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I'd like to combine use of silver with turquoise (see separate thread).  I have seen Larrivee uses silver to find the headstock.  I did a search on this forum but didn't find much.  How does one inlay and level this material?  Appreciate hearing from anybody that has done this. Thanks.

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A higher purpose for wood.
Rich Smith
Issaquah, WA

I've used 16 ga. square sterling silver wire.   Just rout cleanly with a 1/16" bit for that stuff, and superglue it in. Make sure you clean it well with acetone before inlaying it, and you might rough up the sides and back with 100 grit sand paper to help the glue get a grip on it. You can then level it with a hard sanding block and up to whatever grit you like, though you're not going to get a high polish on it. There are plenty of other sizes available, too, and I've even used taller rectangular silver for binding. Go to a jewelery supply store or go on-line for it.

I used sterling silver for purfling on a recent guitar. I used teflon strips to create a channel(like doing abalone purfling). I used sandpaper thin the wire slightly, and to give it some bite. After I removed the teflon strips, I inlaid the wire into the slot using CA glue as my adhesive. When the CA dried I leveled the wire with a scraper.

Be careful not to drive the scrapings into the surrounding wood, also if you scrape it right you can get a nice shine on it.

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Matt Jacobs

"Don't tase me bro"

[QUOTE=Mattyeod] I used sterling silver for purfling on a recent guitar. I used teflon strips to create a channel(like doing abalone purfling). I used sandpaper thin the wire slightly, and to give it some bite. After I removed the teflon strips, I inlaid the wire into the slot using CA glue as my adhesive. When the CA dried I leveled the wire with a scraper.

Be careful not to drive the scrapings into the surrounding wood, also if you scrape it right you can get a nice shine on it.[/QUOTE]

Sounds ace. I'd love to see a pic of that...

I have used aluminum sheet cut into narrow strips on a shear. Works great & costs nearly nothing.
Most aluminum fabricating shops can cut the strips for you.
Just one more option.
I used 2024 T-3 (Aircraft) aluminum which is quite a hard alloy. It sands at the same rate as ebony & it isn't difficult to get the dust out of the surrounding wood.

Jammy,
   I posted some pics a while back try this link.

sterling silver

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Matt Jacobs

"Don't tase me bro"