J366 Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 Hey, I'm fairly new to this site as well as guitar making in general. I am going to build my first guitar (hopefully) soon and I'm in the process of designing it. After coming across a picture of a double-neck guitar that had an intricate dragon inlay running up wth body and onto the fretboard (it was a PRS in a sweetwater catalog), ive decided to explore that idea a bit. If not when i build my first, when i refinish my strat. Since I don't have much experience, I'm not expecting it to come out great, but I'd like to give it a shot. I was wondering if anyone had tried to do this sort of thing before and what were the results. I'd also like to know if it is necessary to take any special precautions when inlaying a guitar body as opposed to a fretboard. Thanks In Advance. -Jesse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 Firstly: that was done with a CNC machine. Secondly: as a first try, do NOT try it on a carved top. Thirdly: the lighter the wood you inlay into, the sloppier they look with even the SMALLEST mistake in routing. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 I echo Chris. A fretboard or headstock is probably the best place give your first inlay a try, and a material like ebony can hide a lot of little gaps as it can be filled with black epoxy (very good at hiding gaps). I would recommend that you start on paper. Draw up your design and figure out what materials you want to use and the size of the pieces (the inlay will be like a jigsaw puzzle). Pick up your basic for inlay (jewlers saw, small vise etc..), and order up the inlay material you will need based on your drawing. Then start cutting pieces to fit your pattern. I like to assemble all my parts dry, and then when everything looks good I super glue them together. I place and trace the inlays shape onto the fretboard or what have you. Then I start with a dremel tool and remove the bulk of the material. I use fine chisels to get tight corners and small areas. A Dragon or large design with a lot of pieces will be tuff for your first (not to mention expensive). You would do best to take a more basic and smaller design for your first (to get the feel of how it works). Hand inlay is mainly artistry (IMO). The actual cutting work is tedious at times, but fairly straight forward (just requires a bit of practice). What makes an inlay great is the artists use of materials, design, and engraving. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J366 Posted August 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 (edited) On second thought, I think I'll take it easy and start with something simple. I was kind of wrapped up in the coolness and possibility of the idea. I wasn't thinking about tackling something big or complicated, I was just trying to figure out if it was something i could try with any degree of sucess, and I think its a pretty clear no at this point in time. Maybe I'll try something on a headstock, or a dot or block inlay. Thanks for the info, much appreciated. Edited August 10, 2006 by J366 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 Past shapes like blocks and dots and what not, the easiest inlay to accomplish is what I like to call sillouette inlays. It's all one piece, and thus you don't have to worry about things fitting tightly for your first inlay... but you still get the basic coolness of having something unique. And you can actually do ALOT wiht sillouettes. I'm wokrin gon some truss rod covers with the sillouette of a dragon (you should probably try something with not such detail features first) and they're working up to be quite nice. I'd suggest something like.... out a mother of pearl sillouette of something simple, like a fish, or a butterfly, something without thing/small outcropping areas. There's a guy on the OLF forum that did an amazing looking diver in this manner. My first not dot inlay was a MOP sillouette of the ford mustang symbol. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 You know another approch would be to buy a pre cut set from say Depaule. You could still get some practice installing, but not have to take on cutting the shell. Just a thought. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cSuttle Posted August 21, 2006 Report Share Posted August 21, 2006 Sound like you're made a good decision. I did the guitar below. You are looking at about 40 work and about $400 in materials. This is definately something you would have to lead up to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Enamel Posted September 12, 2006 Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 Wow!! That is some beautiful S#!t!!!! You've obviously had some practice!. Nice work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boston_rocker51 Posted July 20, 2007 Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 Hey, I'm fairly new to this site as well as guitar making in general. I am going to build my first guitar (hopefully) soon and I'm in the process of designing it. After coming across a picture of a double-neck guitar that had an intricate dragon inlay running up wth body and onto the fretboard (it was a PRS in a sweetwater catalog), ive decided to explore that idea a bit. If not when i build my first, when i refinish my strat. Since I don't have much experience, I'm not expecting it to come out great, but I'd like to give it a shot. I was wondering if anyone had tried to do this sort of thing before and what were the results. I'd also like to know if it is necessary to take any special precautions when inlaying a guitar body as opposed to a fretboard. Thanks In Advance. -Jesse Probably faster & cheaper to send it to Antonio Tsai's shop in Vietnam and have them do it. Their work is great! I have his addy if ya want. Even w shipping, it's prob cheaper & quicker to have them do it. Also - MOP dust is nasty, be careful working this material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cSuttle Posted August 7, 2007 Report Share Posted August 7, 2007 Wow!! That is some beautiful S#!t!!!! You've obviously had some practice!. Nice work. Yeah, just a little. Check out my web-site at Shark Inlay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myka Guitars Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 (edited) J366, I wouldn't be discouraged to try something like a larger inlay. You can take small steps to achieve your goal but that certainly does not mean that you have to alter that goal. I am going to go against the grain and say that you do not buy premade inlays for practice, or hire this out, but to actually try and do it yourself and learn the skills necessary. Inlaying looks very complex when you see work like Cliff's and the PRS guitar (and it is complex and accurate work) but each individual piece was still made in the same way. I have found that it is not so much about experience as it is about patience. It does take time to do it right. You may wish to practice on block inlays but things like sharp tools and accurate fine lined drawings will help you out more than doing a block inlay first. You can try a simple geometric shape inlay to get the ideas down I suppose but that will only barely prepare you for a dragon inlay. Try inlaying a 4 or 5 piece dragon into a block of wood first. Or better yet, draw out your idea and start by making the inlay pieces one at a time. If you don't get one right simply toss it and try again until you do get it right. With the right attitude and perseverance you will be able to do this. A case in point is my friend Brian. Here is his first really elaborate inlay: Here is a larger picture (750kb). Not as elaborate as the PRS inlay but for a first larger piece this is pretty detailed. His past experience was the inlaying of a couple of his logos. He said that this inlay probably took him more than 80 hours with the single piece of walnut being the most difficult piece to fit (of course). The flames on the fingerboard were the last pieces inlaid and consequently the easiest part to do. I agree with everyone that attempting an over the top inlay is a daunting first project and could lead to frustration. But I would not abandon the idea completely. Scale it back a bit and do a simpler dragon design. Don't go from PRS dragon to block inlay, go from PRS dragon to your dragon. I say go for it. ~David EDIT: Cliff, I just checked out your site again. Man, your work just keeps getting better and better! Edited August 8, 2007 by Myka Guitars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicko_Lps Posted September 20, 2007 Report Share Posted September 20, 2007 Sound like you're made a good decision. I did the guitar below. You are looking at about 40 work and about $400 in materials. This is definately something you would have to lead up to. If you did that...its not a guitar anymore its a piece of fine art. It takes big @#$% to do that amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willy Posted September 21, 2007 Report Share Posted September 21, 2007 Oh my... Some stunning inlay there you guys. Got any more pics, or more projects ? I really like the inspiration i get when looking at other peoples work. Ive not done much inlay myself but have been practicing with all sorts of material over the last year. Anyway i feel ready now and have ordered a small fortune in mop, Black Tahiti Pearl, Pink Mussel, Sparkle Abalone Laminate and ablam. HAHAHA just as i typed this all my shell has just been delivered ! If any of you need a little more inspiration take a look at larry robinson's work. http://www.robinsoninlays.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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