Guitar #2. 00-12 Fret with Engelmann/Cherry

[MaineGeezer]

Looks quite nice, I think.

[Diane Kauffmds]

Looks quite nice, I think.

That was my reaction too, so I made a minor modification. I think it's balanced and centered now. Fret 4 still has a bit of a sharp curve in it. I'll see if I can thin that out a bit, without making it noticeably thin, before I outline the motif.

[Diane Kauffmds]

My next mission is to turn this pickguard inlay into a useable vine for the peghead. I couldn't find a matching "cherry blossom" motif for the peghead, so I have to be creative. I've already used a couple of elements from this inlay, in the fretboard vine...

[Diane Kauffmds]

Hindsight is 20/20. I forgot to level the fretboard and do the preliminary sanding, before gluing the pieces for the inlay. Luckily, this was remedied. I had help with the leveling. My husband did the initial leveling (he's been dying to help with a guitar), and I took it to 600 grit.

I marked off the fretboard (again), glued the inlay (again), and etched around it with a #11 X-Acto knife/blade (for the first time); I rubbed white chalk over the etching. The fretboard is ready to inlay:

final vine inlay 1.jpg

fretboard inlay chalked.JPG

[Danl8]

What kind of glue did you use? Removal was a simple process? The design is very nice!

[Diane Kauffmds]

What kind of glue did you use? Removal was a simple process? The design is very nice!

I use Duco cement (in the green tube). Use dots of the cement (only enough to hold the design to the board). I use a flat razor blade that I gently maneuver under the design for removal. The pieces come off easily, assuming you don't use too much glue.

I can't take credit for the design. I bought the vine, but redesigned it for the board.

[Benjy]

Looking good! Maybe one day I will try to do that!

[Diane Kauffmds]

Well, the vine is IN!

I'm still doing some filling and sanding to do, but here are the photos. I'm happy with how it turned out. It took me almost 7 hours of nonstop routing. The fretboard is not permanently installed. I stick it on with double sided tape to level the board:

DSCF0034.jpg

DSCF0035.jpg

[Danl8]

Looks great. How do you handle the pearl that traverses the fret slots? Is this addressed by recutting the slot thru the pearl?

[Diane Kauffmds]

Looks great. How do you handle the pearl that traverses the fret slots? Is this addressed by recutting the slot thru the pearl?

Thank you.

After I get done filling, sanding, and leveling to 1200g, I'll cut right through the inlay to reopen the fret slots with the saw. It still has quite a bit of filling that needs to be done.