Getting Started With Pearl Inlay

It is relatively easy to get started with inlaying Mother-of-Pearl and Abalone shell into musical instruments and fine woodworking objects of art.  It can also take a lifetime to become a true artist like Larry Robinson or Grit Laskin.  Most practitioners will fall somewhere in between, like myself.  First, my primary resource has always been books to teach myself the many things I work and play at.  However, the World Wide Web is now my secondary resource, which is rapidly becoming my main resource!

First, about 50% of what I know about building guitars and basses, and woodworking inlay was learned on USENet.  Lacking a good newsreader from previous ISPs, I have gotten in the habit of using DejaNews, which died sometime ago.  However, the ENTIRE DejaNews USENet archive (except binaries) has been brought back online by Google, and is now a research resource of the first water.  In fact, I now start ALL my research cycles in Google.  They are at www.google.com and my favorite musical instrument construction group is rec.music.makers.builders.  Search this group for Sean Barry to read his VERY excellent introduction.  I also frequent the Musical Instrument Makers Forum at www.mimf.com where you will also find many knowledgeable people.  Good websites that show you what can be done (if not how) are:

http://robinsoninlays.com/ - Larry Robinsons's site

http://www.williamlaskin.com/ - William (Grit) Laskin's site

http://www.bordeauxinlay.com/ - Paul Bordeaux's site

http://www.manzer.com/ - Linda Manzer's site

http://www.pearlworks.com/ - Larry Sifel's CNC inlay company

http://www.thorninlay.com/ - Thorn custom inlay

http://sannauk.com/guitarfix/ - Good examples of silver wire inlay

http://www.kleinguitars.com/kleinacousticguitars.htm - Steve Klein's site

http://users.lanminds.com/~jandove/mrrioso/index.3.html - Steve Card's site

http://www.handcraftinlay.com/ - Craig Lavin's site

http://www.surfablebooks.com/worldbookgeneral/Humanities/Arts-Minor/Inlay/1.htm

http://www.surfablebooks.com is a GREAT resource for all kinds of stuff!  You will find Sean Barry's introduction to inlay here, as well as posted on rec.music.makers.builders.

I currently stock (usually) 1/32, 1/16, 3/32 and 3/64 micro tools (1/8" shaft) these being the same sizes I use on my CNC setup.  In general, any tool that will work in your dremel will be fine.  Don't use the small tools to rough out an inlay pocket, use as large as you can get in there, then use the smallest you need to clean up.  You won't be able to get sharp edges with the router, so if you are doing geometric shapes, either accept small amounts of filler in the corners or use a small chisel to clean up.

WEAR EYE PROTECTION!!!  Don't think that those magnifier headpieces qualify, they don't!!!  If you use those, get a close fitting set of woodworker's glasses with side shields that fit under the magnifier.  BTW, the magnifiers are HIGHLY recommended for hand inlay work.  You'll find that your pockets still look sloppy to you, but nobody else can tell.  If you do your first inlay on an ebony headplate and use India Ink or Ebony dust in the epoxy, it will look PERFECT when you put the finish on.  It's a real ego builder.

Good luck!