cSuttle

Not my cup of tea, but I respect the craftsmanship required to make them come out that well! I'd love to see that idea materialized in a different way.

Yeah, it has my creativity running too. These were done for a client, but I have a guitar based on War of the Worlds and I'm thinking of doing something like this for that guitar is the alien hands. But, wouldn't some type of eagle look cool?

Hi Gang,

I just realized it's been a while since I was here. Sorry for the absence. Anyway, these just rolled out of the shop and I thought you might like to see.

I 3D shape the claws our of recon stone with mop claws.

I have to agree with Doug. Use .06" material. Or else you are asking for a blow through.

Not positive I understand your question, but if I take a guess there is another way to do this. Super Glue the entire piece together and then route it in as one piece. I hope this is what you meant.

You try riding a 8 legged horse with out looking awkward.

The wrist was necessary in order to get the spearhead on the guitar. Plus that position is possible, it just would be comfortable.

I'm seeing some nice details added to the skin and hair. The changes in the armour are throwing me a bit. In one pic it's grey, in the other white. Looking back, I'm guessing that's a function of light angle and reflection?

SR

The armor is actually metal (nickel), so it changes look in the pictures depending on how by mid-range camera see its and how the flash highlights it. In real life is looks like steel.

Added some subtle paint effects today.

How many legs is a horse supposed to have?

That's not a leg.

Yeah, I wonder how many of those the horse has? The viking were really into fertility.

I'm Done

Video of me working on it are on my site in the "Workshop" section.

Update pics: headstock and fretboard

Update: 8/15/11

Still a lot of leveling to do, but here it is at the moment.

But wolfy is done.

and to the poster above, yeah something like this takes about 60 hours.

Update: I got around to cutting the final pieces. Next step is the hole.

This is very cool - what material are you using for the white part of the inlay that looks like marble?

This is very cool - what material are you using for the white part of the inlay that looks like marble?

It's recon stone. I think the color is called Nero-Blanco or something like that.

Cool! I like the way you took the inlay into the bevels...very nice. Is there anything on the board?

Actually those pieces are just going to be trimmed off. We talked about rolling it over the edge, but the client is painting the bevels so there would be no point in that.

How many legs is a horse supposed to have?

Ah, you're actually paying attention. Odin's horse, in the myth, has eight legs. The inlay has seven, the eighth would be under the bridge in this design, so it doesn't show. It was really hard to figure out where to put those extra legs.

Hi Guys,

Well, I'm well into my 2011 video project. (you can follow along on my web-site www.sharkinlay.com)

First off I have to say I really like the way this guitar is built. Very nice workmanship by J. Thayer Guitars. I'm going to be doing a completely over-the-top inlay on it based on the god Odin. (Thor's Dad) I'll post update pics when available.

The Guitar

The Plan

95% of the pieces are cut.

I use a lot of different kinds of paints and have never had a problem. BUT ... I always do a seal coat before I start the finish. What I mean by that is I lay the guitar flat and then spary a VERY light coat and let that cure before I continue. I also make sure that the paint is completely cured too. If the light coat starts to blend with the paint, the coat is so light it has little effect.

In the piece below, I used three different types of stain and three diffent types of paint. This isn't the finished picture (I have finished it, I just haven't talken picture yet) and everything turned out ok. The robot and the planet are inlay, but the rest of it is paint or stain.

Whenever possible, I always put it is as one piece and then reopen the slots. This gives a better look since everything lined up perfect and it goes completely under the frets. Be sure not to pound the frets in, but to press them in. Here is a pic before reslotting. You can see that this would have to tricky to fretspan out.

If your body where cut to exact measurement and you had the cad drawing, exact filling piece could be cut so the fit would be nice and tight. It would still be a lot of work, because all the pieces would have to be numbered so they could be assembled. His isn't at edge binding, but something similar I did on a guitar body.

I don't know. Looks like the stuff I use. Sparkle MOP Abalam also know as mop meal.

Picture from my web-site.

As mentioned above, the bigger the pieces for more they are worth. The going rate is $26 per ouch for the big stuff. If the are 1/2 square my in a .06 thickness I would think about $8 per ouch. My me personally, they would be worthless.

Looking GOOD!

If you really want you inlay to hold forever, use two-part epoxy. The problem with superglue is it absorbs into the wood and doesn't fill as well. It is also subject to age and can loose it's bond.

If your fretboard is maple, be careful with any chemical to remove the old inlay as it could discolor the wood permenately.

however, the chip carving is not an option, this is a one of a kind instrument which I am building to celebrate my 15 years as a luthier and I wanted to test this idea on it ......

I understand. That's what I'm doing with the SciFi guitar. Testing ideas. A great way to do that is on a guitar for yourself.

By the way, I love the front of the guitar too.