Headplate

The inlay is a gold / white MOP "Mustang" from DePaule's Luthiery Supply.

I worked on the headplate over the last couple of days. I used the cut-off from the guitar back for the plate, gluing it together so the grain is book matched. After thinning the plate to about 0.010 inch and then tracing the headstock shape, I glued the inlay into place using airplane glue.

When the glue hardened, I traced the inlay onto the wood using an x-acto knife. Airplane glue softens with a little acetone and the pieces can be pried off without worrying about breaking them.

I used a Dremel tool with some very small router bits to route out the inlay. This inlay took about 3 hours, although I was taking my time and being very careful. The process takes a while, checking the fit of the pieces and routing until all the pieces fit in the inlay cavity. When I was happy with the fit, I sanded a bit of the walnut and used the dust to fill a couple of places where I routed a tiny bit too much.

I flooded the inlay with thin CA glue and set everything aside to harden completely.