Filling inlay gaps in headstock - will it stain?

[PoopSoupGuitars]

So I've tried to inlay something for the first time.

I used a dremel to cut out the circular shape and it's not perfect. The item I'm inlaying fits but with some gaps showing. I know i can fill the gap with sawdust and drop in superglue, but I plan on staining the headstock dark. My guess would be that the superglue with create a barrier to the stain, right? Wood glue maybe won't? Or how would you deal with it?

As always, all advice is appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Mindthebull]

If it’s not too late, pop out the inlay and apply the stain first. Then pop the inlay in and get the right colour of sawdust to match and drop fill with superglue. The only problem with this approach is that you will have to sand back the drop fill to get it smooth and then you are sanding off some of the stain as well. You would then have to mask off the inlay and touch up the stain. Seems potentially messy but it might work if the stain is very dark. I have only ever done inlay with dark coloured wood headstock to begin with so the drop fill and sanding wasn’t a problem. No way you can use a dark headstock veneer overlay instead of staining? The luthiers I know have warned me generally to avoid inlay into a light coloured wood. Maybe someone else has better ideas but that’s all I can think of.

 

[DrASATele]

Do you have a fostner bit that is a little bit bigger than the inlay?
My thought is that you re-do the circle with the fostner a bit bigger/cleaner. Then you can stain the surface of the hole, center the inlay, then fill with epoxy to level. Then when you stain the rest of the headstock as you are finishing the area surrounding the inlay won't be as obvious. Or you could not stain the area under the inlay after the fostner bit and the clean maple will be a ring around the inlay enhancing it as a focal point.
This is an oops that can become a feature, IMO.

 

[PoopSoupGuitars]

Thanks guys,

The inlay isn't glued in yet so I have the option of holding off on inserting it until after staining. The gaps are relatively small and I plan on going dark & intentionally inconsistent on the stain (weathered look), so worst case scenario I guess I can blend some black/brown sharpie around the edge without it being too noticeable. I'll update on how it goes.

 

[Peegoo]

@PoopSoupGuitars I know you're in a hurry to get this done, but let me reassure you that your plan will result in something you will not be happy with because it will look like a bodge.

@DrASATele described the ideal fix, and as he says, it will look like a feature and not a goof-up. The simplest way to do it is to use a Forstner bit as he describes. It's a cutter that makes a perfectly round, flat bottomed hole in wood. If you don't have a set of these, ring up a mate that does and they can help you do it.

I've done inlays like this; it's dead simple to do even if you don't have a drill press (use a hand drill). I used this process to inlay this 'Texas Ranger' concho:

 

[Mindthebull]

These are all better ideas than mine. The beauty of the fostner bit appproach and using a pure black drop fill with epoxy etc gives you a plain black ring which gives you a bit of a buffer zone now you can mask off easily when you stain. The stain won’t adhere to the black and you get a nice clean look. Much better. Your stain can still have a weathered rough look but the edge around the inlay is clean. Bonus.

 

[PoopSoupGuitars]

Thanks @Peegoo , I do have forstner bits, didn't think of using one here but makes perfect sense; drawing circles is tough enough with pen & paper, nevermind carving one into a hardwood.

Looking at the gaps, I'd need to extend the circle too much for my liking at this point to fix it with a forstner bit though. I'm currently waiting on delivery of some whisky barrel oak that I will be using as the top for the body. What I may do is try to cut a headstock veneer from this too, then use the forstner approach to reinlay. I'll try resist my natural inclination to just try fix it right away with what I have to hand.

 

[Phaedros]

A little fix on how to center the forstner bit over the headstock would be to take a piece of flat scrap wood or chipboard and drill all the way through with your desired diameter. Then you just need to fix that template over the headstock and clamp it. This way the bit won’t drift sideways - works well with a hand drill too.

 

[Jim_in_PA]

Along the lines of this ^^, consider making a guide to use a Forstner drill that's larger than the current irregular shaped recess, drill it out, glue in the inlay concentric with the larger round recess and then fill the remaining "ring" with colored resin to create a "binding" around the inlay. Then stain your headstock, but be sure to seal the edges of the recess before putting the tinted resin in to avoid color leaching into the surrounding wood.

 

[Freeman Keller]

Most people who do inlay will mix some sawdust from the parent wood with epoxy or CA to set the inlay. With dark wood that works very well the little gaps are almost imposible to see. With light wood like maple the filler turns a different color, darker than the surrounding wood and actually highlights the inlay. Unfortunately with stain and finish the lines really stand out- one of the reasons I don't like doing inlay in light wood.

 

[oldunc]

I don't think it's the solution here, but as to the original question, I've found that a slurry of sawdust and Titebond (or other aliphatic resin) glues will take stains and finishes well, and will age evenly with the surrounding wood. I usually just fill the gap with glue and sand over it, which imbeds the sawdust in the glue.

 

[schmee]

Do you have a fostner bit that is a little bit bigger than the inlay?
My thought is that you re-do the circle with the fostner a bit bigger/cleaner. Then you can stain the surface of the hole, center the inlay, then fill with epoxy to level. Then when you stain the rest of the headstock as you are finishing the area surrounding the inlay won't be as obvious. Or you could not stain the area under the inlay after the fostner bit and the clean maple will be a ring around the inlay enhancing it as a focal point.
This is an oops that can become a feature, IMO.

I like this idea. Create a larger ring around your button. It could even be a wood inlay and then use a smaller Forstner bit to recut your hole for the button. Otherwise, stain will not match on anything you fill that problem with..

 

[PoopSoupGuitars]

Forgive me @Peegoo, I have no self-control. Just bunged some wood filler in there and stained the lot... I'm pleased with it though as I don't think the eye is drawn to it as an error, just looks aged and imperfect to me. Going to apply some tru oil this evening and allow some to get to the edges of the circle to maybe make the fit as tight as possible before gluing the button in place.

 

[PoopSoupGuitars]

looks better/darker in person

 

[Peegoo]

@PoopSoupGuitars That looks okay! The rough-n-ready treatment helps. If that were a figured headstock with foofoo binding and a glossy finish, it wouldn't have worked.

 

[PoopSoupGuitars]

@PoopSoupGuitars That looks okay! The rough-n-ready treatment helps. If that were a figured headstock with foofoo binding and a glossy finish, it wouldn't have worked.

It's a 'Red Breast 21' themed guitar, so going for the charred, smokey feel to the wood. The cooper from the distillery is shipping me genuine RB21 barrel heads to use for the top of the body too so that's the part I REALLY don't wanna mess up.

 

[PoopSoupGuitars]

@PoopSoupGuitars I know you're in a hurry to get this done, but let me reassure you that your plan will result in something you will not be happy with because it will look like a bodge.

@DrASATele described the ideal fix, and as he says, it will look like a feature and not a goof-up. The simplest way to do it is to use a Forstner bit as he describes. It's a cutter that makes a perfectly round, flat bottomed hole in wood. If you don't have a set of these, ring up a mate that does and they can help you do it.

I've done inlays like this; it's dead simple to do even if you don't have a drill press (use a hand drill). I used this process to inlay this 'Texas Ranger' concho:

out of interest, did you insert the button at the end after all wood finsihing was done? Or just cover it with tape while spraying or oiling?

 

[Peegoo]

out of interest, did you insert the button at the end after all wood finsihing was done? Or just cover it with tape while spraying or oiling?

I installed it after the finishing.

 

[PoopSoupGuitars]

I installed it after the finishing.

thanks

 

[PoopSoupGuitars]

So to further this same question (same guitar too), I have a matching plaque that I'm putting on the back of the body. I've routed a small recess so that it's just above flush (should be roughly flush after finish). How would you attach it? Super glue or epoxy? It's very thin (less than 1mm) Would you attach it, tape it and then apply finish (tru oil) so that the finish sits right up to the edge; or apply all the finish coats carefully and then attach?