Reusing old pearl inlays?

[Steve Roberts]

A long time ago I cut a very nice pearl inlay design for a banjo peghead. Long story short, I never finished the banjo and the neck has been sitting around gathering dust for decades. Now I am thinking that pearl would look really nice on an A5 peghead.

My eyes and nerves ain't what they used to be and recutting all that pearl gives me the heebee jeebies. I am sure that I glued the pearl in the wood with Elmers. I don't care if I destroy the banjo peghead, but has anyone successfully removed old pearl for reuse?

Any suggestions or war stories appreciated. Thanks!

[sunburst]

Sometimes, in restoration work, there is call for reusing (preserving) inlays. It comes down to how thick it is and how successfully it can be removed without damage. Sometimes pearl is sanded very thin when it is leveled originally, for one reason or another, and it is difficult to remove and to inlay pearl that is too thin.

[Rroyd]

Since you aren't concerned about the fate of the banjo peghead, you should be able to save the inlay. If you used white Elmers, boiling the peghead in water should allow it to release, if I recall the glue's characteristics. You could undermine the inlay to speed the process. Good luck.

[Big Joe]

We have used heat and a scraper or other tool to help loosen old inlays. You have to go very carefully. Don't get them too hot, just enough to loosen the adhesive. You don't want to start the thing on fire or leave heat marks on the pearl. I don't know that boiling water would be good. I'm not sure how well the layers of pearl in the piece would react to the boiling water. I would be afraid it may come apart faster than the glue. As said above, if it is too thin you probably can't save it but if you go slow, take your time you should be ok.

If you don't care about the banjo peghead you may try to remove some of the wood around the inlay so you have a bit more room to work. Again, go slow and carefully lift the inlay as you go. A pallet knife may be the best tool for the job. A good flexible one. You may be able to just heat the pallet knife and get under the inlay and release the glue. That would probably cause the least damage. Anyway, good luck!