Official Luthiers Forum!

G,day Josh,
       My rose is also M.O.P.,but a lot better than yours,,,,,That's a joke Josh.,,,,geeez.
I've done a 12 piece full on rose and also a rosebud and chose the pearl ever so carefully I'm absolutely wrapped in it (he's pleased). Seriously Though Josh I think it's truly a great inlay.

    I guess it doesn't matter what you say now Craig, as I have lingering doubts. A bit like some of those epoxy fellas maybe (probably out back having a quick vomit!) He said , with a Tim Tam about to enter the corner of his mouth

Fair Dinkim!! How do you guys function without them.I was lucky enough to get this one the kids didn't know about. I had to be incredibly cunning though.

   My stems are thin Craig??

We'll have to meet up some time Paul. Whats your address and how much tone wood have you got worth taking.....I mean viewing

              Baaaaaaa KiwiCraig

       "Ya dont want an ugly one either!"

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CRAIG LAWRENCE of AUSTRALIA
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Josh, I think that's a beautiful inlay, and you conveyed the imagery of stems and leaves very well IMO.

I use stabilized wood quite a lot in my work and it is not perfection. It can still shrink and swell just a little, but what I use is in fairly thick sections and the problem should be much reduced in thinner, smaller pieces. I'm also heating it as I work it, since it is adjacent to hardened steel when I shape it, and that causes some shrinkage. It won't break though, and if you set it with CA, I seriously doubt it's going to move on you, ever.

For those wanting to dye their own wood, here are some tips from the knife world. Use burls, not wood with growth rings that form barriers to penetration. Maple burl is pretty cheap and dead easy to dye. Use a vacuum for at least 12 hours. Frankly, I think if you use an alcohol soluble dye, you should have no trouble getting excellent penetration on soft woods, like burls. Also with burls, in those case where you may not get complete penetration you can get some spectacular patterns as the dye differentially penetrates the wood along the irregular grain of the burl. Some of the double and triple dyed woods from WSSI use that to good effect to create multicolor patterns.