Wire Inlay -- Flat Silver or Pewter

[Andy Morton]

I realize that many use the ribbon or flat silver/pewter wire for doing wire inlay. What thickness do you recommend and where can I get some (wetsites??)?

Sorry if this has been discussed before--I have searched on this and found several hits but nothing specific about sources or specs on flat wire.

Also--have any of you tried other types of metal--tin, alumminum, etc??

Thanks in advance for any info!!!

Andy Morton
Madison, WI

[Bill Halsey]

Jewellery supply companies such as Rio Grande offer sterling and karat gold wire drawn in various shapes. Also try precious metal refiners like Hauser & Miller, Hoover & Strong, Stearn & Leach, David Fell, etc. Nickel silver (or "German silver") is another good material to consider for this purpose.

[WoodyMcKenzie]

I use square wire. You can inlay it and then sand it flush. Gold wire is of course expensive. Silver and brass can tarnish, but you can varnish over to prevent this. You can find brass that looks like gold. I bought mine from ebay. If you do some wire inlay, post us a picture!

Woody

[rhetoric]

On a guitar page somebody suggested using plumbing solder for copper tubing -- says it's easy to work with, stays bright and shiny and is, of course, dirt cheap. And, I have enough half-used coils of this stuff in various parts of the house that I could build the entire mandolin out of inlay. Anybody had any experience/success/failure with this material?

[rhetoric]

Here's the link...

http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/metinlay.htm

[Jerry Byers]

Interesting concept. Any thought to the corrosive properties of the flux? Have you tried plain solder without the flux? What is the lead content of the solder? I guess it doesn't matter much as long as you're not licking your mando.

[rhetoric]

Blast! #I didn't think of that -- I lick my mandolin all the time. #Actually, I can't imagine it's toxic. #Your drinking water flows through soldered pipes and the whole idea of the new solder was to avoid lead. #Now, is it reactive w/ the wood in a harmful way? #Hmmmmmm. #This I don't know.

[pchristi]

I ended up using 22 gage sterling silver (square) wire that I found at the local bead shop - cost me $1.50 per foot. It was the thinnest wire they had that was “flat” although they did have round sterling silver wire as thin as 26 gage for $0.75 per foot. Here is a picture of what the 22 gage wire looks like on my Headstack - I don't think it's as thin as the wire on a F4 Torch & Wire. You may be able to find the square wire thinner than 22 gage or - I think I remember Gail Hester saying she had some stock silver square wire re-rolled to make thinner. Good luck with your inlay project.
Prescott

[Andy Morton]

Wow nice inlay-----hey Prescott, what type bit did you use to do your routing, and is that a piece of "sculptered" silver inlayed in the middle of the "C"?

Very nice...

Andy

Thanks everyone for the replies----BTW, I tried the heating solder in routed area on a piece of scrap and it did burn the wood and was very uneven in the edge where the solder met the wood...didn't work for me.

[kvk]

I ended up using 22 gage sterling silver (square) wire that I found at the local bead shop - cost me $1.50 per foot. It was the thinnest wire they had that was “flat” although they did have round sterling silver wire as thin as 26 gage for $0.75 per foot. Here is a picture of what the 22 gage wire looks like on my Headstack - I don't think it's as thin as the wire on a F4 Torch & Wire. You may be able to find the square wire thinner than 22 gage or - I think I remember Gail Hester saying she had some stock silver square wire re-rolled to make thinner. Good luck with your inlay project.
Prescott

How to you get the mirror-finish black? It looks like it not even wood. Is that ebony that's been stained to make it evenly black or something else?

[Jim Hilburn]

I did this with bead wire from Hobby Lobby. 25' roll was $2.12.

[pchristi]

Andy - I routed the cavities for my inlay with a Dremel tool fitted with a Stu Mac Router Base (all borrowed from a friend). To cut a channel for the 22 gage wire I bought several different Dremel bits & burrs (they were fairly cheap) and experimented on some scrap wood to find the best fit. I ended up using a 1/32nd drill bit to cut the channels for the wire. I’ll point out that it was also necessary to buy a smaller collet for the Dremel to hold the smaller bits. I felt lucky that I was able to find all the bits and collet at my local hobby shop.

I made all the cuts free hand and the only place where I felt it was necessary to be extra careful was where I had to cut back across an existing channel. In these areas the bit had a tendency to want to “jump” across the gap, grab the other side and go off in another direction. Good thing I practiced a few times on scrap first. I found had better control when I learned to finish my cuts just as I was entering a channel rather than continuing across.

As far as, what is the mystery material inlayed in the middle of the "C” - That is a piece of colored pearl (Paua) that is supposed to represent the vertical part of the “P” in my stylized “PC” logo.

Robert, Regarding the “mirror-finish black” - I think it’s just the way the light was captured in that picture that makes it look that way. The HS is black & glossy but under most lighting it also shows a nice wood grain.

Jim, Always an inspiration to see your work. The wire you used does look a little thinner than what I used and I assume it’s round by the way it tapers off at the ends. Wondering what gage wire you used….. and Bit size?

Thanks guys,
Prescott

[Jim Hilburn]

It's 24g and I said I got 25ft. for $2.12, but it's 25 yds.
I used a 1/32" carbide inlay bit and freehanded it about half the depth of the wire so it will sand to the center.
You probably noticed how hard it is to get the wire shaped and flattened to go in the slot, so I'd fill the slot with superglue and put in the wire as close as I could get it shaped and then put wax paper and a piece of plexiglass over it and clamped it to hold it down in the slot.
Sand it and go over the whole thing with black epoxy for any gaps and thats it.

[Andy Morton]

Gorgeous work and inspiring--can't wait to get started.

Thanks!!

Andy