Fretboard inlay

Has anyone attempted an inlay project on a guitar fretboard
more intricate than just dots?

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Made this one tonight, not a fretboard inlay but pretty close :slight_smile: Worked out pretty good I think!

Did this a couple of weeks ago. Style 45 fretboard inlays.

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I wish I’d seen this a year ago. Yes, very much so, yes. I don’t have pictures onhand, but yes. Ask me all the questions, if you still have them.

Which software package are you using for inlay?

I use Inkscape for the actual graphics–that’s the hardest part. I don’t know how much detail you’re looking for, so I’ll skip the “design” phase. That’s its own book.

For the actual CAM work, I use Easel. I have the 500mm device, so I have to make two jobs for the fretboard itself–2-10 and 12 & 15 if I remember right. Some important things to know about working with Easel:

  1. That blue area is “live”. If you want to make your Zero the centerpoint on something, just align your design centers to 0 on X and/or Y. The “preview” cuts off everything where X and Y is negative, but the g-code gets generated for the entire design.

  2. If you want to keep older versions of a graphic, or pieces of graphics you want to combine (or keep variations of a design closeby), move them into the blue area and set their depth to zero. Turns them white, which is inconvenient in the white area of Easel, but useful if you don’t want to rely on Undo for version control.

Are you cutting the shell too? Or are you having that made? If you are cutting the shell, is there a way to do this safely (mitigating dust problems)?