How To Inlay a Guitar Headstock - With Master Inlay Artist Craig Lavin (Episode 3)
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- Опубліковано 4 чер 2024
- Master inlay artist Craig Lavin joins us and demonstrates the fundamentals of guitar inlay. In this 3 part series Craig will show you how to install a custom headstock logo into your guitar. We show you step-by-step everything you need to know to design, cut, and inlay a custom pearl inlay into your next guitar build.
0:00 Intro
0:14 Recap
0:44 Leveling
3:30 Dealing with bubbles
6:18 Final Sanding
Check out Episode One here:
• How To Inlay a Guitar ...
If you missed Episode 2, check out here:
• How To Inlay a Guitar ...
Items used in this series:
Ebony Peghead Overlay Veneer
www.stewmac.com/item/0991
Pearl Cutting Saw
www.stewmac.com/item/4611
Pearl Cutting Jig
www.stewmac.com/item/5194
Abalam Inlay Blank
www.stewmac.com/item/4444
Pearl Inlay Blanks
www.stewmac.com/item/0950
Pearl Fretboard Side Dots
www.stewmac.com/item/0964
StewMac Super Glue
www.stewmac.com/item/0010
3M Stikit Sandpaper
www.stewmac.com/item/5772
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StewMac has everything you need to repair, build or maintain your guitars.
Everything we sell is backed by our Lifetime Promise, and we offer fast worldwide shipping.
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Thanks again Craig for helping us out with this series. We can't wait to have you come back and work on another project with us.
This is really exciting. I can't wait either 🙂.
Fantastic series. You should give this guy scripts and have him do instructionals that aren't even his specialty. He has a great no-fluff, quick delivery that makes these easy to watch.
I don't even know about guitars or even what a Stewmac is, but watching all three parts of this almost gave me a nervous breakdown. Craig you have the hands of a Surgeon.
I can see how an amateur could devote the time it takes to do this, but I can’t imagine how much it would cost to commission one of the more elaborate pieces shown in this video series. They are stunning, but only a wealthy person could buy one. The only way an average person could obtain one would be to do it themselves, so thanks to you, these videos can help us ordinary folks!
This Craig Lavin series enabled me to create, cut and inlay my headstocks with both my pearl (hand cut), and with fairly complex and intricate vine designs in Paua Abalone pearl (purchased). I'm back to watch the series again. You are a Master Instructor as well as a Master Artist sir!
The way this dude makes this look easy is a whole marketing strategy unto itself. It makes me want to buy all those tools and try it myself!
How could you give negative feedback.. this is the most awesome series ever! Thanks Craig!
Thanks Craig, I thoroughly enjoyed the entire 3 part series. I had no idea how you magicians do inlays, now I do.
This whole 3 video series is so good! Concisely explained, with plenty of tricks to make it so a first timer can turn out a great inlay.
Glad it was helpful!
I never thought about doing an inlay now I want to do this.
Awesome!
Very nice series.
Thank so much for the awesome tips!
Who would give a thumb down? Great job teaching us. Thanks master inlayer guy!
🙂
Hi Craig. I must say that you teaching skills are wonderful. Thank you so much for putting it up for free. I learned so much from you. Mostly because you didn't talk down to us. You're a regular guy that knows how to teach a great skill that you have. Again, Thanks man.
What a great series. Thank you Craig and thank you Stew Mac.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great series! If I may pass on a little tip, when sanding, keep a scrap of carpet at your bench. When you start to get those pesky kernels of wood and CA glue on your paper, simply rub your sandpaper blocks on the carpet. You won't believe how clean the paper looks after "brushing"! You'll use less sandpaper and get better overall results. Craig, you are a master!
Excellent series -thank you!
You're very welcome!
These 3 videos were some of the best videos I have ever watched...and I have watched a lot of videos! Thank you!
I've done Metal inlay and epoxy inlay, this gives me the confidence to give pearl a go.
I just did my first inlay on scrap wood, to practise a bit, before I turn to my actual headstock. It really helped to get so many questions answered! Another stunning tutorial! thx to Craig Lavin and Stewmac
Absolutely the best "how to" video I have ever watched. Thank you, Craig is fantastic!
BADASS COOL! I think I've found a new hobby. Thanks!
Sir. You are a master of your craft. Excellent series and thank you for your time and expertise.
Thank you!
All tutorials should be this detailed, informative and insightful.
I learned so much from this, thank you!!
This is all wayyy beyond my current skills but it’s inspiring to watch this genius at work!
Great 👍 series with really good video work. Real attention to detail too. The only thing that I really wanted to see was the cut out for the actual headstock and mounting to the instrument, that would have been great.
Thanks again great work 👍
A very talented man.
This was a fantastic series. Thanks Stewmac.
Craig and StewMac, thanks so much for this video. Complete, easy to follow and most of all your encouragement to get-at-it. I tried my first with some written material and "winging-it". Can't wait to go back to more with the knowledge and enthusiasm you shared. Very, very well done. Thanks again, Bill N
Great to hear, Bill! Thanks for the feedback!
it's a pleasure to watch a real pro that explains everything in detail. bravo!!!!!
Like everyone says - awesome videos. I loved seeing you do things that I had sussed out for my self.... and then things I had NO IDEA about. Yay!
Really enjoyed your all three episodes. I'm getting into inlays as a beginner. Currently I create artistic things with a Scroll Saw on wood.
How awesome this was to see a true craftsman and artist at work. Absolutely incredible thank you
Thoroughly enjoyed this series, the process had always eluded me, very interesting to see it explained in such a detailed and easy to follow way. Excellent work Gentlemen!
i love this is job, your job. thanks for my learn.
That was amazing, thanks so much for the videos! Craig did a great job teaching I learned so much.
Thanks again!
Thanks for the tutorial Craig. I look forward to starting my first headstock inlay based on your instruction.
Very well done ! your the man ! thank you ! Skip
Excellent, excellent!!!😊
A superb trilogy Craig. I usually fast forward through many of these multi part videos, not these ones though. I found them absolutely enthralling and full of really useful information.
Thanks!
What a great resource. Thank you so much for taking the time to present this.
This was a very informative and enjoyable series.
I'm so glad I have a hobby CNC machine and coloured resin. So much quicker and easier.
Wow! Thanks for doing this series!
This is an art form in and of itself. What a great tutorial!
Loved these videos. I’m currently working on a headstock inlay for a 5 string fretless bass I’m building. I’ve only done two other inlay projects. A guitar I built and my son’s ukulele kit we bought from Stewmac. I put his initials in a logo on the headstock. I would love to see one of these videos where you do a more complex design with interlocking pieces. I was always curious about the pearl cutting process when the pieces have to fit together perfectly like a puzzle. Thanks for this tutorial. Very helpful.
I'm pretty sure Craig is one of those guys that if you ask him if he knows what he's doing, he'll say no, and that's how you know he's an expert
Excellent series StewMac. Thanks Craig! Can't wait to get started.
Clear detailed and wonderful result
Fantastic work !!! Great tutorial.. thank you ;)
Absolutely fascinating!! I am overwhelmed with the amount of patience you have doing such intricate work!! Your finished logo was beautiful!!
Wow, perfect instructional. Techniques & tips are top notch. thank you!!
One if the best instructional video series I’ve seen. No waffle, clear instructions and a few clever tricks you’d take ages to discover through trial and error.
One question about the routing - is the flexible router attachment a big help compared with mounting a dremel above the base? I have the base already - wondered if less weight made things more precise?
It's almost the same difference honestly. What you get with the flex shaft is a much much better motor.
This series was excellent! I'd love to try this sometime.
Excellent series! I thoroughly enjoyed learning vicariously through these three tutorials. Well done!
Very nice. I am starting to study to do some inlays. Thank you for the videos.
Extremely well done. Time to try it!
Really enjoyed this series, excellent delivery and production
Glad you enjoyed it!
Awesome series, very well done 👍🏻
Great series!!! This process can be used on so many different things.
Nice series , thanks for sharing.
For beginners I would also suggest Larry Robinson’s 3 dvd’s on lnlay.
Great series, thanks. Will be useful in many other projects as well.
Awesome series. I learned a lot. Can't wait to put it in to practice soon! 😎
Fabulous series and so well explained step by step. Watched front to back and found very helpful with lot's of tips and techniques. This is the one area that I'm so interested in guitar building and want to start this winter. StewMac sells a lot of pre slotted and pre radius fretboards. Would love to see another series/tutorial on how to inlay one of those ...... Is that possible?
It is definitely something we want to do in the future!
Superb.
This is the sort of job that you get a artisan to do after you've made the rest of the guitar. The patience and care needed would be astounding knowing that you could F it up so easily. No thanks.
Excellent!
...and verey neat presentation!
Brilliant.
Thank you Craig
Nice work
This reminds me where is the Ryan adams buck owens video? That was a great repair too!
Great series! He really makes me think I could do it.
You can do it. 🙂
This is excellent! I really want to see more videos in this vein. Maybe advice for doing fretboards? I'd imagine the radius would make things interesting.
We're going to possibly do an intermediate inlay series for fretboard work. Keep up the demand 🙂.
@@craiglavin1436 Yay! Thank you. Once my city comes out of lockdown I'm hoping to inlay the fretboard of one of the guitars I'm building, so that's super exciting! There's so many subtleties shown here that I wouldn't have thought of if I just jumped in blind.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching this video series. The videos were well thought out and everything was carefully and completely explained. I don't have plans to do a headstock, but I have done other simple inlays, and I got a lot of ideas here.
Wow, thank you! Best of luck on your project!
lovely
Awesome
Thanks a lot
nice looking guitar
Thank you
Excellent tutorial. I just wish that StewMac gear wasn't so expensive and that other items like the glues
were available in the UK.
What if we can't afford a StewMac precision router? I guess I'll just have to design and fabricate my own 'precision' attachment for my mini-drill.
Great info ! Have you though about using a Laser to cut Inlays, and create the recess for the inlay ?
Excellent tutorial thanks. Which "micro" router do you use?
Great series Craig! You did an incredible job explaining and demonstrating each step!
Question, could you use a similar process with the wood dust and CA Glue to fill in screw holes in a headstock from where a string tree used to be ? Would trying to fill them with some Pre-cut inlay dots be less conspicuous and add a little inlay design at the same time :) ??
Adding inlay to cover up holes is always a good idea 🙂. Lol
Love the way the inlay pops with the ebony 👍 the only constructive criticism I have is avoid rubbing the acetone once you have your plastic inlay in also I couldn't help but notice the rectangles aren't very precise in dimension or spacing filling them and getting the dimensions accurate and spaced out evenly on a piece so small even for me with 20/20 vision is near impossible but I was wondering could you glue the inlay stock on to a sacrificial flat board and have a mini CNC router to cut the pieces more accurately? 🙂
What is the actual breads for your birds beak, and jeweler saw. There are 2 routers on Stewmac the plunger and other.., which is better? Thank You.
I'm working with African mahogany. Any tips on using lighter colored wood? I assume using router dust will still work. Thanks.
oooo I wanna do one so badly.. but i know im just gonna F it all up! LOLOL
What an invaluable resource! Sooo glad you made this for us! Question for you Craig, when using mahogany or another non ebony veneer, is there another way to handle the white bubbles in the sanding process - that is to say, without a black sharpy, when going for a natural, non black finish?
you need to use either brown glue or some other matching color.
full videos. Greetings from me and a BIG thumbs up. My name is Bert. By for now.
How do you paint ebony without having the grain show through and covering up the inlay
I hand built a Les Paul Junior type guitar and did a pearl logo on the headstock. I watched this series hoping to learn some shortcuts. They don’t really exist apparently lol. Tedious, time consuming work. Wish I had his skills.
Do you have plans for showing a guitar neck inlay job? I want to do stars ⭐️ ⭐️
If you were painting the headstock would you just mask the inlay to spray color, then apply clear over it all?
We can't speak for what Craig would do, and it really depends on the specific situation. Masking off may be an option in some cases, but that's tough to do and keep clean lines. Painting color after you route, then carefully installing the inlay followed by clear coat may be a good option. It's also possible in some cases to spray over the inlay then scrap clean before clear. We always recommend practicing on scrap until you find what works best for you! Thanks!
Does the Sharpie trick also work with Edding Markers?
As long as the ink doesn't react negatively with the ca or whatever glue your using. Test it first. I know ca glue and acrylic paints don't well together.
@@craiglavin1436 I did some "research" this morning: black Edding 300 permanent marker + Pattex liquid glue (=CA glue) on a piece of plastic. Result: the glue did not dissolve the ink.
Awesome job, but i think ill just stick to Decals...
The headstock looks derpy tbh. The inlay work is great though!
Very interesting, very cool result. I'm just unhappy with the fact, that he routed the pocket for the inlays so sloppily. I understand, that it can be hidden with sanding dust and glue and the end result looks amazing, but why not put in the extra little bit of time to make the routes a little tighter?
Have you seen his other work? He’s not a laser cutter. The end result speaks for itself and if he hadn’t graciously shown you his process, you’d have no idea.
If its too tight you could end up breaking the inlay. He also stated that, when using Ebony, you can get away with a lot. The man is crazy good inlay artist. I'm going to trust his advise.
I wondered the same thing, but this is a short series for beginners who may have never tried this. I _assume_ that he did it this way to show beginners that they can "fix" relatively small mistakes with the proper wood dust and CA glue?
@@bobvines00 I think when you’re doing this at any skill level, you have to balance the risk of breaking the inlay with how well you can mask imperfections in the routing. If the material were thicker and stronger, I’m sure he could make he route absolutely perfect.
I have done this a few times and I can tell you that wood grain sometimes does not play nice. I also thought a bit more time, but the wood grabbed the bit and pulls it. After several fit, then remove retry over and over that it got better but eventually the inlay cracked. I did not have time to recreate the inlay, so I poured white epoxy in the rout channel and let it dry. I will be doing Craig’s way on the current archtop I’m making.
Dang that's a lot of work, lol.
I can hardly believe you are giving away secrets of your trade, hope your getting advertising & a bigger name for yourself or cash from ads ?I used to work with jewellery this inlay looks doable. If I spend 5 or 6 hours a day doing this I can actually make a living at it ? What can you charge or do you make custom guitars more custom ? Save me Mr. Craig. Previous construction guy with sciatica.