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Pearl Inlay Method

Pearl Inlay Method

by John Thierman

Originally published as Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #29, 1976



Many instruments made today, as well as in the past, have included the added artistry of inlaid patterns. Inlay is the process by which one substance is inserted into a background, then sanded off flush, creating a pattern within the background substance. Inlay work, or marquetry, can be beautiful and impressive; or it can be gaudy and impractical in terms of the stability of the instrument, and in the problems encountered in future repair. If the inlays are designed tastefully, and are put in correctly, you can achieve an added dimension in instrument building, and not noticeably impair the practical aspects of the instrument.

The two major materials used in inlay patterns are wood veneer, and shell (abalone or mother of pearl). Thickness of this inlaid material is of prime importance to all practical aspects of the instrument — the thicker, the better — (up to 1/16"). For wood inlays on the headstock, I use 1/28" veneer, or thicker for, if it needs to be refinished in later years (hopefully many), I don’t want someone, myself included, sanding through the inlaid pattern. On fretboards, sufficient depth is imperative, as the board must be sanded down when refretted. If your inlays are too thin — they will disappear before your very eyes. Therefore, I only use 1/16" wood stock for inlays on the fingerboard, and I have to keep that pattern simple, as 1/16" wood stock is not as easy to cut as pearl. Wood veneers of many colors and grain patterns are readily available from most supply houses, Pearl of abalone is harder to come by, and more expensive. As with wood, I use as thick as possible, without having a hernia cutting it. .080" seems to be my limit, and it’s just thick enough for arched fretboards. Shell comes in different grades — #1 will have more color and brighter hues; whereas #3 may be pale, or have some pin holes (caused by worms), or have bad grain.

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Neck Relief

Neck Relief

by Philip Mayes

Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #124, 1979 and Lutherie Woods and Steel String Guitars, 1998



A spate of repairs involving fret buzzing set me thinking about the ideal neck shape. Some people like a flat fingerboard. Lots of people advocate a neck that’s straight at the body and lifts slightly towards the head, as seen in Fig. 1.

Some people vote for a tapering away at the end of the fingerboard, as in Fig. 2.

The reason for all this, of course, is to accommodate the shape of a plucked string, diagramed in Fig. 3.

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Violin Varnish and Sealers

Violin Varnish and Sealers

by Graham Caldersmith

Originally published as Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #276, 1984, and Big Red Book of American Luthierie Volume One, 2000



Probably more unsubstantiated speculation has been written about violin varnish, its effects on the instrument, and the quest for the “lost” Cremonese recipe than about any other of the subtleties of the violin and its behavior.

It is true that those who have examined enough violins to appreciate the variety of varnishing systems employed by different makers in different ages cannot but admire the clear golden-brown varnish sometimes grading to a deep red that characterizes 17th–18th century Cremonese instruments. It is also true that varnish preparation and application techniques changed to more durable and convenient ones towards the end of the 18th century when faster drying oil and spirit varnishes were developed to meet the needs of the growing furniture trade, arguably at the expense of transparency and lucidity. So while bearing in mind that the early Cremonese varnishes were not unique to the violin trade, since they appear on fine furniture and wooden ornaments of the same period, we may reasonably inquire as to how important the varnishing techniques used by the Cremonese Masters were to the excellence of the violins they produced. Were the advantages of Cremonese varnishing merely passive, in that they preserved good violins into sublime maturity, or were they also active, conditioning the wood for optimal acoustical behavior?

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Tinting Lacquer Marks Inlays

Tinting Lacquer Marks Inlays

by Michael Dresdner

Originally published as Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #280, 1984 and Lutherie Wood and Steel String Guitars, 1998



When I have very intricate inlays and I don’t want to scribe the fingerboard, I take all the inlays and spray their backs with a rubber-type spray adhesive like photo mount. Then I place them on the fingerboard where I want them and spray it lightly with lacquer toner in a contrasting color. For instance, if the fingerboard is rosewood, I’ll spray it with bright yellow. I then pull up the inlays leaving the bright yellow lacquer and a brown spot in the shape of each inlay. It’s a great fast trick. The whole fingerboard can be done at once without any scribing.

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Lute Rib-Cutting Jig

Lute Rib-Cutting Jig

by Robert Cooper

from his 1984 GAL Convention lecture

Originally published in American Lutherie #4, 1985 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000



The lute I brought with me today has a half-round cross section. In such an instrument, each stave is identical in size and shape to its neighbor. A set of these ribs can be cut quite efficiently on a jig I made for use with a router fitted with a small circular saw blade.

The main section of the jig is a solid wedge of wood, like a slice of apple. Or more like a slice of a pear.

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