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What's the difference between abalone and abalam? Is it just that abalone is solid shell and abalam is just laminated with the top being real shell? If that's the case, why is it that abalam is more expensive than abalone? You would think solid shell would cost more than the laminated version.

Cheers!

John

Ablam is laminated thin layers of real shell. Good for flat inlay but will produce funky patterns if on curved and sanded surfaces because of multi layres being visible. If you need to sand, use real pearl if you can inlay flat and not sand much then Ablam works well.

Ablam breaks very clean and therfore works good for purfling but I like to thin the edges of my tops as needed after attached by sanding. This creates issues with sanded through layer on ocasions. I had this happen a couple times so I do every thing in real shell now.

As far as the cost is concerned it is all in the labor required to slice the shell thin and laminate it up to thickness. The main reason Ablam came into existance in the first plase was to be able to get a single flat piece larger than the typical 1 x 1 1/2 that an Abalone shell will render Ablam is produced in 4.5 x 9 sheets. As you cand see this would allow you to create a very large one piece inlay. therefore the premiumMichaelP38740.6664351852

I asked this last month.
So far I prefer the real abalone. You have much more flexibility with sanding
etc. A little longer to install, but in the long run, easier.
No risk of thinning it out and losiing the shell.
Andy

_________________
Andy Z.
http://www.lazydogguitars.com

Does anybody know where I can get 1/32 wide abalone for curved purfling? All the main suppliers only go down to 1/16 from what I've seen.

Thanks!

John

Rescue Pearl. .03, .04, .05 and .06 thick but it will depend on the type of shell and availability.

Dave Nichols of Custom pearl may be able to cut you some
   518-483-7685
    

[QUOTE=John Elshaw] Does anybody know where I can get 1/32 wide abalone for curved purfling? All the main suppliers only go down to 1/16 from what I've seen.

Thanks!

John[/QUOTE]

I have got .04 stuff from randy allen as well. He is a very nice guy to deal with.

_________________
Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

I have staight rippled green in .028 and .032 if anybodys
intrested?
Lance

I'd be interested in the .032" wide pieces. Shoot me an e-mail with any details.

elshaw2003@yahoo.com

Thanks!

John

Abalam IS "real shell", in essence no different than "solid" flat blanks--the only "natural" shell would be the soap-dish job the animal lived in (not limited to abalones, but including oysters, clams, mussels, and others), but from that point on both products are the work of human manufacture. Traditional blanks are cut from a shell and ground flat to many different thicknesses, and even though at some stage of increasing thinness the blanks become known as veneers, this is at best an arbitrary term since it's impossible to exactly define where a "blank" ends and a "veneer" begins! .030" solid material has been used for years, but is .029" stuff then something else? What about .025" thick shell? In fact, this is the top solid and engraveable layer found in one form of Abalam known as Gravlam, which really confuses things! Multi-layered Abalam proper is shell all the way to the bottom, nothing else in there except the epoxy holding it together, but is composed entirely of thinner pieces (typ. .010") composed into thin layers which are then stacked to get increasing thicknesses.

Not all types of shell are proper for all types of work, as we soon discover. The darker-colored varieties are best when exposed joint-lines will be a problem; lighter types can be best for delicate inlays such as logos or vines; very large inlays are comfortable with either, since these necessarily are a mosaic of smaller pieces and joint-lines are expected to be present. Joint-lines and feathered overlaps in some of the paler shells mostly disappear under a finish, while in others a finish makes no difference. If unfinished, some shells buff-up better than others, and some are more porous. Much of this is covered in the working notes next to each type of laminate, in the Duke of Pearl price lists (available free), but distributors of this material seem reluctant to waste catalogue space on this type of information.

There is also an "upside" and a "downside" ("orient") to all the Abalam sheets, exactly as there is in the natural shell, and which takes considerable effort to maintain in all the little pieces during manufacture; in addition, the top 2/3 of Abalam is made from closely-matched shell veneer layers, the bottom 1/3 of poorly-matched or flawed layers, making it even more critical to know which side is "up"! Each 5.5" x 9.5" sheet originally comes with a topside label, but if cut into smaller sections for resale or use this orientation is often not marked on the new pieces, and various problems can result.

Unfortunately, of the 31 "flavors" available in Abalam, distributors carry only a few, and one of the most popular is "Green ab. standard" because of it's relative economy. However, for someone first trying a laminate while also trying to save money, this may not be the best choice as it tends to have more visible joints, change color or figure more when sanded down, and have more transparent/interfering layers than do the darker shells. If inadvertently used backside up, the problems are compounded! Thus, a first unsatisfactory experience with laminate can lead to an understandable bias against trying any of the others -- a pity since many of the very finest instruments now being made, by small shops as well as large factories, have found extensive technical and aesthetic benefits in adding this material to the inlayist's palette. It would be hard to name a top inlay artist who isn't using laminates for something!

My apologies for the lecture, but this seems like the type of serious forum where some issues can be aired out and laid to rest. For more detailed comments on how Abalam came to be, how it's made, and how the market works, click on the list of posts on my personal page at this other forum:

http://p082.ezboard.com/uchainsawchuck.showPublicProfile





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