LTA Posted March 10, 2006 Report Share Posted March 10, 2006 Ok, so I have never done any inlays before, but I am wanting to put some on the guitar I'm about to build. After searching endlessly on the internet I still have a few questions that are unanswered, and hopefully someone can help me. The main questions I have are: When you are putting inlays on, do you have to route out their shape into the neck? Or are they just glued on? If I do need to route out the fretboard, how deep to I need to make the "incisions"? Any help is greatly appreciated, and thank you in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted March 10, 2006 Report Share Posted March 10, 2006 I suggest you do a lot of reading before you even think of attempting a fretboard inlay. Start here: Inlay Tutorial StewMac sells a couple of inlay books and instructional videos as well. Good investments. And, if you haven't already, try using the search function on this forum for more info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cSuttle Posted March 10, 2006 Report Share Posted March 10, 2006 Ok, so I have never done any inlays before, but I am wanting to put some on the guitar I'm about to build. After searching endlessly on the internet I still have a few questions that are unanswered, and hopefully someone can help me. The main questions I have are: When you are putting inlays on, do you have to route out their shape into the neck? Or are they just glued on? If I do need to route out the fretboard, how deep to I need to make the "incisions"? Any help is greatly appreciated, and thank you in advance. Yes, you do have to route a hole in the fretboard the exact (or as close as possible) shape of the inlays. Route to a depth just slighly less then the thickness or your materials. That way if you are a little off it won't matter. I use .06" material and route to .05". That works great. Not not buy that really thin inlay material that you glue on. If you do, when you start to play the guitar the inlay will just flake off. The deeper you can set the material the better as far as durability. I have a brief overview on my site (and I highlight brief), but maybe it will be a little help. The "Art of Inlay" book by Larry Robinson is a good one to get. Practice first. Do not try your first inlay on an important fretboard/guitar. I can't stress this enough! Inlay overview Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTA Posted March 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2006 Thank you both for the info and links. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted March 11, 2006 Report Share Posted March 11, 2006 cSuttle, that was some really nice inlays. Good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cSuttle Posted March 11, 2006 Report Share Posted March 11, 2006 cSuttle, that was some really nice inlays. Good work. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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