Official Luthiers Forum!

I'm building some guitars that are gonna be shipped from Canada to the US. At the moment, the only issue is the mop in my headstock logo.

So I was thinking of swapping it out for silver or copper. They'd live under French Polish. Any thoughts or suggestions?

As always, thanks in advance.

Steve

Why not use MOTS - fake pearl. "Fake" seems to be in the news quite a bit these days, and widely accepted, so why not fake pearl.

Reconstituted stone?

Alex

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

Similar to Alex's suggestion, actual stone works nicely if you are ok with color for your inlay. Turquoise and malachite (green) can be ground up very finely with a mortar and pestle. Fine enough to fill even very small details of inlay designs. I've also seen a red stone used this way too. It can look really good. It sands level very easily so no problem with that.

_________________
Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

Aluminum might work better the silver in the long run due to the oxidation. Just a thought.
The copper will also oxidize to a dull dark brown, like an old penny. The finish may slow it but I doubt it'll stop it. I don't know for sure though.

_________________
Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

I think pearl is banned from exporting from the US under the Lacey act.
Pearl can be imported into the US, no problem as far as I know.
Dan

_________________
wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

Ivory colored Corian.

_________________
John

Just so you know, this is what the USFWS said about import of mother of pearl into the US in a factsheet published in December:

"Mother of pearl
Mother of pearl, or nacre, is a material
produced from the inner shell layer of many
mollusks. Mother of pearl is strong and
iridescent, and is used in manufacturing a
wide range of products, including buttons,
jewelry, and decorative accents on musical
instruments. Although mother of pearl
is a wildlife product, it is not listed under
the ESA or CITES, and may be traded
internationally without permits.
However, like other wildlife shipments,
commercial imports of mother of pearl
must be declared to the Service and must
be imported through specific ports of entry.
Visit http://www.fws.gov/le for more information."

The full 2-page factsheet is here: https://www.fws.gov/international/pdf/factsheet-musical-instruments.pdf

Not saying you wouldn't want to at least consider alternatives to MOP to reduce the hassle factor, but it can be used.

_________________
Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

I've gone to using wood for inlays instead of shell, and find I prefer it. For one thing, the image 'reads' better from a distance.

Thanks for the help everyone. I spoke to Jaime Aulson at Aulson Inlay and we're gonna try some aluminum. Should be interesting.

Steve

Steve, Could you simply cut off pieces of an aluminum rod from the "H- depot"?

Alan, What do you mean "...the image reads better"?

_________________
Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

When I do my logo in shell it just looks like a blob of shell from a distance: you can't really make out what it is. With wood you can. It's my fault, in part for using a complicated logo.