Cutting Mother of pearl and other shell

[stumpgrinder]

We made a nice holder for the shell and cut a few pieces today. These are the inlay that we put on the headstock of all our mandolins. Thinking of new uses for the desktop everyday!

[Brady Watson]

Nice! Thanks for posting...and glad you are having FUN!

-B

[Bob Eustace]

Beautiful work Laurie. Could you tell us how you held it down and what bit was used please?

Bob

[stumpgrinder]

Thanks guys.

A special bit that was designed for cutting shell was used. We got them from Precise Bits. We used the 0.020 bit for this inlay. The cavity was cut using an ordinary 1/32 bit. To cut the shell, I fixed a block of wood to the spoil board, then had the desktop cut inlay into the block but not all the way through. That way we could just place the shell over the inlay to ensure the piece was big enough. I then double stick taped the shell blank to the block and also put a small dab of super glue on two corners. I found the double stick tape sometimes lets go by itself. The shell was about 0.060 thick, so I cut it to within a few thousandths of being cut fee from the shell. This left the inlay attached to the blank by a thin skin. Once removed I'd rub the bottom of the shell on some sandpaper and liberate the inlay. I tried having the bot cut all the way through, but the inlay is very delicate and sometimes broke when trying to get it off.

[rcnewcomb]

Lauri,

I'm curious if you have tried the V-Inlay (http://www.vectric.com/WebSite/Vectric/support/tips/vinlay.html) method with shell pieces, or would that only work with larger flat materials like Abalam?

[stumpgrinder]

Lauri,

I'm curious if you have tried the V-Inlay (http://www.vectric.com/WebSite/Vectric/support/tips/vinlay.html) method with shell pieces, or would that only work with larger flat materials like Abalam?

Hi Randall,

Still really new to CNC, and had not noticed that this function is available. I'm not sure this would work all the well for the shell. It doesn't machine well and the bits at precise bits seem to work really well for the shell. It also seems like it would add an extra step of machining off the shell. It does look like an excellent method for doing wood inlays however. I think we will try it on a future build. We have been getting pretty good results with our current method, but would be open to new ideas on getting the same results.

[chiloquinruss]

You may also want to investigate the really neat pressure foot that is available from Widgetworks. Its amazing what you can cut. Russ

http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11984&highlight=widgetworks

http://www.widgetworksunlimited.com/category_s/70.htm

[Ajcoholic]

I make quite a few guitars as a hobby. I have always done my inlay by hand, using a 1/16" diam three flute end mill to cut the pocket, and a small carbide end mill to cut the pearl.

I am very much looking forward to trying this on my Buddy as well, when it gets here. That should both save a lot of time, and be pretty much perfect. No more coloured epoxy fill!

The parts so far look great! Very inspiring.

AJC

[oddcoach]

Hi I cut ome of the same shell for a local guitar guy. i just crazy glued the whole shell to a piece of wood. I used the thicker stuff to fill any gaps. I cut all the way through the shell. when i was done I just soaked the whole thing in some acetone. the dot for the "i" in Gibson even came out perfect

[stumpgrinder]

I've heard of people doing that with hide glue as well as crazy glue. How long did it take to release with the crazy glue in acetone?

[joe]

Good on you Lauri

Wish I had some kind of a sign to use MP. I bet it would look very nice on Cribbage Boards.

Joe

[oddcoach]

Just a minute or 2