I bought some black/white/black inlay but it really doesn’t seem happy being bent, even with moisture and heat. Decided that it would be better to laminate some myself pretty much to the shape required. Machined some 25mm MDF circles and stuck two together to make a 50mm thick internal mould. I wanted something a bit more noticeable so have gone for five layers of veneer alternating between ebony and maple with a Formica caul wrapped around the outside. I used Titebond for these but the largest ring failed due to me knocking the shut off valve shut and the bag losing pressure so I’ll remake this one tomorrow. The other two have worked very well so all I have to do now is come up with a way of slicing 3mm deep sections of of the 50mm deep rings and I can start sticking them into the soundboards. Any ideas? Thinking of a Dremel with a small, thin circular blade mounted somehow,
Darren
Dremel it was! A bit smelly on the first cut when going through into the MDF core but after that it was fine. Sanded the edge flat in between cuts to ensure one good face for bonding into the machined slots. Got 8 rings from each 50mm lamination. Bonded into the soundboard with Titebond and then planted almost flush before sanding. All looks pretty good so braces will be next. I keep hearing makers referring to to ‘voicing’ the soundboard/struts and am at a bit of a loss as to exactly what this means. Is it like true love? Will I know it when it happens? Lol!
Brilliant!
Measure twice, cut once...