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Hello, again, Friends,

I've just had my first experience sawing MOP for inlays. It went fairly well (I will post some humorous little goofs later, for the benefit of the lurkers.)

But I have a couple of serious questions, and I apologize in advance for my utter ignorance about inlaying mother of pearl.

First: When you're routing out the inlays, do most of you folks use two or three different bits? In other words, one to hog out the waste, then another to sneak up on the scribed line? Then perhaps a third to sneak into the sharp corners? I do realize that I will be doing some clean-up to the line with chisels, knives, x-actos, etc. I'm planning on that.

Second: I've learned (as most of you have known for a very long time) that with careful planning, I can minimize my waste pearl to very small little off-cuts. My question is: Can anything useful be done with these cut-offs later on? For example, crush them and use the little pieces in clear epoxy or whatever to fill other inlay channels? Rosette channels? You get my drift. Just looking for creative suggestions to make something good out of waste pieces.

As always, many thanks to each and every one of you. Blessings to all for your Holiday season.

Patrick

I use a 1/32" end mill for all my inlay pockets. As for all the little pieces, when I save enough of them I think I'll re-tile the pool with a MOP & Abalone mosaic.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

I use a 1/16" bit for roughing out the pockets, then a 1/32" bit for the
edges. I haven't tried it, but I don't think the crushed shell will look
like the "real" stuff. I generally use black epoxy for gluing down the
shell. It doesn't show up much if you have routed out a little bigger
than your shell. But I'll be the first to admit I'm a real novice on
inlays, so you might get some more knowledgeable replies.

Brian, PM me your address, and I"ll ship you all my little cutoffs
for your pool

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Gene

Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason- Mark Twain

Routing is case by case. I have 3 bits (1/8", 1/16", and 1/32"). I use one bit the whole way if possible, because I'm too lazy to change it out all the time. Any of the 3 can be the one depending on the size and detail of the piece. Other times I use a smaller bit for the edges and larger for hogging. In general, 1/16" gets the most use.

Depending on the wood, and shape, and what I feel like at the time, I may start by hogging out the center and then carefully sneak up on the outline. Other times, I'll start by routing just the edge and then hog out the center.

For corners, you'll always have to go at it with a razor knife to pick out the last bit. Just get as close as possible with 1/32". For softer woods, you can stop at 1/16" and it's not too tough to knife the rest. Sometimes I wish I had a 1/64" bit for really hard woods.

As for glue, I mostly use LMI white and hide glue. I need to try CA, because it would be very convenient to assemble everything and then just dump glue on it and be done, rather than having to get it right to where you think it's perfect, but don't push the piece in all the way without glue because you'll never get it back out. Epoxy is a pain to mix, but good for fingerboards, especially if you have any significant gaps. But if you have a good fit, especially in rosewood that's porous already, I kind of like the look of hide glue, followed by a wipe with hot water to clean the glue out of the seam around it. You know, more proof that it's real inlay and not just a sticker/painting/imitation of whatever sort. And a show of routing skill that you don't need filler

And with the tiny offcuts... White MOP, I sand into diamonds and use for stars/sparkles (gold MOP might be good for this too). Green abalone, I plan on using for leaves on an overly detailed tree at some point. Black MOP is great for pupils of eyes, because it's dark but looks more alive than ebony, and reflects like animal eyes in the dark at a certain angle (make sure you rotate the pieces so both eyes flash at the same angle). But usually I'm too lazy to make dots out of tiny bits when I can pay Andy DePaule a quarter. Paua and red abalone I haven't come up with much use for. My logo has a little curl off the end of the D that I make out of a separate piece, so that's one small paua bit per guitar. But I still have quite a few tiny triangles with no future. Maybe sometime I'll just glue them all together into a big sparkly mess for a rosette or end wedge.

I use about 3-4 main bits, going down to mini end mills for really fine routing,
And almost never use exacto-knifes or chisels ever for pocket work. There is no need for those things typically.
Crushed pearl mixed ito epoxy doesn't look very good, so the waste pieces get used until I can't get any inlay work out of them anymore, then they just go into the vacuum, or stay in the scraps pile.

Craig Lavin

www.handcraftinlay.com

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www.handcraftinlay.com

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... bluescreek
There are many techniques for inlay . I use 2 bits for this work a 1/32 and .020. The .020 is used for fine and delicate work but most is done with 1/32 bits. Also I don't use the down cut bits, at $18 a pop and I can but solid carbide at under $7 it is a no brainer. A down cut pushes ships down into the work . What it comes down to is a sharp bit , if it isn't sharp you shouldn't be using it.

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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

I'm terrible at inlay, don't have the patience for it, and tend to avoid it but FWIW when I do inlay I use black CA. Just flood the piece with it and give it one shot of the catalyst and boom done!

Doing inlay requires patience . Black CA lets a dark halo that can be seen but it can help make something passable. While I use CA and epoxy , depends on the job. Learning the process and increasing skill is what sets the artists apart . Inlay artist that I admire and David Nichols , Dale Trach and Craig Clavin . There are others out the Larry Robinson is also in a class by himself .
If you want to learn to do inlay , You do need to practice . The hardest thing for me to learn was marking out . Once I learned that the rest came easy .

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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

Thanks to each of you for these very helpful replies. Brian, I love your concept of tiling the pool! That's a hoot. Now, let's see...at my rate of production I would have to do a VERY small pool!
Seriously, I had very little trouble cutting the pearl. I had much more trouble filing the edges here and there, although I got through that okay, too. I'll practice routing several inlays on scrap before committing to the headplate, and I'll rout the headplate OFF the instrument so I can pitch it and start over if it doesn't go well. Ditto for the fingerboard.

Thanks again, all!
Patrick

I have found that the easiest method for doing inlay is to send the work out.

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http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC

Check out the thread over on the MIMF on Mauro Marchesini's harp guitar to see an interesting and IMO successful use of abalone left overs.

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Kevin Mason
Mason Guitars and Ukuleles on Facebook
http://masonguitars.net