Mother Of Pearl Inlay, How Do You Sand It

[crash6882]

I am working on finishing the guitar I am working on. I am trying to finish the inlay for the fretboard (it's a lighthouse). The problem that I am having is that I bought a nice chunk of Mother Of Pearl from a knife maker. It is about two times thicker than the green abalone that I am also using. My question is how do you suggest i make the mother of pearl thinner. My next question is how do you get your design off of the shell after you have cut it out. I suppose this will just sand off, but I don't want to scratch the nice shine it has. And last but not least, after I sand the Mother Of Pearl how do I make it smooth and shine, do i have to buff it????

-thanks for the help

[low end fuzz]

two thicknesses require 2 depths, imo

or if they are in the same structure (inlay) inlay it whole and sand them equal (already in the board)

any kind of thicknessing prior to setting in your piece seems to risky at least compared to when its epoxied in;

your pearl should shine fine if you sand it and the wood its in to like 220; but it can be much better, just keep sanding with higher grits; dont bother buffing i.e. compounds/pumice,

[fryovanni]

How thick are the pieces you are using? You can certainly hand sand them(but be careful not to thin too much, .060" is about as thin as you want for a fretboard). You want to make sure not to lose the look of the shell you are cutting, as shell will look better closer to one side(of course you will lose some of that face when you radius your fretboard, but I try to keep as close to the best looking face as possible). I would cut the pattern, CA the inlay together face down, and sand the back surface closer to even. A power sander used with caution and great care to not take too much would do the job also, again sand the back face.

Peace,Rich

[cSuttle]

I would not suggest any type of power sander unless you are REALLY good with them. File down the pearl close to the board and them radius block sand the rest. If you want to bring the shine back to the pearl, use 0-0-0-0 steel wool. Works like a charm.

I always leave a little shell over the top of the wood. I want to sand the shell down to the wood, not the wood down to the shell.

I agree with the .06" comment. For a fretboard always start with thicker material.

The piece pictured below had three different thicknesses of material on it. The brass was the thinnest .05, with the pearl and other shells at .06, and the stone being the thickest at .14. But, as you can see it all worked out right in the end.

[low end fuzz]

I would not suggest any type of power sander unless you are REALLY good with them. File down the pearl close to the board and them radius block sand the rest. If you want to bring the shine back to the pearl, use 0-0-0-0 steel wool. Works like a charm.

I always leave a little shell over the top of the wood. I want to sand the shell down to the wood, not the wood down to the shell.

I agree with the .06" comment. For a fretboard always start with thicker material.

The piece pictured below had three different thicknesses of material on it. The brass was the thinnest .05, with the pearl and other shells at .06, and the stone being the thickest at .14. But, as you can see it all worked out right in the end.

that is awsome!

i mean, you ruined it w/ that hidious flag, but the work is astounding!

[crash6882]

awsome inlay, I'll post pics of my completed one shortley

[wohzah]

Hey buddy I don't want to start a nationality flaming, but lay off our flag alright, we take a lot fo pride in where we come from.

btw the inlay looks great cSuttle

Edited April 11, 2008 by wohzah

[killemall8]

Hey buddy I don't want to start a nationality flaming, but lay off our flag alright, we take a lot fo pride in where we come from.

btw the inlay looks great cSuttle

+ 1,000,000,000,000E44

[low end fuzz]

chill, it was a joke; i know how serious you take those pinstripes;

id put our flag on a design, but its a freakin leaf!

[cSuttle]

chill, it was a joke; i know how serious you take those pinstripes;

id put our flag on a design, but its a freakin leaf!

Plus wouldn't the animal have to be a beaver or something like that

[fryovanni]

chill, it was a joke; i know how serious you take those pinstripes;

id put our flag on a design, but its a freakin leaf!

Plus wouldn't the animal have to be a beaver or something like that

You bet, one big old rodent!

Just like Oregon State

[Woodenspoke]

Not that I care about the design of for it. Staying out of it altogether. Stumac Makes a file for leveling fingerboards / inlay and it does a good job. Sure beats sandpaper. It is a special aluminum patterm file.