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The discussion re: dot material got me thinking...

Is there an easy way to cut dots from shell or other materials? Is there a small plug cutter availble or a way to make one?

I'd love to pick and choose dot materials from old buttons, veneers, etc.

I would suspect that a plug cutter would just crush the shell. If you have ever cut shell you know how easy it flakes in perticularly abalone. Just don't think there is an easy way, besides with the low cost of dots and the frustation of cutting true SMALL circles. I think I'll buy them thank you MichaelP38883.5735300926

You can buy hypodermic tubing in just about any size ID/OD you need. Shape the end with sharp points/teeth using a file or dremel to make it cut. Mount the tube in a drill press and have at it. With some practice you'll be able to make a nice cutting edge. The ID of the tube will dictate the finished OD of the dot.
You could spin it of just make it into a punch.SteveS38883.5982986111

_________________
"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." G. K. Chesterton.

Cut your dot to rough shape with a jeweller's saw, glue it to the non-business end of a drill bit of appropriate size, chuck the bit in your drill press and sand to size. I wouldn't want to go through the process for every guitar, but for those special occasions...

For veneers, you could laminate the veneer to solid wood with paper in between, use a good plug cutter to cut it out and then carefully separate the dot from the solid substrate at the paper line. Or just laminate veneer to solid wood, cut the plug and inlay the whole thing.Scott McKee38883.623599537

These dermal punches will work on veneer and other thing soft material. Watch out - they are very sharp.

_________________
"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." G. K. Chesterton.

Anything you use to punch will shatter the shell cutting to rough shape and sanding to final with a drill shank as the guide sounds to be the soundest method. Even drilling with Hypodermic tubing I would be worried about delaminating the shell. When we cut shell by hand we cut only on the down stroke to help avoid delaminating and with abalone and some other shells it still happens from time to time.

I glue pieces of shell onto the shank end of a drill bit with some CA, chuck the drill upside down in a drill press, then use a squared off sanding block to sand the shell to the same size as the drill shank. Soak it in acetone for a few minutes, then pop the shell of with a thumb nail. Then use the same drill bit to drill the inlay hole for the piece of shell. easy-peasy, perfect fit every time.

Thanks folks!

I've played with the piece=of-shell-on-a-shank trick with mixed success. I'll buy a better grade of CA and keep at it.


Geoff

You can flatten the end of the shank by drilling a hole through a scrap of wood, and then use the scrap as a honing guide. It can also help to give a little tooth to the gluing surface.

Geoff
You did not mention the size of dots
you wanted to cut. I know that
Diamond core bits come in very small sizes.
I have not tried them but I had thought
that is what Dot mfg.s must use.
I hope this helps.
Tom

I found these on a stained glass site.



Most of theguidelines seem to deal with producing a hole rather than a core (the dot).

Thoughts?

Geoff
The link below gives approximate size of this companys
Diamond core bits inside diameter.
I also was looking for a way to make dots from my small
scraps of shell. I have tried making hole saws
from steel tube and hardened roll pins they work but
not well, shell flakes and chips and I got a lot of rejects.
Gluing to the drill bit works better but i
find it is not perfect, to much friction heat and your dot pops off. Hope this Helps.
Tom
http://www.diamond-drill-bit-and-tool.com/Diamond-Drill/Defa ult.htm?DD2.htm

[QUOTE=PaulB] I glue pieces of shell onto the shank end of a drill bit with some CA, chuck the drill upside down in a drill press, then use a squared off sanding block to sand the shell to the same size as the drill shank. Soak it in acetone for a few minutes, then pop the shell of with a thumb nail. Then use the same drill bit to drill the inlay hole for the piece of shell. easy-peasy, perfect fit every time.[/QUOTE]

That's one great tip Paul, Thanks!