Official Luthiers Forum!

hey i decided to make my own inlay material out of pink and white freshwater mussell shells for the guitar im building. just want to see if i can do it. i emailed a company that does it and they said to use a non-yellowing epoxy to glue the pieces together into a sheet. i went and bought the 5-min curing Loctite quick set epoxy but then read that it turns a "translucent amber". Just wondering what clear epoxies you use to put your inlays in or when filling? thanks

Usually you tint the epoxy with wood dust from sanding of the fingerboard wood or headstock wood or scrap woods that match to make the glue lines around the inlay blend in more. You don't want to use a 5 minute epoxy for this since they can cause air bubbles to be trapped before they can escape. Use a slow set epoxy like the one stew mac sells. At least a 25-30 minute epoxy. Rockler sell the west brand in different hardening times. They are a sponsor of this site. Either of these two brands will work fine.

thanks, ill try those out then. yah i knew quicksetting was bad i just wanted something to quickly test it out. guess you can't tell if it turns yellowish or not though since you're mixing it sawdust, hmm. ill get some from stew mac

i should mention that some now use CA(Cyanoacrylate glue) to do inlay work. Some suggest a medium viscosity and others swear by thin. I have never used it for this so i can't give any advice. But i bet if you did a google search on it your would find some tip.

I have been using the medium CA with good results. If you get the gaps between the shell and the wood small enough, the adhesive you use won't matter a whole lot. CA is nice because because its easy to use and it dries crystal clear. A small gap will end up looking nearly black when the guitar is finished. A larger gap would probably need some filler.

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hmmm, sounds interesting. could i find it at home depot?

I use the system three epoxy from LMII for my inlays - when inlaying into ebony, I add the black coloring (also at LMII) to the epoxy and even with my poor technique, the black epoxy is a great match for the ebony - covering up any poor fit issues. with System 3 you need to measure the proportions extremely carefully. although I haven't had issues with it not hardeining, if you get the proportion off just a little, it can take a very long time to harden. Even so, I like how it sets, and you can scrape it back quite easily with a sharp scraper.

Not sure what you have in mind for making your own inlay - just don't forget the dust removal and respirator. Sawdust is bad - the dust from shell and bone is worse!!


Have fun.

yup i'm taking lots of precautions. maybe ill take pics of the process.