Peghead Inlay

I started work on some mother of pearl inlay for the peghead.  Later, I will cut some inlay for spots along the fretboard.  I designed the peghead inlay on my computer and printed it out, then glued that to a piece of mother of pearl.

Inlay design glued to mother of pearl

The inlay is cut with a saw similar to a coping saw, but smaller and with thin blade with very small teeth.

Inlay Saw

The mother of pearl is fragile and needs to be supported while being cut, so a little jig is used.  I made mine based on what I have seen online.  An aquarium air pump provides small puffs of air to help push away cutting dust.

Inlay Cutting Platform

While cutting, the piece can be maneuvered so the saw blade is in the slot or hole in the jig so the mother of pearl is well supported.

Inlay on cutting platform

Here I am cutting the inlay.  I had read that the mother of pearl dust is very bad for the lungs, so I am wearing my mask.

Cutting the inlay

Some cuts done

Mostly Done

An idea of how it will look on the peghead

I will need to cut the ebony on the peghead and fretboard in order to inlay the mother of pearl.  I purchased a very small cutter for my Dremel tool to make those cuts.  I am not quite ready for that yet, so I will come back to it.