MOP looks kind of blocky after I cut it out

[Darren Kern]

My letters look ok from a distance, but up close, they look a little blocky and obviously hand cut. Is a small metal file the best thing to try to smooth these blocky places?

[Darryl Wolfe]

I think it would be true to say, those of us not blessed with great pearl cutting skills spend as much or more time filing as cutting. #Get a good set of jewelers files (like I have)

I can arrive at a perfect inlay, but I certainly cannot get there by saw alone.

[Jim Rowland]

Get an inexpensive (cheep)vice grip type plier with the wide metal bending jaws,or make a clamp as illustrated in the Jim Patterson book to hang onto the work while filing as suggested by F5journl. That will minimize the awful frustration of snapping a piece while filing.
Jim

[Darren Kern]

What??? You mean there's still a risk of breaking something? I thought once I was done cutting, I was in the clear. Oh well. Thanks for the advice.

[Darryl Wolfe]

This took about 2 hours of sawing and 6 or 8 hrs filing off and on. Obviously I'm not too good at cutting out the pocket either

[Mark Franzke]

Start with a set of assorted jeweler's files. But sometimes you have to improvise when the area is too small for a file. I take fingernail-file emory board and cut it into small slivers or sand it thin to fit between two letters. A piece of fine sandpaper folded over works sometimes as well. Try to get it as perfect as possible. Rough edges will really stand out when the white pearl is contrasted against the ebony.

[Dale Ludewig]

Ah Darryl, you know as well as I that some black dye and some lacquer (or finish of your choice) will make that fill disappear. Oops! I think I just let out a secret.?!

Now fingerboard inlay is another story. As you also know. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif

[Darren Kern]

I just borrowed a small Craftsman benchtop vice to use for this particular project, it's this model pictured here- LINK (http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&fromAuto=YES&bidsite=CRAFT&pid=00951874000) Does anyone use this for mandolin building? At $30, I think I've got to buy one, I'd think it would be very useful. It attaches to a table or bench with suction.

I also bought a set of exacto needle files today, so we'll see how it goes this weekend.

[Dale Ludewig]

A friend of mine uses something almost identical for all sorts of stuff. It's no cure-all, but it is a third hand. My concern is that with really finely cut inlay, you have to hold it so closely, so delicately, that I'm not sure that there is no substitute for your own fingers and a solid piece of wood to hold it down to.

[ShaneJ]

Darren, I'm a rookie too, so take this with a grain of salt.... But when I got to the filing stage, I just held the pieces between my thumb and forefinger (left hand) and the file in the other. Sometimes, I'd hold the inlay piece still and move the file, and sometimes the file still while moving the piece. I held the shell gently - enough not to let it drop, but not too stiff. The "give" of the fingertip and meaty part of the end of the thumb gave it enough "shock absorber" to keep from breaking, I think. I didn't break a single piece, and I got the edges smooth. My binding sucks, but the inlay came out OK.

[Darren Kern]

OK, so I've tried my little vice and clamp setup, and man! #It really works like a charm. #Both of these items are borrowed, but I'll be buying one for myself, no doubt. #The first couple of letters I cut, I did by hand. #It didn't seem all that difficult, although I broke quite a few blades, and it took weeks for the little cuts in my fingernail to go away, lol. #This setup works awesome. #I think the key to not breaking a piece is to only have as much sticking out from the clamp as you have to. #With this, regular cuts, turns and yes filing seem to go much faster and more accurately than by hand. #Here's a pic of the setup I am using. #You can get both of these items for a combined price of around $40 at Sears.

[sunburst]

I can't argue with what works, but that all looks a little "Rube Goldberg" to me.

If you get a little instruction and practice with a good "bird mouth" and the afore-mentioned ground vice-grips, I think you'll learn to prefer them. They are the tried and true tools of the trade.

BTW, sawing as accurately as you can is worth the effort, rather than relying on the files to do most of the work.
I end up filing a lot, myself, because I'm not really good at sawing pearl, but it's faster in the long run, and I get better results, if I take my time and be really careful sawing.
It's something that takes a lot of practice, and you have to do it regularly to stay on top of it. I've watched profesional pearl cutters, and I've concluded that I'll never be that good, because I don't like cutting pearl enough to cut enough to get that good. Of coarse, you have to take into consideration aptitude and the age of the eyes and hands too.

[Darren Kern]

I don't doubt that it looks that way, and I'll probably give the more traditional methods a shot, but I was surprised at how well this worked. #The nice thing is that the base of the vice swivels all kinds of different directions, so you can get just the angle you want. #The mini bar clamp is there only because it has smaller jaws with plastic pads that grip MOP well, but don't break it. #I could easily put a piece in there that was sticking out only a small fraction of a millimeter, and still cut or file very well. #I have 4 letters in my last name, and the last 2 took about 1/4 of the time that the first 2 did. #Part of it admittedly is getting a little more comfortable cutting, plus having beeswax this time.

John, I can see why sawing accurately up front is the best way to do it, I found that if I had to do anything more than smooth edges with the files, it didn't turn out as well as a nice cut.

[Darren Kern]

Here's the finished letters of my logo, which is my last name. Just like the rest of the mando, it's going to be one of those "looks ok from a few feet away" deals, but hey- it's my first one, I'm doing my best http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

BTW, they are just sitting on a piece of ebony, they aren't set in it yet, or spaced correctly.

[sunburst]

Looks good!
Here's one thing I see. (Hope you don't mind a little criticism. Constructive, I hope.)

The "N" looks a little heavier than the other letters. I took the front part of the "R" and photoshoped it onto the "N", then slimed down the other part of the "N". If the letters are similar in size, and the lines are similar in weight, an inlay will look more harmonious.

[JGWoods]

Whew! Be glad your name isn't Smajkiewicz, or Dudenbostel.

Looks pretty good- I like John's "edit" and it's nice to be able to see them in successive posts so I can compare.

[Burner]

The jeweller's bench pin can't be beat for cutting and filing.

[Darren Kern]

John, of course I take anything said by someone with your experience as constructive criticism. I knew the "n" was heavier than the rest, but I didn't know how to fix it. Kind of hard to explain, but like the first time I cut the "r", I tried to shape it after I cut it and ended up messing it up. I think your idea might help me shape the "n" to look more in sync with the other letters. Thanks a bunch. And yeah, I'm glad I have a nice short name http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Stephanie Reiser]

Darren, I see nothing wrong with your cutting out of the MOP. As far as the Font design is concerned, did you create your own? I am no good at that since I'm not artistic at all, so I cheat and print out a font from MS Word. Here is a photo as such.
Either way, your mando is looking good. What are you going to build next?

[Darren Kern]

Amanda,
Thanks for the compliments. I didn't make my own font, I also used one from MS Word, it's called Calligula. I thought it would be a good idea to use a simple font for my first attempt versus something fancier like what Gibson uses, or like the one in your picture. And I didn't do the best job transferring it from Word to the MOP, so if you have any tips on how to do that more cleanly, I'd appreciate it.

I'm not sure what I want to build next, but I think it will depend on how this one turns out. I am tempted to build an A style from scratch, using one of the online guys to buy some bookmatched spruce and maple, etc. I know my skill level is not there yet to where I will be comfortable attempting an F5 yet.

[Stephanie Reiser]

#And I didn't do the best job transferring it from Word to the MOP, so if you have any tips on how to do that more cleanly, I'd appreciate it. #
For transfering the design, I just cut the paper pattern out and glue it to the pearl using white glue. I also glue the Pearl to a thin pc. of wood, in this case a scrap of builders' shims. I got them at the local lumber store for about a dollar and that will last me the rest of my life. When you are finished cutting just boil the bundle in water for several minutes.
What I want to try on my current batch of 2, is gluing the pearl to the Ebony veneer and cutting it out in place, so that the inlay excavation will be accomplished at the same time. Yikes!

[sunburst]

I use a method similar to Stephanie's.
I designed my own logo rather than using a font, but I printed out a bunch of them, and I glue (superglue) a copy to the pearl. I glue another copy to the headstock, and route through the paper with a down cut bit. That, by the way, will maintain the spacing of the letters in a multi piece inlay.
Mine is only two pieces, but it's too fine for me to scribe around easily, so glueing the paper logo to the wood keeps everything where it belongs.

BTW, I soak the pearl in acetone to release the printed paper.