cSuttle

Very nice, very, very nice. Super air brush work. Are you a professional artist?

How do you even mask something like that for painting?

I won't be doing the masking on this one since the manufacture would be doing the rest of the process, but if it were me, I would use a product call Frisket that is like the stuff you find on clock faces when you first buy it. Then it has to be careful cut to the design with an xato blade.

I never thought i'd say this about a guitar but that inlay is breathtaking.

Is that a double neck guitar?

Yep, it's a double neck. This guitar is even big for one of those. The body is 23" wide. Cool looking design though, which I can't show you yet because it won't be unveiled until the NAMM show. But, if you're familar with Minarik guitar, you probably have some idea of what this guitar looks like.

That looks great! I must say though, she looks alot better against a dark background, I feel that that maple is too close/light a color and doesn't give the shell's their ability to shine in contrast.... HOWEVER I don't imagine that that maple is staying that plain color, so I'm gunna hazard a guess, and make a request to see it in all it's glory once stained.

Chris

Well Chris, the actually color will be picked out by the manufacturer - Minarik Guitars. They ask for my input, but do whatever they want. I'm just responsible for the inlay.

Well ... she is done at last. More than 16" wide. 141 pieces Whew ... that was a lot of work. It took me 55 minutes just to glue it up. Boy, I sure wish I was keeping this one. I might see about making for of these for me. If you want to see the piece being built, check out my site Shark Inlay and go to the "In The Workshop" section. I documented this from artwork to final project.

Rosewood on Pao Ferro is going to be almost invisible. Ebony could work, but it won't show up real well, so that would be more of a subduded look.

any suggestions??? i wans something striking. I've never worked with shell. Next guitar.

What about maple, cocobolo, purple heart, red heart (problem with sun light on this one), cedar, etc. Just anything out the the brown/black range would show up better.

Shell is really not that much harder to work with than wood. I a lot of ways I like it better.

Rosewood on Pao Ferro is going to be almost invisible. Ebony could work, but it won't show up real well, so that would be more of a subduded look.

I must admit to not even knowing about mammoth ivory, after seeing the link to elephant ivory I just figured that it was just a slang term for the same thing...sorry!

....something new every day....

No problem dude You feel passionate about something and want to speak out on it. That's a good thing. And, I agree with you whole heartedly.

Thanks for the info gang. I only use Mammoth Ivory for the reasons stated above. Plus, I like the color better, more tan in color than yellow.

I agree that elephant ivory that "pre-ban" is a slippery slope that leads to corruption and fraud. A game I'm not willing to be a part of. Mammoth Ivory is more like a recycling process. The tusks are already scrap rotting in the ground, why not use it.

My current supplier for Mammoth Inlay material seems to have become unreliable. Does anyone have a supplier for this they could recommend?

Thanks

Have you tried Friskit?

I haven't posted any cool inlay in a while, so here you go. It's a control cover for a PRS done in Paua, Red Abalone, White/Gold Mother of Pearl on Ebony. If you want to see more picture, go to:

www.sharkinlay.com/plates.htm

I do small run and one off CNC lettering all the time. Email me. Shipping is only $8 to the UK.

I'm a little confused since Nitro is a clear coat, but be that as it may, I have experimented with Reraunch product and have found them to be quite good. Follow the steps listed on the Reraunch site and you would get a really nice looking guitar.

I don't know Cliff...I've inlaid over 30,000 blocks of pearl and pearloid into Fender Custom Shop bass necks alone...I think I've got you beat

Yep, sounds like it. Ok, excluding you. Larry is not on this form is he? Better yet, amend my first comment to include the word "Most", since I'm not sure who else may be on this forum. Probably what I should have said in the first place. For all I know the Duke of Pearl himself might be a member.

I get mine from McMaster Carr and/or RobbJack. I have found them to be WAY more reliable than Stewmac. The double fluted bit in 1/32" are like $11.

I vote for epoxy personally. I've done probably more inlays then anybody on the board and this has always worked for me. Of course I have very, very thin gaps on my inlays if any gapping at all, so that could make the difference. I really don't worry about matching that much since there is so little to match.

However, I would think that the epoxy would also be stronger since superglue is not really recommended for glueing wood. You need an adhesive that soak into the wood to really be strong.

Just my opinion.

I would drill a smaller hole in the middle of the old dot. You will usually find that this releases the glue and the dot comes out cleanly, but even if it doesnt it is then easy to pull out the remnants. Its a bit safer than drilling the exact same size of the old dot. Obviously you could also drill a larger hole and have larger dots.

Agreed. This is the way to do it.

Interesting concept. I've never seen that before.

Quick one that's been bugging me: what's the deal with the saw fine-ness grading? Anyone care to explain it (ie, 2/0 vs 3/0 vs 2 vs 3...). I use Erbele blades, german made, I can get them locally, and they're pretty nice, but I sort of just peer at the blades and get the ones that look fine enough...

3 is thicker than 2 which is thicker than 1, etc.

1/0 is thinner than any of the ones above, 2/0 is thinner yet, etc.

The one's I was recommending is 2/0.

I remain and maintain - buy decent quality from a reputable supplier as even the finest quality will only cost around 2.50/dozen of anyone's currency and they'll cut cleaner, last longer and snap less - Cliff's suggestion of Riogrande sounds a good place to start if your stateside, just look at his work if you want confirmation from a pro. Cheap one's tend to be poorly toothed and tempered and will snag and snap and can put you right off inlay from the start.

Jem

Yes, I have to agree. In fact, I use the Gold series from Rio Grande which is their best blades. The O2 size are quite thin and can brake pretty easy, but that size allows you to turn easier and get the fine detail without breaking the material. A good piece of pearl is about $8, if you wreck that because you didn't have a good saw blade, all the cheap saw blades in the world aren't worth it. $8 is like 3 dozen blades. When you're working on a piece like that one below with no etching (I don't etch or paint fretboards), you'll be glad you have the nicer blades. Just my 2 cent, for whatever that's worth, which probably isn't a lot.

Sound like you're made a good decision. I did the guitar below. You are looking at about 40 work and about $400 in materials. This is definately something you would have to lead up to.

I buy mine form Rio Grande www.riogrande.com

The size I have had the best luck with is 02

Thanks for the comments guys I appreciate it. With regards Doeringer's comment about being dissapointed with his/her block inlays, I thought about this and during my practice attempts found it much harder to route a straight line than a curve, hence no straight lines on the design.

Your exactly right. If you are doing it by hand, a geometric shape is the hardest thing to do. This is because if you are even a little off on the shell cut or the route it really shows up. However, on a curved design, if you are a little off it really shows. Everyone just thinks you meant it to be that way.

Looks good. Interesting design. Should make a wicked guitar.