inlays

[__Robbo__]

hey guys.. im gunna be building a guitar soonish, and im just curious, how can you put fret inlays in? is it easy? how is it done?

cheers guys, thanks for any help

[HELLonWHEELS]

You pretty much just route out a hole using a dremel or similar tool and you just glue the fret marker in that little divot.

[__Robbo__]

hey.. thanks for that.. but i was thinking more along the lines of a fancier shaped marker.. just say for example like on the lp's.. but im not using that shape.. just an example, or say, a cross or something?
cheers

[Panopticon]

same thing really...you just have to route out a different shape.

[HELLonWHEELS]

You route out the shape of the cross in your fretboard. You cut out that same size cross out of plastic or whatever material you want and you glue it in. It's very simple to do in concept, but getting everything to fit perfect is harder than it looks.

[zhyla]

I'd grab a junker neck of ebay and practice. This is something that's got to take a while to get right. A cross would make a really nice inlay.

I've replaced the dots before. You just glue them on and sand it till everything is smooth with the fretboard. You'll need varying grades of sandpaper... say, 100, 220, 320, 400, 600, and then 0000 steel wool. Just like if you were planing an entire fretboard.

[__Robbo__]

can you use metal as fret markers? ive never really come across it... if so, what sort?

[:amaze:]

can you use metal as fret markers? ive never really come across it... if so, what sort?

heavy metal might work.




:amaze:

[zhyla]

can you use metal as fret markers? ive never really come across it... if so, what sort?

You could, but sanding it flush with the fretboard would be difficult. If you wanted to try it... hmm, what's soft? Brass? The alloy they make frets out of would be easy to work with I think.

[purple_hazer]

aluminum would probly work well, for the sanding part at least

[__Robbo__]

A cross would make a really nice inlay.

just out of interest.. what sort of cross are you thinking of here? like.. + or x or what?

cheers, rob

[Spazzout22]

On my bow, they always do this silver ring, that fits around a mother of pearl inlay. So you've got a big dot of MoP, with a thin outline of silver, it's really nice, but I'm not sure how they do it. Although, this guy who owns Grizzly tools makes guitars with 24K gold inlays along with precious stones, so you can inlay just about anything...

[Marlinspike07]

sorry to change the subject, but which would work better on an SG, a Floyd Rose, or a Bigsby?

Answer my question and I will leave.

Sorry to highjack the thread.

[zhyla]

just out of interest.. what sort of cross are you thinking of here? like.. + or x or what?

cheers, rob

I was thinking a really simple, thin cross, with proportions like this:

http://www.ultimate-memorials.co.uk/images/basicgranite.jpg

[__Robbo__]

sorry to change the subject, but which would work better on an SG, a Floyd Rose, or a Bigsby?

Answer my question and I will leave.

Sorry to highjack the thread.



dont do it! deny him!

...steal MY thread... jeez...

its not even REMOTELY related... ur bad at this game...


-------------------------------

back to the RIGHT topic...
what material do you guys reckon would look best on a dark ebony fret board?, or i was thinking of just having it empty, which i sort of like.. what do you guys think?

cheers,

Rob

[zhyla]

The ebony fretboard I have has pearloid dot markers. Looks fine.

[__Robbo__]

oh ok. Cheers zhyla