Stone Inlays! (Trypophobia warning)

[SirMjac28]

Looks ready for a barfight

 

[Beej]

I think somebody here did a build with shark fin glitter inlays, but I can't remember who.

@Scoops did it at least once. If y'all haven't seen this thread, it's recommended.
Holly and Ebony Rick

Regarding whether or not a fretless can work right over top of stones or other inlays, may I remind everyone that Scoops also broke the internet when he made a fretless right over top of a fretted. I still stand by all my snark.
Fretted Fretless

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I've done crushed MOP inlay in resin, didn't turn out as water-clear and shiny as I hoped it would, but I think a finely crushed material looks better than that stuff. Matter of opinion, I suppose.

 

[Bass-ball]

Gross.

That said, my Ibanez has something similar - mother of pearl with abalone - but they're more tastefully done (it's the SR4600-OSL)

 

[FrenchBassQC]

Nope not for me, it's true that it looks like the bottom of an aquarium. I play BASS the instrument not the fish...

 

[Alivefor5]

Interesting in the realm of “can it be done”. Not something I’d want to own or play.

 

[smart51]

I don't much like block inlays but these are no worse than any others.

 

[Katoosie]

Normal rocks? No thanks. But do something fancy in resin so its super smooth to the touch, amber, sapphire, emerald etc for that super fancy look... Yes please.

 

[Lonnybass]

At first glance, it reminds me a little bit of our new landscaping (Arizona river rock). But I do like it in a way...there are only so many things one can do in between a nut and a bridge. It's certainly unique.

 

[RichterScale]

I wouldn't be caught dead with anything less than flawless diamonds and 24k gold for inlays.

 

[Kubicki Fan]

That's the bass Fred Flintstone played in a bar called Neckdive.

 

[Kubicki Fan]

The first step to Terrazzo inlays...

 

[Bruce Johnson]

I wouldn't be caught dead with anything less than flawless diamonds and 24k gold for inlays.

(Shudder) Oh, that brings back some frightening memories....About 15 years ago, I was involved in a project to build a guitar that was literally covered with genuine diamonds and gold. It was being done as a charity project. A group of diamond and gold dealers were contributing the diamonds and gold, and paying a small team of us Luthiers to build this guitar. It was then going to be auctioned off at a starting bid of $1 million, with the proceeds going to a large children's hospital. The buyer gets the Million Dollar Guitar to hang in their living room, play in bar gigs, etc. A silly project, but for a reasonable cause.

I was the main Luthier on the project, mainly because I was at that time building custom guitar components for a specialty guitar company, and the owner of that company was putting this project together, based on one of his guitars. Promotion for him too.

Lots and lots of technical problems to be solved. Diamonds and gold inlaid everywhere. You aren't going to file diamonds to be flush, so when do the diamonds go in? How to hold them in? How to make the guitar approximately playable? And I was going to have to do my work with security guards watching over me. It was crazy, but we got most of it planned out technically. It looked like it was going to really happen.

Then the main guy behind the project had a really serious health problem, and had to completely get out of the guitar business. And the Million Dollar Guitar project turned to dust. No diamonds or gold were harmed. I got paid a modest amount for my consulting, but I was actually kind of glad that it didn't happen.

 

[Rôckhewer]

My feeling is that once you've decided to coat the board with epoxy, you can do anything you like with what's underneath -- the string's only ever going to touch epoxy. I've been wondering lately why people don't get more wild with fretless fingerboards.

... I do. Just a little.

 

[Dean N]

I think I've read about it on here before, and it's largely a no because of abrasive stone dust, but has anyone ever inlaid polished stone as dots, blocks, whatever... without it being crushed in a matrix? Agate, bloodstone, semi-precious stuff? I'd love some petrified wood or jasper inlays, but suspect the dust from polishing would pretty much wreck the board. Maybe a precise fit with polished inlays, possibly with a thin, clear coating on the inlay to bring it up to board level? @Rôckhewer, any comment? You're probably the authority here.

Sorry for the derail (no, not really).

 

[RichterScale]

I thought about that the other day and imagined it would be hard to level since the stone would be so much harder than the surrounding wood.
But I like that idea of cutting stone inlays to be slightly shallow, then leveling with a layer of clear epoxy and then finish sanding the board. That seems like it could work.

 

[Snert]

But I like that idea of cutting stone inlays to be slightly shallow, then leveling with a layer of clear epoxy and then finish sanding the board. That seems like it could work.

I wondered the same thing. What about if the stones almost completely filled the hole, would thinned CA work better as that's easier to sand? I have a bag full of tiny opal chips y'see.

 

[RichterScale]

I think this calls for an experiment and several test pieces.

 

[5StringBlues]

I want Pop Rock inlays.

 

[Snert]

I think this calls for an experiment and several test pieces.

I'll experiment later with some scraps, but not my opal bits, after the move. My question was I've never used CA for anything like this, but have done a lot with resin, and I wondered if there would be an opacity difference between the two, in thin fills. Some of the resins I've used are exceptionally clear.

Just thinking out loud and I'll post some pics and make a thread in a couple of months unless someone pops in with a definitive answer.