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This is for a professional underwater photographer, and was based on his photo sent to me.
The fun part is that the model's name is Yoko, and it's on a semi-hollow Rickenbacker. Thinking the only other female I now who's named Yoko is Yoko Ono, we called this one Yoko trio.
Yoko means "child of the sea" so it's fitting. Of course I don't have to tell you guys how Rickenbacker fits in .

Thanks for looking as always- a showpiece level mermaid Ukulele is next.
Craig

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www.handcraftinlay.com

Thanks Chris,
This one was actually a little tougher then it looks. The top dolphins tail is a piece of grav lam, as it's so big natural pearl wasn't large enough. So I had to use .60 grav lam, then do all else in either .06 or .04 depending on the material. I then had to glue it face down, route to the reverse traced pattern, and inlay it flush completely as grav lam is only 20 thousands thick top color solid pearl. Basically the route is at .06, while most of the inlay is at .04. Iused epoxy as back fill.

Craig L

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www.handcraftinlay.com

That looks GREAT!!!!!!

My mind does stuff to me sometimes. When I first started reading the post my mind read "professional underwear photographer" instead of "professional underwater photographer"

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I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

That is beautiful!

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Jim Hansen

You've sure been busy Craig! Another beautiful work of inlay from the Lavin factory!!

What material did you use for her grey costume and flippers?

Cheers,
Dave F.

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Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

Thanks Guys,
Dave the grey looking material for the suit and flippers is actually pure white corian in person. Guess the color temperature of the photo is off. I need to shoot it some more and make adjustments .

Thanks,
Craig

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www.handcraftinlay.com

As always, stunning work. A tech question. I use a Foredom in a Bishop Cochran plunge. I still huff and puff the dust(not the pearl, the ebony or other fretboard dust). Do you use a little air pump, blowing out, or a miniature vaccuum? Thanks, Mike

I use a 5 HP shop vac. Lead the hose up to the cutting block, and it all gets taken away. No huffing or puffing. For recon stone I add in an aquarium pump, because the dust is really "sticky"
and like to stay near the cut for some reason. The blower gets rid of it nicely.

Craig

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www.handcraftinlay.com

Nice inlay as usual Calvin.
Mike,
Here's a vacuum setup I made using vinyl hose that connects to my 2" shop vac hose and some pvc pipe fittings. A little crude with the attaching but it works pretty well and was cheap enough. It might be adaptable for your setup or maybe give you an idea or two.

Chris-thank you. That is what was in my mind. I have a pretty small version of a shop style vaccuum. It has been so wet in Iowa, that I am just now able to get a handle on RH in the real basement shop. I had a furnace drain hose that leaked at the same place as rain related small puddle- discovered and fixed that. I mention it because I moved a cheap Euro style workbench to my "den." There is a conveniently placed hole in the floor to the basement(prior occupant very over-sized a hole for cable TV) so I can run small hose down to avoid noise. I could even connect to a real dust collector. It is actually a short "run."

I have been doing things like fretboards and neck binding, setups, nuts, saddles, soldering up here.

While I have you, Chris-a big thank you for all of your generous YT sharing. I know it takes real time to document(I have tried and the need for zooming is a challenge, especially when alone) and you should get the Luthier equivalent of the Nobel Prize, or Pulitzer. Mike T.

Mike you might want to try and keep the smaller hose at a minimun length. The length might effect the suction of the vacuum. Something to do with static resistance or something like that. I used a pretty good ridgid shopvac. You may have to tweak your setup in some. Hope it works out for you. Maybe you could check out a central home vacuum system and get one of the wall outlet and install it and just pipe it down stub it down to the basement vacuum.
If you have any more questions that I might be able to help with with it PM me. I don't want to side track Calvin's discussion on his fine inlays. This one makes me want to get my scuba gear out do some diving.

Hey Chris, Who is this Calvin guy you keep referring to??

CRAIG- Great job on the Yoko Trio ! I love the color on the top dolphin.
Very beautiful work...

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

You know I saw the name clavin at the top left of the post and it registered in my brain as Calvin. I'm really sorry about Craig. And thanks for bringing that to my attention Dave. That kind of thing starts to happen more and more at 55. Or maybe it's time to get new glasses?
Dave , I guess we'll never get Craig to come on over to one of our meetings and do a inlay demo sometime now.
Just a side note. I lived in Sunrise in 1973 for about 9 months. Back when there wasn't anything west of state rd. 7 441 except cow pastures where poeple were seen looking for early morning mushrooms at times.
Again , Sorry about that Craig.

Very Nice Work

Craig, another beauty. I have to admit, however, that I've never heard of, and can't figure out what "grav lam" is???

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Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger

Chris-
Believe me when I say it's NOT an issue!
About every 2 out of four contact e-mails calls me Calvin... Guess its an easy way to see where they heard of me.. Obviously it's postings. Guess the screen name needs changing..

No discussion during or in one of my posts is every going to distract or take away from it. Only post because people keep saying they like to see the work, and it's flattering and an honor. So, Its posted. It can stop, but sadly getting my website updated is extremely slow to occur, so I like people to see the new work, and it does lead to teaching (and yes sometimes commissions). I don't have a suction rig as cool as the one you have, so am really glad you posted it!
Also- would do a demo with you guys, just never have been asked to.


Mike- grav-lam is a special thin solid shell veneer that Chuck Erickson developed a few years ago- it can be made into sheets over 4-5" long in some cases, and looks like solid shell. If you need a huge piece of something solid, that's the ONLY way to go. That said, at .20 thousands deep it's NOT for fretboards with any radius, so keep it flat only. On a headstock it's fine. Comes in white, black, gold, and a bunch of other shell types. Not cheap stuff, but worth every penny.

Thanks again for the compliments everyone, it's very generous of you .
Craig L

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www.handcraftinlay.com

Craig, I can't believe you were never asked to our meetings! What an oversight!!
Well, You are officially invited to any and all of the FGMA meetings. The next one is
in Oct.the 24th I think in Clermont near Orlando. A demo would be a real treat!
I hope you can make it. We will email you with the address and any changes.

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755