Now to inlay the fret position markers. I’m using mother-of-pearl diamonds and, since my little test pieces turned out so well, I’ve decided to use one of them at the twelfth fret.
First, I’ll repeat the dremel/chisel procedure at the 12th fret for the bird inlay and then I’ll accurately mark out the positions for the diamonds. Then the receptacles for the diamonds need to be chiselled out.
Then the inlays are glued into position and a messy goo of epoxy and black oxide mixture smeared over them to fill in any gaps. Yuck.
And finally, next day, when the goo is dry, it is sanded back to reveal the inlays (shown on right during fretting).
Part 20 - Inlays - continued
Making An Acoustic Guitar - Page 30
It’s amazing how well the filler masks the knife and chisel marks. The headstock is going to look great when it’s sprayed - the ebony will turn black and the Tahiti Pearl will look fantastic.