ArieBombarie Posted June 24, 2008 Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 (edited) Hi there, I've come to the point where I will have to start with my inlay so I did a lot of reading up on the subject to try to figure out how to do this... Not all the topics on inlay agree on the steps to take and not all of them apply to my situation. so I figured I would combine everything and check with you guys... It's a from-scratch build so nothing is pre-radiused or pre-slotted. The fretboard is ebony and I want to put in an custom mother-of-pearl inlay at the 12th fret position with two pieces at either side. ...here is a drawing: As this is my first inlay, I will be testing everything on a piece of scrap ebony first.... Working order: - cut the fretboard to the correct dimensions and plane it to the correct height - mark the fretpostitions with a mechanical pencil and cut them with a razor knife - Print out the design and stick the paper on the m-o-p - cut out the design out of the m-o-p - place the design on the fretboard and trace it with a razor knife - rub on some chalkpowder to bring out the razor knife cuts - use a dremel with a routerbase to route out the inlay cavity - mix a batch of epoxy and add some ebony dust for the right colour - add epoxy to the inlay cavity, stick in the inlay pieces and apply epoxy on to to fill in any gaps - sand away the excess epoxy on top - cut the fretslots - radius the fretboard using a radiusblock and sandpaper - recut the fretslots to the correct depth after radiusing - [Tip from Prostheta] Bevel the slots for better fret seating - cut and prebend the frets - [Tip from Prostheta] Where the frets touch the pearl, remove the tang from the frets (to prevent chipping of the inlay) - press and glue in the frets.... The things I'm still not sure about are: - is it better to put in the inlay and then cut the fretslots, or is it the other way around? - can i use ebony dust to the epoxy to get the colour right or should I use something else? - should I clamp the inlay in some way when the epoxy sets? - is there a potential problem in chipping the inlay when installing the frets if the slots are cut directly into the inlay? Any comments or ideas are welcome... Grz Arjan Edited June 24, 2008 by ArieBombarie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted June 24, 2008 Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 Sounds good to me, and you've done your thinking about potential problems. If you're worrying about fret tangs chipping the pearl on the way in, you just get rid of the tangs where the correspond to the places where the pearl is cut next to a slot. As long as your wire is radiused a little tighter than the board the lack of a few tangs is no big deal. After you "recut the fretslots to the correct depth after radiusing" you would need to bevel the slots for better fret seating to the face of the board also - this may reduce the risk of tangs chipping the top few layers of nacre to a degree, but I wouldn't rely on it purely on that basis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArieBombarie Posted June 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 (edited) Sounds good to me, and you've done your thinking about potential problems. If you're worrying about fret tangs chipping the pearl on the way in, you just get rid of the tangs where the correspond to the places where the pearl is cut next to a slot. As long as your wire is radiused a little tighter than the board the lack of a few tangs is no big deal. After you "recut the fretslots to the correct depth after radiusing" you would need to bevel the slots for better fret seating to the face of the board also - this may reduce the risk of tangs chipping the top few layers of nacre to a degree, but I wouldn't rely on it purely on that basis. Thanx for the reply... removing the tangs where the inlay is.... what a great idea! Simple but briliant, why didn't I think of that I'll edit my post to incorperate that!.. thanx again, grz Arjan Edited June 24, 2008 by ArieBombarie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted June 24, 2008 Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 Sounds like you have a well thought out plan, and I am betting you will do very well. I usually slot first. I trim my inlay back a bit from the slot(fret covers the tiny gap, and tang can pose no issue, and there is no real advantage in having a smooth tang slide against pearl). I use a small strip of teflon in each slot to prevent glue from filling the slot. You can wick a bit of CA under the fret after pressing if you are over a large bit of inlay(much as you do with fret ends on bound fretboards). Don't worry about pressing the inlay(if your route is too tight it can create problems with the inlay not seating, but a proper route will allow the inlay to seat with hand pressure). What you do want to do is avoid bubbles(watch out for geeting too many bubbles when you mix your epoxy) as much as possible. I use a fairly slow setting epoxy, as it will allow bubbles to escape better, but you will inevatably need to drop fill a few bubbles. I sometimes use saw dust, sometimes use dye, and sometimes use lamp black(kinda depends on the wood I am inlaying). Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cSuttle Posted June 25, 2008 Report Share Posted June 25, 2008 I don't know if removing the fret tang is really all that important. I would, however, suggest using a fret press, instead of a hammer to put the fret in where the frets cross the inlay. As long as you use a fret press with even pressure, the chipping shouldn't be a problem. Also, since you have two pieces that are the same design, try glueing two pieces of pearl together with wood glue and cutting both pieces are the same time. Then soak the pearl in water to separate them. Then you will have two pieces that are exactly the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RFR Posted June 25, 2008 Report Share Posted June 25, 2008 (edited) I have found a simple triangle file helps. You file a bevel on the top of the slot. I have never had to remove the tang for an inlay Edited June 25, 2008 by RFR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted June 25, 2008 Report Share Posted June 25, 2008 All good advice Arjan. Mine erred on the side of caution, as I can nary afford to repair chipped inlays halfway through jobs. I suspected bevelling might be sufficient to protect the top layers of nacre, RFR - i'll try that the next time I inlay a board with shell. I might work in a less conservative manner from thereonin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArieBombarie Posted June 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2008 (edited) Caution is a good thing so I think I'll use all the methods suggested. I routed my headstock yesterday and the router ripped my headstock to pieces.... MAJOR blow out!... Fortunately I found all the pieces and was able to glue it back together (the front and back will be covered by veneer so the damage will be hidden)... but it goes to show, you can never be to carefull... Grz Arjan Edited June 25, 2008 by ArieBombarie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo Posted June 25, 2008 Report Share Posted June 25, 2008 (edited) - You can use black epoxy, instead of mixing dust. - Use end mills instead of router bits for the inlay rout. -You can either cut out your design as individual pieces between frets . . or as one piece and then re-cut through the slots. Larry Robinson does it mostly the latter way, I'm doing one now the first way. Not sure if there are pros and cons for either . .anyone want to chime in on that? There is huge debate on whether to radius then inlay, inlay then radius, or partial radius, inlay then finish radius. The overall consensus seems to be the latter when you are doing larger inlays or inlays that span the board. Yours is close. Of course that also depends on how MUCH of a radius you will be doing and the width of the board. One tip Larry Robinson gave was to make sure your board is sanded to 600 grit before you apply the design and trace it with the razor knife. He mentioned that if you don't you will get chalk in all of the cracks and scratches and it will be tougher to see the sharp edges. 600 grit ensures a nice sharp image to rout. Nice design BTW . . . (if you want to see some mind-bending stuff, check out Larry's site and look at the Lindesfarne project, or the Martin 1,000,000 guitar. HOLY CRAP) Edited June 25, 2008 by komodo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.