I'm working on a difficult fretboard inlay and am struggling to find the best method, maybe someone here has some advice..... I'm working on a maple fretboard (separate from neck), and it needs block inlays (like the picture). Now my first attempt was a Noble one, but alas it couldn't cut it. So I sourced some ABS blocks and lined them up with my centerline and laid them out (I actually lid them out pretty well). Drop of CA glue and then score around the block and fill with a thin mechanical pencil. Then peel up the block and hit the outside lines with a chisel trying to go as straight as possible. Once the lines are firmly indented, I take the Dremel with the router base and clean out the inside. Afterwards, I clean up with a chisel.... Now this had it looking pretty okay as long as you don't look too close, but there were still gaps here and there and, as you well know, any mistake on maple stands out.

Do I just need more practice at this? Or is there a better way?

Now I'm toying with the idea of just routing cavities and then filling with black epoxy instead of using blocks. Is that a bad idea? Interested to see how others tackle this!