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All mandolins have some level of inlay. When buying a mandolin, the amount of inlay and binding helps determine the price. When building your own, it demonstrates your skill. This mandolin will have precious little inlay and binding... |
| This picture shows the pearl I've cut to inlay. As you can see, I've decided to name my mandolins Siren. There are many possible inspirations for that name, and I think it best if I keep quiet about mine. The fact that I nearly picked Loreley may give a hint. |  |
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Here is the peghead with the routing done, ready to accept the mother of pearl. The pearl is glued into the peghead with epoxy mixed with ebony dust. The result is shown in the next shot. |
| This is a pretty poor picture, but the inlay turned out nice. I'm still trying to
decide how close this digital camera will allow me to shoot. (Closer than this!)
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This shot shows the binding channel ready to receive the binding. A strip of the binding material is also shown. Boiling water softened the binding enough to make the sharp turns required, and a little acetone welds the binding together at the seams. |
| Here's the binding glued into place and ready to scrape. A scraper is used to finish off everything and get the binding flush with the wood. |  |