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I'm still researching and setting up my first build, and I wanted to try a few different things. For the fretboard inlays, can they be a form of metal? Or will that interfere with the fretwire?

Do you mean like will it cause some corrosion or something? I don't think that would be a problem.

I've inlaid metal on several banjos--nickel silver mostly, since it engraves nicely. It was pretty common in the late 19th century.

Dave

Nickel silver would be a good choice for inlays - it is relatively easy to cut, polishes up well and isn't too expensive as it contains no silver:

"Nickel silver, a range of alloys of copper, nickel, and zinc which are silvery in appearance but contain no silver. Its composition varies from 7 to 30 percent nickel, the alloy most widely used being 18 percent nickel silver (18 percent nickel, 62 percent copper, 20 percent zinc)." (britannica.com)

Many woodwind instruments use nickel silver for the keys.

https://www.amazon.com/Nickel-Silver-Sh ... B00F1OC1FM

I've used knife handle mosaic pins and brass wire for side dots. Lots of variety and look great.

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Tony Thatcher
Bozeman, Montana

Those do look good.

I've done side dots out of small brass tubing with colored epoxy in the middle--banjos frequently have colored veneers under the fingerboard, and I'd color the epoxy to match the veneer.

Dave

Here's a resonator uke I built back in the 80s. Spun my own cones and everything back in those days. But the inlay at the end of the fingerboard is red epoxy in an aluminum tube. Sort of a bigger version of the side dots I've done out of metal,

Dave

I’ve got some mosaic pins in the bench for my current project.

I have used sterling silver and copper - under a finish they retain luster

Ed M

I've used brass but it will tarnish, even under a finish. Aluminum is better because it looks like silver but will not tarnish.

These mosaic pins were exactly what I was thinking about. I was a knifemaker and have a lot of materials left over including some of these pins. They also make ones called "Decrofil". They are brass/copper tubes filled with colored epoxy or phenolic. Give it a really nice look. Well thanks guys that definitely answered my question

I have also seen powdered metals that can be mixed with epoxy to fill like inlay.