DragonJewels

DragonHart descends from the faceplate. Scrimshaw ivory from antique piano key is accented with white and rose mother-of-pearl (MOP) horns. Tongues of flame in white and gold MOP travel to a red coral heart (a charm purchased at the 1983 World's Fair).

DragonLinks

Some other links at the Hollow Road Guitar Shop, Chuck's Instrument Website:

A jewelers saw with 35 teeth per inch is used to cut the MOP. The MOP runs about .050 inches thick. A small board is clamped to hang over the edge of the workbench to facilitate cutting. DO NOT BREATHE the MOP DUST! When I last checked, it was not a known carcinogen, but the dust is sharp and likely to hang around scarring your lungs like asbestos for a very long time. Find a small "air puffer" so you won't have to repeatedly remove your mask to blow away the dust.

The tongues of flame continue down the neck in white MOP. Dragon wings, in gold MOP, fly at the 7th, 12th and 19th frets. The unfretted fingerboard is ready for the inlay. Note that one must possess the skill set of making the entire fingerboard, especially the fret work, if one wants to add custom inlay to the fretboard.

The cavity for the 12th fret marker is ready. Just a few more to go. Others held in place with blue masking tape awaiting glue up. Epoxy mixed with rosewood and ebony sawdust will hold the MOP in place. Each is glued close to the surface and then sanded flush. The entire fingerboard is finish sanded BEFORE the fretwork.

The DragonHart theme continues down from the fingerboard and joins the top at "The Heart of the Hart." A medallion made from scrimshaw on a bone, antique poker chip. It includes the "D" for DragonHart. Or is that "D" for DeHart? Bone works very well for scrimshaw, a better selection than ivory when you can find a nice clean piece. I have one more poker chip like this one. Again, the design received a draft etching which resides on the backside of this medallion.

The medallion is positioned between the two P90 pickups. Glued in with a clear epoxy after finishing work. Think about how to use masking tape.

Some of the supplies used for gluing the inlay. Popsicle sticks, sawdust, alcohol and exacto knife for carefully removing and inserting inlay pieces. I really liked the Devcon epoxy. It cleans well with denatured alcohol. Find something that dries hard and clear with at least 20 minutes of working time. Like everything else you do, practice first!