Official Luthiers Forum!

Don't use the quicker drying epoxy, they never harden properly. You want the 24 hour stuff. I use Zpoxy, the same stuff as I use for pore filling, with some wood dust mixed in. Let it dry 24 hours and it is really hard and cleans up nicely with a sharp card scraper.

I have Z-poxy but since this is a multiple piece inlay, I think I might be better off using the CA for this one.

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Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

FWIW. I used to use starbond thin medium an thick, it was a total PITA for me . I have switched to hobby lobby ( extreme power) . I keep it in fridge once opened at 37 deg F

Why was it a PITA and what is better about the Hobby Lobby stuff?

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Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

With multi-piece inlays I like to glue the parts to paper on the back side as I make them. You build the design out from the center or the most complicated part, and this allows you to see how the whole thing is working as you add each new piece. Once the inlay is complete you turn it over and glue paper to the top surface, making sure that it's nice and level. Then sand off the paper on the back and take the whole thing down to a uniform thickness. Now you're ready to rout the pocket. I like to make it just a hair deep, and use slow cure epoxy. Glue some toothpicks across the top of the inlay to bridge the pocket, and work it in so that the surface is level. Once the epoxy sets up you can sand it back. All of this is pretty standard practice in marquetry.

Alan, I've never seen or heard of this method but it sounds good to me. I assume the paper on the top gets trimmed off and allows for an easy scribe of the entire inlay. I'm doing a traditional torch with the flowers stems coming out. Would you do those pieces separately?

I think I'm still holding on to John's method of cutting and installing as you go and flooding with dust and CA. It just looks so easy. I'll want to try your method on some future inlay, I appreciate your input. Of course I may change my mind and use this method. Tough to say until I get started.

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Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

For DePaule's inlays he has some instructions on his site. I put packing top on top of the inlay then soak it in water to get it off the cardboard backing. For multipiece inlays I use really small dots of CA on the pieces to hold them in place so I can remove the packing tape. I scribe around each piece with a 0.3mm pencil then just pop the inlay pieces off with an Xacto knife (easy as long as your CA dots were SMALL - ha). I use John Hall's precision inlay tool to route close to my pencil line then finish up with miniature cutting tools to fit the inlay. Finally I glue with CA. There's a lot of ways to do this but this one works for me.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Hutch . My problem with using starbond, was keeping it in the fridge. I was using the larger bottle size and it kept getting gummed up in the nozzle/cap area , and was difficult to keep it clean. I gave up on it. Maybe I should have just bought a small bottle of it. I also did not not like the smell. I.ve had much better luck with the product from hobby lobby. Not knocking starbond hutch. Just saying it didnt work for us.