Jump to content

Pre-cut Inlay


Recommended Posts

I am not having any luck finding pre cut inlay from places other than Stew Mac and LMI. Any suggestions? I don't have a specific design I am looking for, I just want more options to choose from.

Shoot me an email of roughly what you are looking for. I can cut just about any custom shape in most woods & pearlessence. I'm sure I can hook you up. Here is a couple recent examples:

huntindoug@aol.com

tribal.jpg

http://members.aol.com/huntindoug/sample1.jpg

http://members.aol.com/huntindoug/sample2.jpg

http://members.aol.com/huntindoug/rosecross2.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For precut shell inlay Andy Depaule is a wonderful source :D . He can cut custom designs for you also(he just needs a drawing or cad file). His shell blanks are top notch. Definately a great source.

If you are interested in cutting your own designs it is not very expensive to get set up and is a lot of fun.

Good luck with your search,

Rich

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Actually, it's called "Pearlessence". It comes in a wide range of colors, and it works & sands really well. The quality has come a long way in the past 10 years. It works well for large pieces like the tribal inlay. You would never find a piece of shell that big.

The plastics have come a long way in terms of their looks, and durability. To me shell has a better flash, depth,color and hardness(you can't debate that). At ten feet maybe the look is similar, but if a person really looks at you inlay(which is the idea) the two materials look very different.

I would be perfectly cool with using all sorts of different materials if they have the look that suits the inlay best(recon stone, stone, acrylics, metals, shell, wood). If I wanted the look of shell I would use shell of course, and if I needed larger pieces Ablam comes in very large sheets(4"x9"??). As far as MOP itself @ $11.00 an oz. for large pieces(@.05" slabs an ounce goes a long way), I find it very inexpensive.

So I guess I am pro using all sorts of materials, but con using something that does not look as good just because of cost(especially when we use such small amounts of material for inlay in general). I wouldn't hesitate to use $70 an oz shell next to $2.00 per oz. acrylic if it looked the way I wanted it. I would never use $3.00 worth of acrylic in place of $11.00 worth of MOP to save a few dollars(my work and time are worth to much to me for that).

Hope that makes sence, and came across as correctly

Rich

HuntinDoug- Will your cutting machine also cut shell or recon stane?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have cut abalam before with the laser with decent results. MOP is generally too thick & dense. Most of the time it burns. Although I do cut a lot of the thinner headstock MOP & abalone. Here is an example of something I did for the J/C custom shop:

jflame.jpg

I do work for them on a regular basis. Oddly enough, they were the ones who turned me on to the pearlessence material. A lot of "purists" think that nobody uses the "toilet seat" material. Jackson uses it regularly on custom pieces that require color, or a large single piece inlay. They are also starting to use a good amount of wood fretboard inlay:

(this one was not for Jackson)

http://members.aol.com/huntindoug/flameinlay.jpg

I have an upcoming bloodwood & purpleheart flame pattern fretboard inlay that should be cool.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have cut abalam before with the laser with decent results. MOP is generally too thick & dense. Most of the time it burns. Although I do cut a lot of the thinner headstock MOP & abalone. Here is an example of something I did for the J/C custom shop:

jflame.jpg

I do work for them on a regular basis. Oddly enough, they were the ones who turned me on to the pearlessence material. A lot of "purists" think that nobody uses the "toilet seat" material. Jackson uses it regularly on custom pieces that require color, or a large single piece inlay. They are also starting to use a good amount of wood fretboard inlay:

(this one was not for Jackson)

http://members.aol.com/huntindoug/flameinlay.jpg

I have an upcoming bloodwood & purpleheart flame pattern fretboard inlay that should be cool.

Doug, Just want to say i wasn't dissing you for your use of materials as i'm 100% aware you use CNC of which shell isn't the happiest material to use....me, i'd inlay my own eyeball if it fell out of my head :D

Jem

Nocturne-Guitars

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am not having any luck finding pre cut inlay from places other than Stew Mac and LMI. Any suggestions? I don't have a specific design I am looking for, I just want more options to choose from.

hey man, check out ebay. they have a million different types of pre cut inlays. they have really nice abalone block and trapazoid inlays, sharkfin inlays, sharktooth inlays, and some even offer custom inays. the abalone inlay set is only 20 bucks, you cant beat that

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...