AgentTwitch Posted December 31, 2003 Report Share Posted December 31, 2003 Hey fellaz I did my best to look in past articles about inlay; so if I ask the same question that was already asked, I appologize... Has anyone used a shell substitude veneer? Is there any good paua/abalone, MOP, etc veneers? I saw some on ebay the other day (I like it, I dont care...) but they were in the U.K. and didnt feel like waiting for shipping over seas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhoads56 Posted December 31, 2003 Report Share Posted December 31, 2003 Seen it, bought some, wont try it again... the sheets are so thin, you can literally see through them. Thats no good if you place them over a timber with a grain, as the grain shows through. They also dont reflect as much light as full blanks do, becuase they dont have the depth of reflection (eg: they are see through). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clavin Posted December 31, 2003 Report Share Posted December 31, 2003 There is inlay, and overlay. The materials you are describing are for overlay. It's actually a more common form of shell art, but NOT on guitars. You draw the pattern on to the shell veneer, cut it with an exacto knife, and carefully place it in the desired location. You then finish over it, and finish to the proper level as to make it look seamless. This is the technique used on a lot of japanese doors, and other "home style" woodcrafts. It can look very detailed and extravagant when done by an expert, but it's NOT inlay. Inlay requires routing a hole to place the materials into, normally at least .03 to .07" thick in American inlay. Many eastern inlayers use a thinner .02-.03 thickness shell, but thier work looks correspondingly cheaper as well. The colors are less, reflectivity, etc.. lots of this type of work is on EBAY from far east sellers. Malaysia, Thialand, etc.. You'll also notice the art is typical of eastern cultures. Lots of flowers, dragons, tigers, etc.. It's very nice work, but not what most westerners normally expect in quality. Fender and a lot of other companies have been using overlay shell for logos for a while, from a distance it looks like inlay, but up close their is no comparison. Craig Lavin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgentTwitch Posted January 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2004 Thanks for the comments, perhaps I was not very specific....The word veneer was wrong to use...There are shell substitute sheets that are far cheaper and look decent online. They are fake and easier to cut then other similar organic shell materials. They appear to be realistic, cheaper and offer more color varieties. This is only to glamour up a project guitar. I had only seen a single eBay posting, and it was from the UK. The thickness was the same as what I had seen at Stewart MacDonald. Regards, Norm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clavin Posted January 5, 2004 Report Share Posted January 5, 2004 It's called abalam. Or Laminated shell sheet. It comes in thicknesses frm .03 to .12 or more. You want to use .04 to .06 depending on your application. As long as you make sure it's from a reputable source (any major guitar supplier- stew mac, LMI, depaul, rescuepearl, ect.. ) it should be O.K There are a few types out there that are complete junk. Craig 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.