them out and then filling the hole with sawdust and superglue, then putting it in. I have questions in some of the more specific parts of this procedure. So here they are: 1. How far exactly should I drill into the inlay and what type of drill bit 2. Can the sawdust you put in the hole be from any kind of sawdust, i personally rather not sacrifice my fretboard to create new sawdust. 3. What kind of super glue should i use 4. Any precautions i should be aware of? Thank you ← Errrrrr.....what are you exactly trying to do ? You say you want to change the inlays...from what to what, as i'm trying to think what you're planning to do with all this sawdust ? Are you: 1)... wanting to remove the old inlays and, using sawdust, try to make the board look as if it has no position markers at all. 2)... wanting to remove blocks or crowns and replace them with dots, hence the sawdust to fill in the larger cavity's 3)... remove some cheap plastic or MOToiletseat and replace them with MOP or Abalone and want to raise the bed as the existing inlays are deeper than the new material you want to inlay. In answer to some of your questions: Drilling: most inlay material is around 1mm > 1.5mm thick so you dont have to go very deep at all. If you have a brad point bit use that, the smaller the better until you get the first one out and see what you're up against. Use a hand drill if available as a power drill will be through to the rod in no time . Once you've broken through the middle of the first one use whatever's at hand to gouge the remainder out....carefully. Sawdust: All woods will, with the exception of ebony, change colour when their dust is mixed with glue, they tend to go lighter or darker. Ebony still changes colour (tends to go darker) but it's much less noticable than with other woods. Superglue: Use the thinnest you can get so it will seep into the dust uniformly, don't use epoxy unless you're doing something big like the full headstock or the back of a banjo. Precautions: Don't drill through the neck or your fingers Hope this helps, Jem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarquinius Posted July 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 (edited) Ok heres the story. Bought an old guitar, want to fix it up, found out i can change inlays and now I'm considering it. I looked at some of the older posts about changing inlays. About like drilling them out and then filling the hole with sawdust and superglue, then putting it in. I have questions in some of the more specific parts of this procedure. So here they are: 1. How far exactly should I drill into the inlay and what type of drill bit 2. Can the sawdust you put in the hole be from any kind of sawdust, i personally rather not sacrifice my fretboard to create new sawdust. 3. What kind of super glue should i use 4. Any precautions i should be aware of? Thank you ← Errrrrr.....what are you exactly trying to do ? You say you want to change the inlays...from what to what, as i'm trying to think what you're planning to do with all this sawdust ? Are you: 1)... wanting to remove the old inlays and, using sawdust, try to make the board look as if it has no position markers at all. 2)... wanting to remove blocks or crowns and replace them with dots, hence the sawdust to fill in the larger cavity's 3)... remove some cheap plastic or MOToiletseat and replace them with MOP or Abalone and want to raise the bed as the existing inlays are deeper than the new material you want to inlay. In answer to some of your questions: Drilling: most inlay material is around 1mm > 1.5mm thick so you dont have to go very deep at all. If you have a brad point bit use that, the smaller the better until you get the first one out and see what you're up against. Use a hand drill if available as a power drill will be through to the rod in no time . Once you've broken through the middle of the first one use whatever's at hand to gouge the remainder out....carefully. Sawdust: All woods will, with the exception of ebony, change colour when their dust is mixed with glue, they tend to go lighter or darker. Ebony still changes colour (tends to go darker) but it's much less noticable than with other woods. Superglue: Use the thinnest you can get so it will seep into the dust uniformly, don't use epoxy unless you're doing something big like the full headstock or the back of a banjo. Precautions: Don't drill through the neck or your fingers Hope this helps, Jem ← I just want to take out the old inlays and put new ones in. I think the old ones ar elike white clay and the new ones will be mother of pearl or something. Frankly I cant even see why I would need sawdust because they both will be circles, and you won't be able to see the sawdust or glue, if i did it right. Edited July 13, 2005 by Tarquinius Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batfink Posted July 13, 2005 Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 OK, you didn't mention that they were just dots in your original post. Just hike 'em out as described and pop the new one's in with a tiny bit of superglue, if you take your time and are carefull when you sand them flush you can do it without removing the frets. Jem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarquinius Posted July 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 (edited) OK, you didn't mention that they were just dots in your original post. Just hike 'em out as described and pop the new one's in with a tiny bit of superglue, if you take your time and are carefull when you sand them flush you can do it without removing the frets. Jem ← thats like a plan, how hard is it to sand like albolane or MOP? Also I guess, the danger of keeping the frets on the board when i sand is that it will sand down the fret and make it awkward to play. How easy is it to sand down a fret like that? Edited July 13, 2005 by Tarquinius Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted July 14, 2005 Report Share Posted July 14, 2005 I don't know about the frets or Abalone, but MOP sands really well and quite easily. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batfink Posted July 14, 2005 Report Share Posted July 14, 2005 On the MOH scale both MOP and Abalone are relatively soft'ish. As it's just dots, rather than sharkfins or something massive like that, you should be able to sand the new dots edges flush with a fine file or failing that some 320 or 400 grit wrapped around a ice cream stick or something simular. Take it slow, check regulary and you should be able to get them flush without significantly touching the fretboard and without going anywhere near a fret as such. As with everything try it on scrap first, (i wish i practiced what i preached ), buy a few extra dots and practice your technique, i'm sure you'll get the hang of it quite quickly. Jem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarquinius Posted July 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2005 Thank you guys so much, I can't wait to get crackin on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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