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Looking for a substitute for mother of pearl for inlay work. Something that wasn't alive (non-life form) at some point. Any ideas?
Thanks.

Inlace.

http://www.inlaceonline.com/

No real substitute but you can look at Corian . there is a whole color pallet to select from . Most shops that use this stuff will be happy to sell some pieces . It works easy and finishes well.

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

What about the tree from which the spruce and mahogany came from?
or the hot hide glue...

How about clown barf?

http://www.frets.com/FRETSpages/general/glossary/ClownBarf/clownbarf.html

Seems it 's good enough for Frank Ford!

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Thanks for the help guys! The inlace stuff looks interesting -I'll have to get some samples.


What about the tree from which the spruce and mahogany came from?
or the hot hide glue...

Sorry for the confusion Jack, my mistake -I should have stated "non animal". Hopefully this puts your mind at ease.

Again thanks for the help all

Well, vegans won't eat yogurt with gelatin, so you may be in trouble with 'penetrating that market sector' if you use hide glue in your guitars!
And, aren't lac beetles 'sacrificed' during processing of shellac?
Man, this stuff is complicated!!

- I don't use hide glue, nor do all luthiers.

- No, actually this isn't complicated at all. Lac beetles aren't sacrificed during the production of shellac. They ingest the sap of the tree, and excrete it out from their legs in order to hold on to the tree itself (usually the Kursum tree), hence "stick-lac". The tree is then cut down and the bark shavings are then further processed to draw the resin deposits from the insects out. The shavings are then heated and filtered leaving behind liquid shellac. Shellac is a UV resistant natural polymer and often used in coating pills, tablets, and tasty candy.

You've got this mostly right...
The trees aren't cut down, the encrusted sticks (branches) are usually trimmed off.
The dead adults- they die after reproducing - are inside the lac deposits. The eggs hatch and the young exit the lac encrustations, hopefully before processing.

BTW, I'm not sure if oysters and other shellfish are actually 'harvested' for the shell, or if the shell is a by-product of food/pearl fishery. I know that abalone shell was definitely 'leftover' from the abalone food business on the Pacific coast of N. America- before abalone harvesting was mostly banned. Perhaps you have some info on this?

I'm pretty sure someone ate the oyster, but importantly, the shell is not alive.

When you get right down to it, unless you build your guitar out of rock (rock guitar ) then you will always be using something that at one time was involved with the living process. Even celluloid!!!

Mike

oh.. cool. thanks for the update john.
-nope don't know much about shellfish. but can I assume that one is a by-product of another?

It's funny how marketing works- I don't have a clue, obviously.
I recently saw a guitar finish described as a 'plant-derived spirit varnish'...I think the maker was referring to (nitro) cellulose lacquer!!

Anyway, sorry for the derailment- back to the scheduled program.....

Cheers
John

How about shell harvested from the beach, not from live shellfish?

There's also ivoroid.

Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Harvested from synthetic elephants?

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Cheers
Pete

You'd figure it'd be worth more, considering the source:


(Source: http://www.templates.com/blog/the-most- ... er-part-2/)

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

I am waiting for this thread to devolve

But I am doing my best to not help it....

Mike

Recon stone is also used for inlay work, I don't think it has the shimmer of shell, but many colors and patterns available. I have been looking into it for the same reasons, I would like to keep my guitars vegetarian as possible.

I know for many this seems silly, as was stated, the trees were alive. Many make these choices based on personal decisions frequently from a spiritual perspective. There are no rules about this, each of us, carnivore or herbivore, decides what we feel is acceptable. I live in a unique town that has a relatively large vegetarian population, some estimates are around 30%. I have similar spiritual reasons as many in my community for being vegetarian, and am happy to cater to this market.

As some indicator of the growth of this vegetarian market, I can point to the vegetarian freezer section in my grocery store, 5 years ago there were a couple of shelves, now we have 3 full doors of stuff to microwave.

My point, it is simply personal choice, and a growing market.
Rob

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From pachydoids, actually.

Pat

_________________
formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

re: guitars without animal parts/product content

I lived as a vegetarian for a couple of years (in India), so I'm pretty familiar with the issues involved. (Tourists who've had to leave their leather belts at the temple entrance are a familiar (and sometimes comic) sight...)
New 'converts' to vegetarianism often spend quite a bit of time with 'imitation meat' recipes (vegetable 'chops' , 'veggie burgers', etc) before they develop a good repertoire of veg. recipes.
I think of the 'MOP substitute' quest in this light.
There are plenty of all-wood choices for inlay, purflings, and rosettes, and nobody will ever mistake them for MOP or other shell. Tagua Nuts are a possibility for small white inlay applications. And of course, Corian and other synthetics fill the bill for nuts and saddles if bone is not acceptable. Plastic sticks or brass wire can be used for side position markers on fingerboards. Gold/brass/silver also have inlay applications.

There are lots of paths to follow so that the guitar will not have the MOP 'look' , which could be objectionable to some people.
And there are plenty of non-vegetarians who just think shell inlay is too flashy, anyhow!
Cheers
John
PS: For your reading list:http://cordis.europa.eu/fetch?CALLER=EN_NEWS&ACTION=D&SESSION=&RCN=32164

Hmm....I kinda like that. Wouldn't it be great to gloat about your intricate clown barf inlays?

Not to mention the other glues luthier uses (PVA or aliphatic resin glue) came from petroleum which came from dead animals buried a long time ago.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

plastic?

That is plastic based, which as we all know is based on petroleum, which itself is based on (once) living things meaning we can't escape using once living things to build a guitar.

Also the lacquer thinner and the lacquer came from petroleum too... I guess only thing we can use is shellac, and alcohol came from plants.

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com