Official Luthiers Forum!

Craig, please tell us about this!

_________________
Support the OLF! Bookmark our STEWMAC link Today!
Lance@LuthiersForum.com

First,
Thanks Lance for helping me get this up.
I wanted Mattia to see how engraving was done on my latest piece. It's seven pieces of pearl materials, black pearl, Mother of pearl, and white river pearl. All the musical notation and feather lines are engraved. None of it is "cut and filled"
This was done using a regular Stew Mac onglette graver, sharpened with just 400 grit sand paper.
I started out by drawing the lines with a ruler in pencil (#4 sharpened very fine, over 220 sanded grit), then for the straight lines I took the ruler back out, and very gently and carefully dragged my pointed scribe (extremely carefully) along the edge of the ruler. This made a straight very shallow cut that I could use as a guide for the graver to deepen. The key is to go extremely light, keep it straight, but with enough pressure so the graver doesn't slip out of the faint original line. The solid areas are just gouged out. I start by engraving the outer pattern first, then blackening it so I have a clear boundary line to work outside in from.   Total time was about 6 hours for me. I am not totally happy with it. Doing engraving perfectly requires as much time as the actual inlay.
Sometimes more.
This is on the bottom of the new Don Alder Greenfield guitar
Craig

_________________
www.handcraftinlay.com

It looks beautiful Craig. Well done.

Hey Craig...That is realy beautiful...If you haven't quit that day gig you need to...You have talent dude!

_________________
Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

Nice idea/ design. very elegant.

Like always, it looks nice. Thanks for giving us the tips on the engraving process. However, I give up. Why should I mess it up when you can do a top notch job.

_________________
Don Atwood
Arlington, VA

[QUOTE=clavin] First,
Thanks Lance for helping me get this up.
I wanted Mattia to see how engraving was done on my latest piece. It's seven pieces of pearl materials, black pearl, Mother of pearl, and white river pearl. All the musical notation and feather lines are engraved. None of it is "cut and filled"
This was done using a regular Stew Mac onglette graver, sharpened with just 400 grit sand paper. [/QUOTE]

I'm reading, I'm reading! A lot of the same materials I'm using as well, actually; white MOP, river pearl (Well, DePaule's Ivory Pearl, which I think is the same thing) and abalone instead of the black MOP (that's for the next project, the black MOP is..)

Looks great, and I'll be taking the tips to heart!

Good luck Mattia.
Just take your time

As far as my dayjob goes. I have been getting, thankfully, many many comissions. I currrently have about 5 quotes going out a week. Maybe I'll get 1-2 of those, but then they take months for the luthiers to get ready. There is no consistant income!

I dream of going full time in this.
I know it will happen eventually. Hopefuly!
Craig

_________________
www.handcraftinlay.com

Craig,

I dream of being so busy building guitars that I keep you busy full time!

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Just to let you know Craig the art I was sending had to get held up due to very minor change It will mail out tonight.

Mp

Mike I'll keep an eye out for it, and Don I have seen your site, and the reference to working with me. Thanks so much.
If you want to swap links that would be good, also how about maybe letting me do a guitar with you? Think it over. I may have time this summer.
Craig

_________________
www.handcraftinlay.com