Photo Gallery of Making the Inlays

The making of the Strat neck inlays in chronological order. To enlarge the photo to full size, click on it.

63 - Strat - Inlays - Bone for Side Dots 1 - DSCN1120A bit of cow bone sanded into a smallish cylinder to make the side dot inlays.

 

 

64 - Strat - Inlays - Bone for Side Dots 2 - DSCN1122Here the bit of cow bone and gluing in the side dots.

 

 

66 - Strat - Inlays - Bone for Dot Markers 1 - DSCN1123

 

 

The following photos show how I saw  the cow bone into something that resembles a three dimensional rectangle…

67 - Strat - Inlays - Bone for Dot Markers 2 - DSCN1124

68 - Strat - Inlays - Bone for Dot Markers 3 - DSCN1126

69 - Strat - Inlays - Bone for Dot Markers 4 - DSCN1127

 

 

 

 

Without a vice I need to use a clamp to saw the bone.

 

70 - Strat - Inlays - Bone for Dot Markers 5 - DSCN1128

71 - Strat - Inlays - Bone for Dot Markers 6 - DSCN1129
Starts to look like a rectangle, or at least some of it.

 

 

 

Done.

 

 

 
 

Here the required shape… ready to be sanded into cylinder.

 

 

 

 

I am using a drill press and a bit of 80 grit sandpaper to create a ‘mostly’ round cylinder.

 

 

 

 

72 - Strat - Inlays - Bone for Dot Markers 7 - DSCN1130

Not a perfect cylinder but each dot will be sanded to a circle with 6mm diameter.

 

73 - Strat - Inlays - Bone for Dot Markers 8 - DSCN1131

 

 

 

Sawing the dots, each one about 2 mm thick

74 - Strat - Inlays - Bone for Dot Markers 9 - DSCN1132

75 - Strat - Inlays - Bone for Dot Markers 10 - DSCN1145

 

 

Enough dots for this neck.

 

 

 

Positioning the dots on the board.

76 - Strat - Inlays - Bone for Dot Markers 11 - DSCN1146

77 - Strat - Inlays - Bone for Dot Markers 12 - DSCN1148

78 - Strat - Inlays - Bone for Dot Markers 13 - DSCN1150
 

Holes drilled, sanding each dot to its final shape and gluing them in.

 

 

 

The edge on the back of the dot is sanded round so it can be pressed in easily.
 

 

 
 

All dots glued in. A few small errors but only when you look closely.

 

79 - Strat - Inlays - Bone for Logo 1 - DSCN1159

 

The same bit of cow bone is used to saw the bit required for my logo: JVPP

80 - Strat - Inlays - Bone for Logo 2 - DSCN1168

81 - Strat - Inlays - Bone for Logo 3 - DSCN1169

82 - Strat - Inlays - Bone for Logo 4 - DSCN1170

83 - Strat - Inlays - Bone for Logo 5 - DSCN1171

 

 

Bit sanded flat

 

 

 

84 - Strat - Inlays - Bone for Logo 6 - DSCN1172

85 - Strat - Inlays - Bone for Logo 7 - DSCN1173
Drawing the letters on the bone with a pencil.

 

 

First the ‘openings’ need to be cut. Such a thin piece of bone breaks easily so the final saw cuts are done when all the difficult bits have been removed with a drill and file.

 

Logo done, slightly too thick so it can be sanded flush with the headstock.

 

 

Marking out the area that needs to be rebated. I use a small dremmel by hand which is not easy. In the future I will have a small template to guide the rebating.

 

Area rebated. Many, many small adjustments needed to be made to make the logo fit. Very time consuming.

 

 

 

 

86 - Strat - Inlays - Bone for Logo 8 - DSCN1174

 

Logo glued in, now the holes in the PP need filling with the same wood the neck is build from (Kanuka).

 

 

87 - Strat - Inlays - Bone for Logo 9 - DSCN1175

 

Shaping a bit of Kanuka into a small cylinder, gluing in it and then sawing it off.

 

 

 

88 - Strat - Inlays - Bone for Logo 10 - DSCN1176

89 - Strat - Inlays - Bone for Logo 11 - DSCN1177

 

 

 

And the next one.

 

 

 

 

 

Sanded the logo flush – all done.
Next up Radiusing and Fretting the Fretboard