Inlaying fretboard

[katatonia]

this is most likely the dumbest newb question ever, but how is it that if the fret board is rounded you can get the inly to be flat without bending our having its surface unlevel with the fretboard

[Brian]

Actually the inlay (if it is something like a piece of plastic or thin piece of Mother of Pearl) usually is flat to begin with when you first put it in the cavity.

The trick is making it contoured or radiused just like the rest of the fingerboard. In reality once your done even though it make look flat to you it is really rounded on top (unless of course you have a plain flat fingerboard with no radius).

[katatonia]

ah so it is just bent to be in line with the surface contour?

[Brian]

The top surface that sticks out of the board is sanded down to the radius of the board. It is shaped into being flush with the top, not actually bent.