I never realized how in depth and complicated putting a logo on a guitar is.. it’s very interesting and now I have a new found appreciation every-time I look at the logos on my guitars haha
Thank you very much for creating this *long-length* video series. Please make more videos/video series like these to go along with your short videos. This is _definitely_ a thumbs up!
Thanks! We are working on several more. We are filming an aerosol spray finishing course next week with the help of Chris and Matt from Driftwood guitars, Erick is working on a DIY fretwork series, Brock is working on a scratch build electric guitar starting from lumber. These are all in various stages of doneness, but hopefully they will all be out by the end of the year.
I don't do inlays, but this was very interesting to watch. What's more, sharing your artistry in such great detail is very generous and cool. Thank you!
This is BY FAR the best instructional video series on inlay work! Every tiny little detail that is shown and discussed, great video work - Excellent. As an amateur guitar builder (don't dare to call myself a luthier...), this is so helpful. Many thanks from the Netherlands!!
I am not sure I even know how to properly "thank you", Craig Lavin! This video is a gift, pure and simple. Offering your kindness, manner, and expertise is extraordinarily generous of you. As a Master Class, this is quite likely my favorite-ever presentation.
Greetings Craig, I like your work. I got a lot out of the materials portion of this series. Kirinite!... Yea! I process most of my inlay material from whole shell or scale scrap. Here's a tip back. For all who love inlay work a Taurus Ring Saw is an amazing tool.
WOW, Craig!!! I just stumbled upon this tonight - this is GREAT!!! Probably one of the best tutorials on doing an inlay I’ve ever seen! So many practical tips/techniques I'd never heard before…wish I’d known about these earlier when I was doing my instrument inlays! THANKS!
Thanks so much for this great video. I've done some inlay work using pre cut geometric pearl shapes and other shapes from SM. Never had the confidence to cut my own, but years ago I was given some old beautiful pearl sheets that now I may try cutting. I was told how dangerous it is the breathe in the dust. G10 is used heavily for knife making which I am also familiar with. I also do engine turning like you see on the plates of an old pocket watch. I always wanted to a engine turned guitar inlay.
Wow Craig, that is most interesting and nerve racking as hell. That is a true art to hand cut the pearl or any of the materials and i'm sure takes many tries to get good. Well explained vid for head stock inlay.
I'll never work with inlays, but man your video was amazing. Thanks for sharing all this knowledge, and I have to say, your workshop looks like a very fun place to be/work!
Another great tutorial. I wouldn't have considered doing a headstock inlay until now. My only criticism is the music in the background is a little intrusive. Thanks Craig.
Nice tutorial Craig. Good to see someone that likes to do detail work. You should mention the Opti-Visor you are using to see those tiny parts. I'd be lost without mine.
Thanks for the video. You cover a lot of information without ever being boring. Unfortunately I don't have the time to do this, but considering the tiny size of the drill bit I think I'd be unhappy about the amount of wobble in the chuck.
I work as a traditional luthier's assistant and I was surprised to find that these saws come as hand tools too. Hadn't given it much thought, but of course the huge machine I use are a recent addition to this art. Since I don't have much money, a little saw like this would make much more sense for personal projects
Thanks Craig. Three amazing episodes. I took a risk and did my inlay on an existing headstock. It's turned out great. Not sure if I can share a picture ! I've gone for a logo that references a cocktail I quite like and think Bette Davis drank them as well !
I have drills much smaller! They are for drilling holes in circuit boards or cleaning out existing through plated ones, for hair thin wires. You need much higher speeds for tiny drills, and slower penetration, to not break or bend them: the one you used was bent and wobbled, and can cause trouble. My jewelers saw is a great one made in Germany, but yours looks much groovier with the rounded back.
Extremely usable information! I wish I would have seen this several inlays ago! I would like to add to the StewMac saw I have, where can I get a pearl saw like the one you were using?
I'm thinking Mr. Levin would not suffer a jacked up drill press featuring a huge margin of error for "drills where I thought it would drill but it didn't."
@@davidsaliba9209 Ok, first and foremost, this wasn’t some kind of accusation that this guy is a hack because it looked like the drill press had a smidge of runout. He’s a mind-boggling artist, full stop. That said, if you look at 13:31, and watch the jaws of the chuck against the still background of the template, you’ll see it’s got some movement. It clearly ain’t the end of the world and doesn’t stop this guy from producing top-level work, but I’m just saying that I noticed it.
@@jeffmansfield914 Hi Guys. The drill I have in my shop is way more stable than this one, and its not in production anymore. I didn't fly it out with me for the shoot. That said Stew Mac was kind enough to get this one added in for the shoot when I stated we needed one, and yes it was a bit wonky. All in a days work. This wasn't filmed in my shop, we "re created" it at the Stew Mac studios. We produced as good a product as we could with me using some tools for the first time ever. Hope you enjoy this service from Stew Mac and thanks for watching!
I did my first inlay with Mother of Pearl (MOP) and was quite impressed with my own results. The greatest frustration I found was using your recommendation to outline the MOP on my veneer, in my case rosewood, with a lead pencil (0.3mm lead). I had a tough time seeing the outline under the StewMac router base, even with my shop's LED lighting, and incandescent desk lamp and a good quality LED headlamp and head mounted magnifier. It occurs to me that lighting on the router base would help. Any suggestions?
So...StewMac, gonna source the drill press, bits, and that amazing jeweler's saw? That mini drill press would be great for so many around-the-shop functions.
@@craiglavin1436 Thank you!! That entire video is outstanding. The saw seems like a completely advanced version of the small hacksaw, plus the tensioning adjustment is excellent.
@@craiglavin1436 Micro Mark has moved on to some pretty amazing stuff!! They should contact you for your video. I had no idea things like that existed until I watched this video.
A thin piece of model aircraft plywood glued onto the back of the pearl will help reduce part breakages and can be removed by soaking in a jar of acetone overnight. Cheers Andrew
@@craiglavin1436 I thought you might!! Cheers Andrew ps, I do it with a cnc machine takes longer but doesn't waste so much pearl, but also not creatively satisfying, but the end result is spot on.
Kinda comical, But there's more than one way to skin a cat.I appreciate all the instruction,My skills must lack because i routed and glued the Abilone shell to the Headstock and did an overlay,Thank you,I wouldn't have even attempted such precision work without Thanking you for inspiring me to attempt it! An overlay gives you a second chance,and after it is glued up and sanded Down is Definately good enough for me!
Thanks for sharing your video! Great work! I would like to know if it's ok to apply some finish to the headstock (tru-oil or other)... would it stain the inlay? Thanks!
Depends on your inlay material, porous things drink in the color, non porous don't. If you finish has a color that will effect the inlay by tinting over it as a tinted finish.
@@craiglavin1436 Thanks Craig, for your answer! I guessed so, and then I thought to sand the inlay, but it will be inevitable to sand the wood too, so I don't know how they do it. Anyway, thanks again! Best regards!
26:50 Out of curiosity, why did you put the dots in the holes first and then apply the CA over the top of them, instead of putting glue in the hole and then insert the dots? I would think you'd get better bonding if the glue was in the hole, instead of hoping it wicks down the side of the dots.
@@craiglavin1436 Good to know. I was thinking more about woodworking where you would coat your pieces first, before joining them. I hadn't considered the nature of the ca being that thin. Thanks for this series. I've followed StewMac since the 80s when I used to get the catalogs in the mail with all the tips and tricks. I started documenting all of those tips in a journal. Thank you so much for keeping up the great work
Thank you Craig and team, that is a great series. I’m having trouble finding a router flexi-shaft that is compatible with the Stewmac router base, which one are you using in the video please?
how do you spell the material you mentioned as Keranite? I know that's not it - I can't locate anything even similar to that spelling and don't see that masecraft supply has it listed? Thanks. Great video and I'm on to watch the second and third video
At the chance of never getting answered, could you not do say a logo backwards so the face is in less danger of getting compromised during the template removal?
Considering how much effort goes into doing inlays, make sure you spend an hour of design for every hour of production. I see so many gorgeous guitars-even from celebrated luthiers-where they just use terrible typography or lettering and then position it so poorly. It kills me.
It’s probably not important to try to impress the inlay art community. Ultimately, a design and inlay job should impress the creating artist and their client.
Laser doesn't work but CNC does, and it's only saving time up until a certain complication level. At this stage yes, the more pieces the longer it takes to do either way.
clicked on this thinking, im not going to watch all of this, 30 min is too long. at best, ill ff through the slow parts. now, here i am, 30 min later, haveing watched every second. my only question, if i just carved out that entire "stew mac" i would be scared shitless to break it getting the paper off. why not just inlay it with the paper and sand it off once its secured in the wood?
whats the Glue brand called? I searched for Testor Glue in amazon and it shows a color red tube, i think it got different types but i cannot find that color green tube
@@cabronismo oh okay. My bad. It’s a gooey type of quick set glue, different than standard super glue. Im not sure if Amazon shows availability to you, but I’ve found Starbond, Model Expo, and Gluemasters that have that type of glue.
I cant find the green "curinite" (spelling???) anywhere (7:45) - anyone know how to spell that? I must not be close because google ins't bringing up anything.
