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This works for me. Ever have issues with getting your fretboard marker dots level with the surface? Doing it by measurement on the drill press can be difficult. It is easy to end up with a couple of sloppy holes until you get the correct depth. The easiest way for me to get the holes the exact depth I want is to use the underside of the fretboard to do test holes. When I get the perfect depth, then I go ahead and do the holes on the face.. You just have to be a little careful that your test holes do not interfere with frets or inlay. Lots of space to practice on. Photos are from a ukulele, so that is the reason for the 10th fret marker.

Not a bad idea. I'd put then in the center, where the truss rod sits, where It's not glued.

Brave. I’m sure I’d drill right through. I found that I just eyeball the holes and if I get one too deep, I put a little dust I saved from the board into the hole before the inlay.

I do this when doing other shapes too to get it as flush as possible to the surface then secure with thin CA when it’s just right.

Here’s one I’m working on today.

Right or wrong, I just go with it. I lay the piece to be inlaid on top of the base, with the router upside-down, asjusting the bit for the depth of the piece. If it needs to go deeper, I adjust the bit and clean out the area. If it's too deep, I shim under the inlay with paper, and adjust the router.

When inlaying dots, I use a drill bit with a depth stop attached, adjusted to the dot thickness. If it needs adjustment after the first dot, I adjust it.

I was thinking about my past today. I think I have installed more than 10,000 of various sizes of paua and/or mop fretboard dots, in the 25 or so years I had a repair shop and the later years of only building. I used to just wing it and was pretty good at it. I also tried out those drill stops. They work too, but not so easy to use on smaller sized bits. Over the years I have learned to appreciate operations that require no skill or calculation, and that work everytime. I have enough to think about without dithering over mundane stuff. Most drill presses have an easy to use fine adjustment depth stop on the quill. I find that the best way to go to get a proper depth for dot installation in my work. I also use the dust in the hole method, whether the hole is the right depth or not. I like to push in a little dust, spray some accelerator in the hole, then install the dot while holding it down for a couple seconds so that it does not float up. Whatever works for you is the best way to go. Nothing is set in stone.--Bob

My experience is miniscule compared to Bob's....

Being averse to jamming myself in a corner (and knowing myself enough to know I need as many escape paths as I can get), I drill a guide hole all the way through the fingerboard as the centering hole for the dot's drill. When I install the dots I tap them in from the top with a block, and any I've tapped in too far can be pushed back out by pushing from the backside with a pin/nail/drill bit. The hole's also useful for inserting CA from the backside.

Peter- It is fascinating what people come up with to do the same task. One of the things I enjoy the most about John's forum is the variety of posters and that we are all pretty nice to eachother. There are some real know it alls out there on other forums, and they keep a lot of builders from feeling good about posting. Enjoy your building.-Bob P.S. I probably post too much on this forum, but it is because aging is setting in and I have to keep reminding myself how I do things!

Bob, I, too, have firsthand knowledge about this aging thing. I think a lot of us here can relate to that.

I drill the holes a bit shallow, then sand the markers down flush.

I like the pearl just a touch up and can sand flush you can use dust as a shim to raise it