Official Luthiers Forum!
http://www-.luthiersforum.com/forum/

AAARGH! INLAY BLUES! (pics)
http://www-.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10102&t=7657		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  Robbie O'Brien [ Sun Jul 23, 2006 2:26 am ]
Post subject: 
Yesterday was one step forward and two back!! I am sure we have all been there. Here is my story with pics!

I inlaid fret markers on two fretboards for twin KOA ukes I am building. One is for my brother in law who is Somoan and plays football for the Baltimore Ravens. I even put his jersey number on the 12th fret. I then bound the fretboards and then glued them to the necks. Having never built a UKE before, I needed to plane the fretboards quite a bit to get the bridge height where I needed it. You guessed it... I planed away the fret markers as well as the number 64 jersey number!! ARGH! After some choice words I realized I could just inlay everything again. This time the inlay would go through the bindings and would be seen from the side of the fretboard as well thus eliminating the need for side markers. Kind of a cool "side affect" of having to re- inlay everything. The process went well until I realized that I had routed my inlay cavity at the 11th fret instead of the 12th fret!! yikes! More choice words at this point! When I got my wits about me again I figured I would patch the 11th fret and route at the correct 12th fret location. Things went from bad to worse and the 11th fret cavity kept getting bigger. To make a long story short. I inlaid a patch into the ebony and patched the binding as well. Can you see it in the picture? Yesterday was one of those days I should have just stayed away from the shop.

     







Author:  CarltonM [ Sun Jul 23, 2006 2:34 am ]
Post subject: 
Robbie,

Despite your woes, those ukes are looking great!
Author:  hogan [ Sun Jul 23, 2006 2:40 am ]
Post subject: 
I feel your pain Robbie. Some days I too need to stay out of the shop. But the ukes are looking good. I look forward to seeing the finished instruments.
Jeff
Author:  hogan [ Sun Jul 23, 2006 2:41 am ]
Post subject: 
I like the clover shaped opening in the sides. Is that your own design?
Author:  Mark Tripp [ Sun Jul 23, 2006 3:12 am ]
Post subject: 
Nice patch job Robbie! Ya can barely see it, and my guess is you won't be able to at all with a little time!

-Mark
Author:  Robbie O'Brien [ Sun Jul 23, 2006 3:52 am ]
Post subject: 
Yes Hogan, That is my design for my soundport. It goes with the O'Brien Irish roots.    I have been putting it on a lot of my instruments lately and thought I would try it on a uke as well.
Author:  Andy Zimmerman [ Sun Jul 23, 2006 4:25 am ]
Post subject: 
They look great. I love the soundport!!!!!!
I know your pain... I inlayed the wrong fret TWICE!!!!!!
Om my first uke...not quite done yet, I too was planing the fretboard for
proper height for the bridge, I almost went through my inlay.   I learned my
lesson. Now I run my fretboard through my thickness sander only removing
from the bottom.
Author:  burbank [ Sun Jul 23, 2006 5:11 am ]
Post subject: 
Robbie,

That is so PAINfully familiar! They sure came out fine, though! Please be sure we get to see end results. What finish will these get?
Author:  James W B [ Sun Jul 23, 2006 5:25 am ]
Post subject: 
Robbie, Even the great ones like you make mistakes.Looks to me like you covered it nicely.By the way,thanks for making a great video.I would have never made it through my first guitar without it.I think it was the scosh or high tech gluing device that really did it.
                       James W B
Author:  peterm [ Sun Jul 23, 2006 5:37 am ]
Post subject: 
Robbie, the patch is hardly noticeable! After you apply some fingerboard oil, I'm sure it'll hide it even more!

BTW....you seem to like that soundport design!

Great work!
Author:  Billy T [ Sun Jul 23, 2006 6:18 am ]
Post subject: 
    Usually, when I do something dumb and irritating, I go for a walk and try and get the blood flowing to the gray matter! It usually works! At least, it repaired well! Nice save Robbie!

   
Author:  Don A [ Sun Jul 23, 2006 10:07 am ]
Post subject: 
Tough break but great recovery (the ebony patch is invisible). I just learned that if planing an unglued fretboard......plane from the bottom.
Author:  Miketobey [ Sun Jul 23, 2006 12:01 pm ]
Post subject: 
Very nice save!MT
Author:  Dennis E. [ Sun Jul 23, 2006 12:37 pm ]
Post subject: 
Lotsa pain -- beautiful ukes!

Author:  Robbie O'Brien [ Sun Jul 23, 2006 1:20 pm ]
Post subject: 
The finish will be a catalyzed urethane for both of them.
Author:  Robbie O'Brien [ Sun Jul 23, 2006 1:27 pm ]
Post subject: 
[QUOTE=James W B] Robbie, Even the great ones like you make mistakes.Looks to me like you covered it nicely.By the way,thanks for making a great video.I would have never made it through my first guitar without it.I think it was the scosh or high tech gluing device that really did it.
                         James W B [/QUOTE]

James,

I surely don't consider myself a great one, especially after such a rookie mistake as that one! It was just an opportunity to get creative, right? Thanks for the compliments on my DVD. I am glad you found it useful. I hope I didn't get too technical with the vocabulary.    
Author:  Steve Kinnaird [ Sun Jul 23, 2006 2:27 pm ]
Post subject: 
Robbie, I can't see the patch.
They look great, and as was said, get a little finish on the board, and it will probably look invisible to you.

Pretty ukes!

Steve
Author:  Serge Poirier [ Sun Jul 23, 2006 3:14 pm ]
Post subject: 
Great recovery job Robbie!
Page 1 of 1 All times are UTC - 5 hours
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
http://www.phpbb.com/