Maple soaking up black epoxy on inlay, horrible results, HELP!

[Lo-E]

Covering mistakes with fancy decorative work is a fundamental Luthier skill.

It's a fundamental law of nature! Any makeup artist will tell you that.

 

[reverendrally]

I'd paint the headstock black and avoid it for next time.

 

[shrigg]

I'd paint the headstock black and avoid it for next time.

The simplest solution is often the best one.

 

[FunkyMan]

Yeah, what Lo-E is suggesting is the way to fix it right. It would be tricky to save the existing inlay, so I wouldn't bother. On the bench, make a whole new inlay, setting it into a thin piece of maple or some contrasting wood. Set it in black epoxy again, but remember to seal the wood grain first. Then cut out the wood into some decent looking medallion shape, big enough to cover the bleed out on the headstock. Rout away the old inlay, and inset the whole medallion in its place.

Covering mistakes with fancy decorative work is a fundamental Luthier skill.

Talking about covering mistakes, i came with this idea while playing in a gig haha, let me know what you think:
Using a waterslide decal paper, i'm going to print just the black outline to cover the ugly epoxy outline as shown below:

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This is something "allowed" in lutherie? it's a crazy idea? what would be the implications? i made the test in the photos with acetate paper, obviously, this doesn't solve the bleeding epoxy problem, i think i'm going to talk with the customer and tell him if we can deal with it, and give him some free services at my shop or something, i don't really like the oval medallon idea, neither painting the headstock black (Thanks for the suggestions by the way) this is my 2nd build

 

[shrigg]

Looks great! Good solution if you ask me. As far as being "allowed," YOU are the luthier so it's up to you in my opinion.

 

[mcnach]

Talking about covering mistakes, i came with this idea while playing in a gig haha, let me know what you think:
Using a waterslide decal paper, i'm going to print just the black outline to cover the ugly epoxy outline as shown below:

ç

This is something "allowed" in lutherie? it's a crazy idea? what would be the implications? i made the test in the photos with acetate paper, obviously, this doesn't solve the bleeding epoxy problem, i think i'm going to talk with the customer and tell him if we can deal with it, and give him some free services at my shop or something, i don't really like the oval medallon idea, neither painting the headstock black (Thanks for the suggestions by the way) this is my 2nd build

Instead of painting black, maybe a dark wood dye could work, depending on what the rest of the bass looks like?

 

[Lo-E]

I'm not sure the lutherie police would ever know. I think it's allowed as long as it solves the problem to everyone's satisfaction.

When do we get to see the rest of the bass?

 

[Hopkins]

The decal outline is a fine idea, but that black staining is going to get worse when you put a finish on it. Personally, I would remove about 1/8" of wood from the top of the headstock and put a grain maple cap on top of the headstock and start over with your inlay. You could just glue it in with clear epoxy then use your decal outline idea to completely avoid the situation.

 

[FunkyMan]

Instead of painting black, maybe a dark wood dye could work, depending on what the rest of the bass looks like?

The bass is going to be Natural finish ash body, cocobolo fretboard, black pickguard, black hardware

The decal outline is a fine idea, but that black staining is going to get worse when you put a finish on it. Personally, I would remove about 1/8" of wood from the top of the headstock and put a grain maple cap on top of the headstock and start over with your inlay. You could just glue it in with clear epoxy then use your decal outline idea to completely avoid the situation.

This is a pro solution, even we can add a venner between the old maple and the new laminate, but i think it is out of my skills, also if you are going to do that, how can you mantain this curve?

 

[Hopkins]

You would have to cut it back to where it was flush with the end of the fretboard, then reshape that transition

 

[JustForSport]

That transition is a pretty tight bend even for a steam-bent piece.

 

[HaMMerHeD]

Bend, then use lots of clamps to make it conform to the curve.

"When diplomacy fails, force prevails."

 

[PDX Mathias]

I'd try the easy way first, and just sand the headstock down. Even if it thins it by 1/16 or so, it should be fine, and it should be fairly easy to blend it in with the current fingerboard transition.
Then, if you still see black seepage, consider some kind of veneer (matching the body?), in which case thinning the headstock would be necessary anyway.

In either case it seems that you'll have to redo the inlay.

Or just say screw it, and make it a headless bass!

 

[HaMMerHeD]

You could sand the face down, and then add a veneer to the back side. Much easier, I expect.

 

[wisconsindead]

How about sand down a few mm around the inlay which hopefully will get you back to uncontaminated wood (of course you don't know how deep it seeped in) and give the inlay some relief and a bit of 3-dimensionality. Kind of like a downwards ramp towards the inlay then quickly ramping back up at the edge. Just an idea. Good luck with whatever solution you go for.

 

[FunkyMan]

How about sand down a few mm around the inlay which hopefully will get you back to uncontaminated wood (of course you don't know how deep it seeped in) and give the inlay some relief and a bit of 3-dimensionality. Kind of like a downwards ramp towards the inlay then quickly ramping back up at the edge. Just an idea. Good luck with whatever solution you go for.

This is a fantastic idea also, seems to be a lot of work with a chisel, but you mean to fill that depression back with something transparent?

 

[PDX Mathias]

Well, you could redesign your headstock into a stepped shape, by routing a curve of a shallow depth.
Like I did after had I screwed up the routing of my first build, an electric ukulele. The shape was originally meant to be like a Telecaster.

Link Removed

 

[Gilmourisgod]

What was the final final result on this? Typical on TB, the same issues occur for different builders over the years, and the solutions get lost without a bit of searching. Was it the decsl.fix, veneer, or sand out and re-inlay?