ebony filler for inlay

[Martian]

I have just inlayed an ebony fingerboard and peghead overlay, I would imagine a good deal of you artists on here, do not use filler, lol but if you can remember back to when you did, I am assuming it is ebony dust, and what kind of glue?. I did a block inlay, and after I routed it, I realized 2 were just a bit off center, so moving them over created a small gap . I also did a flower pot and the name martian in cursive, that for some reason came out good, go figure, thanks

[Dale Ludewig]

I use ebony dust. Kind of pack the little gaps with the dry dust. Then drip the real watery superglue onto it. It wicks its way through. Sand flat. Repeat as necessary. Don't hit it with accelerator because that will cause the CA to boil and turn white and cause little bubbles down in the fill that are a whole new problem.

[sunburst]

You are right of course, I no longer use filler, just black superglue.

(OK, OK, superglue acts as a filler.) I used to buy black CA but I never could use it all before it hardened in the bottle so now I just mix some lamp black pigment into regular clear CA and flood the inlay with it, let it harden, sand level, and as Dale said, repeat as necessary.

[Walt]

Not sure whether it would be suitable for filler, but I tried dying Titebond for the first time a couple of days ago. I just mixed in some black aniline dye and a tiny amount of water. It dried jet black. Here’s a pic of some squeeze-out from a furniture project.

Edit: I used the water soluble aniline dye. I accidentally put in my alcohol soluble aniline in the first batch, and the glue began to dry almost immediately. The water soluble aniline, and splash of water kept everything the same consistency as Titebond out of the bottle.

[HoGo]

I would test if finish would hold well on layer of titebond. Also it will shrink for a long time so you need to apply generously and wait. For inlay in ebony or other dark wood that will not be finished or stained I would use CA with fine dust of the same wood. For pearwood overlays that will be dyed black to imitate ebony I use epoxy with ebony dust as CA would soak into wood and prevent even staining.