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Does anyone know of a supplier of bone shapes for inlay? I'm mostly interested in side marker dots and fretboard dots.

Thanks.

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John Cavanaugh
Saint Paul, MN
"What could possibly go wrong?"

John I know this might be gross. But about 25 yrs ago I stole a big beef leg bone from my dog. I'm still using on it. eBay is the only other place I know


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Hi Lonnie, what method did you use to cure the bone?

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久保
美智え

Go to your local Petsmart store....already cured.

I don't know of anyone that sells bone dots but you can make them using a fuller type countersink with the drill bit reversed and retracted to leave a cavity in the center. In the past I have used old piano key tops as a source of material.

If you just want dots, chuck a square length in a drill and turn it round. I do it all the time to make tortoise dots for my instrument's side dots. File and sand till you get the diameter you want, drill the hole in the F/B. superglue the whole dowel in and finally use a fine saw to cut it off.

i/ve used plug cutters from harbor freight to make dots. Have made lamb bone by boiling in hot water /vinegar to get rid of the fat to make saddles.

I have not found any pet stores that sells cow bones. All I have found are ground up bones pressed into the shape of a bone.

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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

I'm about to cut up a deer antler for nut/saddle for my local materials challenge build. Very hard and dense. Don't see any reason for why it could not be used for inlay. Has anyone else used antlers? Whitetail for those of you who care. Three point.

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Doug

Don't let fear or common sense stop you from trying to build something

I've used all sorts of horns and antlers. Usually the tips are the best as they are solid. When you have a curved piece it's sometimes hard to cut out a wide enough flat piece. If you place the horn in the oven on LOW HEAT they go soft and you can clamp the piece flat. Watch out! If it over heats, the horn bubbles and is ruined.
If you get horn that is translucent and cut a thin piece you can put coloured paper, plastic etc. behind it or even colour the back with ink, paint etc. When inlayed the horn lets the colour through.

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We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at guitars.

Thanks, everyone, for the replies. Looks like this one is a do-it-yourself project.

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John Cavanaugh
Saint Paul, MN
"What could possibly go wrong?"

MichiyukI, hope I spelled that right. I sawed the bone in half long ways. Yuk!! Lots of grease. Then I boiled it for awhile. I was living in the desert so it just cured naturally. Some of those suggestions on here may be better. However,I've made a lot of things out of it. Still have a bit left too. Going to make some side dots for the Uke I'm just finishing up on. I guess I'm pretty primitive. But that's just me I guess. Good luck


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Oh by the way use a hacksaw. You don't want bone marrow on your bandsaw blade.


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So what does bone marrow do to bandsaw blades?

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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

It is super greasy and would be a real ich to get off. Bieve me you wouldn't want it on there. Would probably get all over your tires guides etc. Not good.


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Thanks for the tips, will have to give it a go one day.

Apologies to John for butting in the topic here

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久保
美智え

I've thought of this too, and ended up going to eBay and picking up a couple of Tagua nuts, which are a very hard nut that is used as "vegetable ivory." No boiling on the stove for hours, no grease on your bandsaw, no sullen resentment on the part of your dog. One of these days I'm going to make an all-vegan guitar.

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Tim Allen
"Never hurry, never rest."

Lee Valley sells Tagua nuts, as well. http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.a ... ,250,43217

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

They don't seem long enough to make saddles...

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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

Well the boiling process was not hours maybe ten minutes tops. The grease is yucky. That's why I suggest using a hacksaw. Now the dog getting upset is a different story. However I did give him the knuckles off the ends. That seemed to pacify him. I don't regret having this piece of bone all these years and would gladly make another. Which I plan on doing fairly soon.


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If you want to prepare your own bone for instrument use, the writeup at http://www.bearmeadow.com/build/materials/bone/html/bone-clean.html is useful. It describes a pretty complicated procedure, which is why I was asking about pre-shaped pieces in the first place.

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John Cavanaugh
Saint Paul, MN
"What could possibly go wrong?"

I picked some old bone up at a campsite. Great stuff, bleached by the sun, thoroughly cleaned by ants. I think it was a beef bone but am not totally sure. It's not white white but that's not the look I'm like anyway.