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Anyone have a good site or tutorial on inlay work. I have kind of been making it up as i go. I really want to learn to do it right. My last guitar wasnt completely terrible, although it was a simple wood letter inlayed into the peghead. Any advice would be much appreciated.

There's a photo sequence of a headstock inlay on my website
http://www.mullinguitars.com/2011/03/guitar-headstock-inlay-signature.html With larger letters, it's easier and as good to scribe around the piece to be inlaid to transfer the outline to be routed. Darker woods are very forgiving -- nothing is easier than ebony. Light-coloured backgrounds magnify every error in routing.

And if you've got the cash, Larry Robinson's book and DVDs will show you pretty much all there is to know about the art of inlay.

The tool that's made the biggest improvement for me lately is the tracing scribe from StewMac http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Inlay,_pearl/Tools_and_supplies_for:_Inlay,_pearl_cutting/Inlay_Tracing_Scribe.html
You could just sharpen a nail or something too. But in any case, a sharp point that can get right up to the edge helps a lot, as opposed to using an x-acto knife to score around pieces.

Another really great tool I've added to my arsenal recently is an 8x3" 120 grit diamond stone. Lee Valley has them for $74, which is quite a bit less than DMT themselves are selling for now http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=67660&cat=1,43072
Really useful when you buy a new plane blade or chisel, to flatten the back and grind the bevel how you want it, but also useful for inlay work as a sanding surface to smooth the edges of rounded shapes, and grind off little corners that are too small to saw off. I do all my shell cutting with water everywhere to contain the dust, so it's really nice to have a flat block that can be wet all the time and not curl up like a sheet of sandpaper. Sharp shell corners also tend to tear up wet/dry paper pretty quickly. Also useful for flattening shell blanks, and smoothing out any rough grinding marks on them.

I also do a lot of fine tuning of shapes with needle files. I use a knife style and half-round, which are sort of large size needle files. Although I've recently been using the same styles in small size needle files as well, when I need to get into really tight spaces.

For routing, I use a Black & Decker Dremel knockoff, with the StewMac precision router base and bits from precisebits.com. 1/8", 1/16", and 1/32" spiral downcut end mills (actually it turns out mine are upcut, but most people use down and I'll get those next time).

Technique wise, there's really not that much to it... cut, scribe, rout, glue, scrape level, repeat

Some how i put this in the wrong spot. If the admin wants to move it i would appreciate it. Thanks for the replies guys. I did buy some down spiral router bits from stewmac and a dremel plunge router attachment. That has helped a lot. I have several small mother of pearl blanks i plan to practice with. Will a fine tooth coping blade work to cut it and regulated air jet to keep the dust down?

Probably not. You need to find a jeweler's saw and some 3/0 or 4/0 blades -- much, much finer than a coping saw. Stewmac lists the saw and 3/0 blades, but you should also find these at any jewellers supply house.


Shell dust is murder on the lungs, so if you use air to blow it away, you'll definitely want to use a face mask and avoid breathing the stuff. Personally, I prefer a vacuum set up, like I pictured in my photo sequence -- but add a screen over the nozzle so you don't suck away your precious inlay pieces.

I am new to inlay myself, but had very good success with a jeweler's saw, a Dremel with the StewMac precision router base, some dental inlay burrs given to me by my dentist (these are flat bottomed and they slightly undercut the edge of your routed area, but they require the smaller collet) and a sharpened awl for scribing. Regarding pearl dust: Don't depend on a disposable pollen mask. Get a three-filter respirator mask. You will find it useful when you spray finishes, too.

Other tips I learned from various sources: Print your design with fine lines and paste it to your pearl blanks with 3M#77 spray adhesive. Naphtha takes the paper right off after you've cut and filed the pearl pieces. A dab of paste wax rubbed on your saw blade keeps it cool and cutting smoothly. Have back-up blades, because they do break sometimes. (I'm a rank beginner, but I only broke one.) Thin some white or yellow glue with about 25% water and put a drop of this on the back of the pearl when positioning it on your headstock or fingerboard and preparing to scribe around it. It helps tremendously in keeping the inlay stable and secure while scribing, and it pops right off the wood with a little hot water and a gentle nudge with a very thin blade under the edge. A little masking tape "flag" on the shaft of your bit will blow the wood dust away as you rout (of course, the dust will go all over your bench, but what the heck. The flag will be invisible to you at high rpms). A high intensity light positioned close to your work will help you see under the router as you work. I'll probably get some magnifying goggles before I do this again, but I really didn't have much trouble seeing my work area.

This link will take you to a fairly detailed article that is helpful. It's in chapters. Follow-on links are on the bottom of each screen: http://www.inlay.com/inlay/pearl/pearl-1.html

I searched and searched, but didn't find a really good, detailed instructional video about pearl cutting on YouTube. Lots on inlay routing, but not much on pearl cutting. If you find one, please post a link here.

Good luck with it, and have fun!
Patrick

Thanks cphanna! Thats a great article. I have an old house vac i will put to good use andoddly enough i
had a dentist visit today. So now i have dental bits to use.