Zipflex herringbone inlay?

[Dave Cohen]

Does anyone know if there is such a thing as a flexible herringbone (or other pattern) inlay strip such as the Zipflex abalone strips? I recall a luthier at the 2009 ASIA convention who had some flexible inlay/purfling strips at his table. Can't remember exactly what pattern(s) they were, nor his name (having senior moments).

http://www.Cohenmando.com

[Tavy]

How flexible, and what material? The fibre strips I've been using from Small Wonder Music are flexible enough to bend into a soundhole shape just by using the heat of your fingers and a glass bottle as a former. I'm using their rope perfling though which is 2.4mm wide, the herringbone is a touch thicker I believe.

[Rick Turner]

Dave, Kevin Ryan is the ZipFlex guy, but I think it's only in abalone. Michael Gurian is Mr. Purfling, though, and if you soak herringbone, bend it to shape, and then let it dry, it's pretty easy to get it around tight curves. You can also remove one or more of the outer stripes to make it more flexible, and then build the width back up.

[Dave Cohen]

Thanks, Rick. With an oval-hole mandocello, I would need something with alotta flexibility. Mine have an integral fretboard extension support, which means a complicated 3D shape. One would have to be able to flex an inlay strip simultaneously in two dimensions. Not having a CNC, I usually have to cut the channel by hand, then lay the wood strips in there one by one. I was looking for an easy way around that, but I am afraid there isn't one. Not even sure the Zipflex abalone could be bent simultaneously in two directions.

http://www.Cohenmando.com

[Graham McDonald]

My friend Jim Williams, author of A Guitar Maker's Manual, used to split the herringbone strips in half down the middle when inlaying rosettes. That might give you enough flexibility for a mandolin?

cheers

graham

[Rick Turner]

I do a fair amount of binding and purfling on weird 3D shapes, but nothing as tight as you're describing. I still think that soaking the stuff will help, and maybe making some kind of hardwood or tough plastic mold into which you can bend and press the stuff while it dries. You don't want to soak the purfling too much or it swells up. Graham's suggestion is good, too, and it's kind of like taking the straight purfling bands off the outside of the herringbone in terms of loosening things up a bit.

[Rick Turner]

One other thing...the Zipflex abalone is actually amazingly flexible in three dimensions. If you can carve the channel, you can inlay that stuff into it.