How Is Inlay Material Made?

[Ledzendrix1128]

Yeah i was just wondering if anyone knows if its possible to make Abalone sheets yourself... or something that is suitable for inlay... i have a pretty big abalone shell at home. Its probably not possible considering i most likely dont have the right tools... but if theres a way to do it, i would love to know... i wanted to make a sheet big enough for like a design too, not just dots... im thinkin at least 1" x 2"

[jnewman]

Find a part of the shell that's large and flat enough to cut a 1"x2" sheet out of . If you're talking real abalone, that's what it is - just a piece of the interior of the shell cut out with no processing (other than removing the outside of the shell and maybe a minor bit of shaping).

If you're talking about something like "Abalam" you could probably do something, but I'm not the person to ask.

[Mattia]

Honestly, it's probably not worth the work. You don't have the kit to do laminated shell, and you could, if you have a grinder, grind flat blanks out of the shell. Needs to be done wet, though, to keep the dust out of the air and more importantly out of your lungs.

[Batfink]

Yeah - more hassle than it's worth, go buy some instead.

Jem

[Clavin]

It's NOT worth the health risk, or the effort, or the wasting of materials to learn in the process. You also need to have a map, or pattern, to know where to grind and sand and cut to get out blanks that are useable. For $40.00 or less it's absolutelty NOT worth it.

Craig Lavin

www.handcraftinlay.com

[Ledzendrix1128]

yeah your probably right.. im even worried about using nitro while finishing my strat... im sure grinding abalone is alot worse.. i completely forgot about that side of it..

[GuitarGuy]

I've tried this with scallop shells. (very much like MOP) Utter waste of time. Don't bother. Buy it.