While I think about the next steps of making the dowel stick and shaping the neck, I decided to finish the inlay on the peghead.  I finished cutting the mother of pearl, and filed some of the edges smooth.  The ebony on the peghead needs to be cut to accept the mother of pearl.  This is done with a small spiral bit in a Dremel tool.  To mark where I needed to cut, I printed out another pattern and used tape while I aligned it on the peghead, then I used spray adhesive to hold it firmly in place.

Pattern taped to peghead

I set the bit in the Dremel tool to a depth a little less than the thickness of the mother of pearl.  I taped a small flashlight to the Dremel so it shined on the bit.

Routing Inlay

Routing Inlay

Once I had most of the cutting done, I trial fit the inlay and continued making small cuts until the inlay set in the peghead properly.

Routing for inlay done

Inlay in place

My inlay broke in several spots, but I think once it is in place the cracks won’t be very apparent.  I glued the inlay using Cyanoacrylate glue.  To fill gaps around the inlay, I mixed ebony saw dust and wood glue to make a wood filler that matched the color of the peghead.  I smeared it over the inlay and tried to force it into the gaps.

Filling gaps around the inlay

Block sanding over the inlay and filler brings everything down to the surface of the peghead.

Finished inlay

I’ll use these techniques again for inlays along the fretboard, but I am not sure what those designs will be yet.