Clavin

1/8 inch is pretty thick. Most of my materials end up at .04" by the time thier leveled, some may be a tad thicker, but 1/8th is pretty heavy. It can be done, but it's pretty thick

Also- whats it going into? Maple, ebony?

That will determin how precise it needs to be routing wise. Also, whats the pattern?

Yes laser cutting is the most precise, but its most likely going to cost more than it's worth for one inlay.

Craig

I'm willing to bet you can get a hand cutter to do it almost as good, especially if there is few or no interlocking parts. You'll have to get the rout Laser or CNC cut as well, plus you'll have to pay a set up fee. What is the image you want cut? Can you post it? If it's relatively simple don't do it laser. It won't be worth the money most likely.

If you are not proficient yet at cuting by hand, I recommend doing more of it. It only gets easier!

Craig Lavin

An added thought regarding colors- yes ebony in maple, or vice versa is a pain to work with as the maple inlay will get dark, or the ebony dust will fill the maple making it dark. You can clean it out, but it never really cleans out pure. Trying to sand it out just makes a depression around the inlay you rather not have to deal with. Sealing it will do you little good, as you'll sand away the sealer unless it penetrates fully, during the leveling process.

Craig Lavin

Wood inlay is the exact same thing as any other inlay, as long as your actually inlaying it. Marquetry is similar in that you cut out pieces and put them together like a puzzle.

If your inlaying woods I don't recommend anything less than than 1.5MM thick, or as thick as shell. That may be a little hard to get, or just thickness out your own materials. I recommend also sealing the woods with glue (liquid CA) on both sides to keep it from fraying out as you cut it. That and remember light woods on a fingerboard will collect dirt and debris, and fade out over time, Maple will also wear faster than ebony, etc.. so keep the hardnesses in mind. On a headstock or other no-wear surface do whatever you feel like!

Craig Lavin

(Clavin :o)

You do get lines. I engrave with an onglette graver, it gives me the best control. It has a very fine point. You have to make sure your cuts are deep enough that whatever filler you use to fill the cuts in will be above the lines. Then, if you fill the cuts and there are still lines you have to go back in again and grave those lines away. It takes time. Engraving is not a fast process. It's the definition of tediouse.

Eventually you get a solid looking engraved area.

Craig

Thanks again guys.

The brown streaks are part of the Gaspeit. You can also get "yellow" gaspeit, which is the same green color without the brown streaks. I didn't know that until after this inlay, but the next time I do leaves I am using that variety. I rather use this version for turtle grass and things that look like they have life epizoa, etc.. growing on them.

The head of the ladybug is engraved and filled with engraving ink. You can also use epoxy but you will have to do extra work sanding away the excess. I would never use epoxy to fill an engraving to rough with the sanding process. Some people use sho polish as filler, others just inks, and then seal the lines with liquid CA, and then lightly sand off the excess. I thught about adding the black dots to it, but at the size it is is would only make it less red, and more of a mess. I have seen pure red ladybugs (actually the real name is ladybird beetle) so I'm not too upset!

Craig.

Thanks. I saw your site as well. Your guitars look great. That shell style inlay looks good too. Keep it up.

We are both displaying at the first world guitar congress. I'll make sure to stop by if I can.

Craig.

Materials include:

Pink mussel shell

black pearl

gaspeit stone

Sugalite stone

Yellow spiny oyster

Mother of pearl

Red coral

obsidion stone

It's also engraved in white, red and black

41 pieces total. The fretboard is getting a matching hummingbird scene, and it's then headed to the GAL show in Washington State.

Thanks guys!

C lavin

Hi guys.

I just finished this up. It's on an acoustic headstock veneer that needs to be fitted and edged, but it is set up to the headstock pattern. Of course it will look better when it's attached, but I don't have that job.. This is the last I will see of it except for hopefully good finished pics after the entire guitar is built.

The pieces that look like they are floating out of nowhere will seem like they are coming out into the headstock from the very edge.

Thanks for looking.

Craig

I use CA for everything, and I use about as many materials, metals, shells, plastics, bones, etc.. that are out there. I never have had a problem with any of them. Black and gold pearl don't hold as well with CA when gluing a paper pattern down to them, but wih the quantity of glue used for gluing into a route it seems to work fine.

Craig

Larry R. uses CA

I use the same exact CA

Stew-Mac liquid thin.

I also add ebony dust (very fine) around the edges in ebony to help do away with any pearl edges showing through.

It darkens the glue and sands out to an almost perfect color match.

I still have not found an epoxy that hardens as good as CA given the time.

Craig Lavin

Hi AJB.

You can go to my site and see what I think you are looking for.

Try this link.

I dont know why they don't show up anymore,.

Here is the link

http://www.handcraftinlay.com/ladyoflake.html

Craig.

http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/cinlay.htm

Is the link.

Really what you need is the graver, the graver handles ( I have since started using them again) and a good filler material. Either inks, or wax type paste.

I saw that Luthier's Mercantile offers an engraving guide recently, although I have not had a chance to read it yet.

I am pretty confident in my technique, but I will read it. You can go to their site and look up engraving tools. It's in that area.

Here is the shark after even more inlay was added, and I did some more engraving, added the gills, etc.. The luthier put a big scratch down the blue material with a fretsaw, and I had to repair it. I did that by using liquid CA, and adding the little silver dust "plankton" and a few fish to add to the scene over the damaged area.

You can't notice it now. .

I added the gills (don't know how I forgot THAT the first time!!

and some nose detail.

I also added some chimera shaped fret markers out of gold and black pearl to "join" the one up top to the blue shark at the fingerboard end.

It makes everything look more cohesive. The gold edging is counter-positioned to the black, as far as refractivity goes, so they have a ton of flash as the fingerboard moves.

Here is the upper chimaera again as well... All the whit spots are engraved, as is each individual piece to add contrast.

Craig

He (Larry) recommends the Meek book. I guess you can start there, I learned a lot more by just doing it alot, and asking others how they engrave. Be afraid to ruin pieces. It makes you go slow and do things right. It's a healthy anxiety.

That's part of it.

I have engraved on almost every piece you have ever seen from me, and almost every piece on my site has some. You need to do it to get better, just like everyting else. Start out simple, go gently/lightly, and take hours to do it depending on the complexity.

I think people tend to rush engraving, which is why there are so few masters.

I am far, far from a master engraver. I am still very much a beginner. Master engravers do things like monetary patterns for the mint.

Craig

It's very- very -very normal for a bivalve ( clam/oyster/etc..) shell to be curved.

They ARE curved. They are also varying thicknesses.

What is not normal is to see such cheap work in making blanks.

Making a properly thicknessed blank takes proper planning, and slabbing techniques.

What you got is just some thinly sliced shell, maybe sanded a little flat in some areas.

Shell doesn't warp, although it can be bent and flattened with the proper steaming techniques, which I personally know nothing about, but that it can and is done to make some of the newer type prepared shell materials.

You can work around it, by laying out your patern in the flattest areas as you design your cuts, but that may be more effort than it's worth.

I would be very carefull to watch the thickness and curve in the areas used.

Craig

Shell veneer is so thin it cuts with an exacto blade. Like .006-.009

It's only suitable for inlay work IF you do something like this:

1) Do a regular inlay on a headstock

2) You have part of that inlay that you want to add an effect to, like a colored haze, etc.. whatever the veneer lets show through. It has to be translucent at least.

3) Cut your veneer to the desired shape and glue it OVER the part of the inlay you want shaded.

4) Don't sand a thing. It's way too thin.

5) Finish over the veneer, and build to thickness.

It can't be done on fretboards because you have to build the finish up to blend with the veneer thickness. I guess it could be done if you finish over the fretboard, but as it wears it looks terrible, and will be worn away very fast.

This has been done a few times I have seen, and gives a neat effect.

I have not tried this yet.

I may with some marine life ideas I have, but I'm not in a hurry just to try a new technique.

It's too thin for fretboards. The thinnest I have heard for fretboard use is .02, which is the thickness used in Asia a lot for fancy inlay. It works faster, but by our standards it appears cheap, and wears quickly.

Better staying well within .05-.06.

I only use .06 anymore for almost anything.

It has a lot more depth visually.

Craig

Imunwell2, I saw that the first time.

The bike on the whole istelf isn't a problem, the lady isn't either.

The main amount of engraving would be the motor.

The way you have it set up there you could take weeks just engraving it.

Engraving , when done correctly is a completely seperate level of art than inlay. It's one of the oldest and most demanding art forms out there. I am just beging to feel slightly comfortable with it myself.

I don't want to turn you away from it, but I would either draw that out by HAND, and not just computer, in a way that minimizes the motor being limited to mainly being cut out of silver, and ebony.

You can also accomplish some fine lines with silver dust, but you may want to cut out all the pieces.

I practiced engraving for a long time on scraps before I ever touched my graver to a piece of shell.

Craig.

That's great.

Any time I can inspire is a great thing!

All of my inlays, pretty much, can be seen at (insert drumrole here)

www.handcraftinlay.com

I'm listed on the friends page of this site as well.

So Whats your new idea?

Craig

No time.

Too busy trying to become more known as an inlay artist first.

I do appreciate the coments.

Stew Mac sells a few good books.

Art of Inlay, by Larry Robinson (THE best/most incredibly prolific inlay artist in the US, maybe the world) is one of them.

You should check out.

Craig

Here it is.

I bumped it up, I think.

Check out the blue shark tutorial as well on the inlays pages, it shows the tools.

Craig.

That's great work on the les paul.

Keep it up.

As far as engraving goes I did a post a while back on it, and the tools/techniques. If someone knows where it is maybe they can lead you to it.

Good luck.

Craig.

Any jeweler can cut you the gems.

I have little idea about actually insetting them into an inlay, however I know people who do.

As far as the recon stone goes Masecraft Supply sells most of it.

Rescue pearl started carrying some types as well.

It's $5.00 to slice it, then that slice is sold by the ounce.

it's NOT cheap.

Craig

I have never used it.

I think synthetic ivory is a better color, equally as cheap, and far easier to work.

Tagua nut will only give you a small size to work with. It's used primarily to simulate ivory, which can be done in a number of ways. I don't use real ivory.

There are a number of artists that do. I do use fossil ivory on occaision, but I am finding less and less of a need for it.

It's supposed to work like ivory. I have seen a lot of carvings done with it. I do have raw tagua nut in the shop, but withthe prep needed to make blanks it's not worth it to me.

Craig

Just noticed the other pic.

Yup, thats real stone.

Tile setters have been doing that for thousands of years.

Don't know how it would work on a guitar.

The recon stone is way mucho easier!

Craig

Hi guys.. sounds like you guys are mis-interpreting the term "stone" a little.

The "stone" most inlayers are using isn't really stone in hardness.

It's re-constituted stone. Gems are used in inlay, however they are only set below the surface level, or inset into the art after leveling, above the surface.

They won't sand down, way too hard, so they are there soley for effect.

Reconstituted stone is natural stone material crushed into a fine powder, then mixed with epoxy resin to make it into a brick shape.

It's very workable, although it is a bit fragile depending upon which of the 30 or so types your using. It cuts clean, but breaks/fractures easily.

The turquoise on that telecaster is dust, or chips filing in the burle cracks, you can also dremel route patterns and fill it in.

The seahorse I recently posted had gasparite "stone" algae fronds. It's the same exact material your talking about.

You may notice the route is a little wider than my normal preferance around the stone, any grab on the edges and it breaks. I had to go a little wide. Most people prefer to use it in ebony for obviouse reasons. I have used it in maple, but I took hours and hours routing it. I also used dark materials and engraved over any fractures that may have arose in setting it in.

Hope this helps.

It works the same as any inlay shell, but I use it a little thicker, maybe .07-.08 because it breaks so easily.

Masecraft supply carries all the different types.

There is a rainbow of colors available.

Craig