Kevin Chilcott
Luthier
MAKING AN 'ANGEL'
Inlay
Tools for Cutting and Shaping.
Above are most of the tools that are needed to cut and shape Shell.
Bottom Right.....
A Cutting Board.
This is the same one I've used for over 20
years. A piece of 1/4" ply.
Top Left.....
A Clamp of some type to hold the cutting board in place.
Top Right..... A Fret Saw and a Pack
of Blades.
Bottom Left.....
A Small Engineers Rule has a multitude of uses.
Centre.....
Assorted Needle Files - even broken ones have uses. (
You can get away with 3 or 4 basic files..... flat, round, curved and
chisel shaped are
essential.)
All over the picture are pieces of Mother-of-Pearl in different shapes and sizes. It can be bought or acquired in a multitude of ways and at varying costs depending where you source it. The large size of the bit of Pearl on the cutting board is quite unusual.
Most Important.....
A Dust Mask of some kind that will prevent MOP dust
Inhalation..... as I will remind you again -
'Shell
Dust' is
a Carcinogen. Various types of 'Particle'
or 'Vapour' masks are available.....
So Please
ask the relevant supplier
advice to ensure you get the right
sort of mask.
This Mask above is just one type - many types are available.
DUST !!!
As you can see from the picture above..... The MOP dust goes everywhere - and that is the dust just halfway through cutting one piece.
An Assortment of Tools used in the Process
Other tools and equipment that will come in handy are..... A Blade, Pliers, Biro, Pencil, Tracing paper, Masking tape, PVA glue, a Scriber, a square and assorted Fret Saw blades with different characteristics and Teeth per Inch (TPI)..... and a few other bits and pieces that you'll see in the pictures in this section.
As a rule I generally use the Spiral Toothed Fret Saw blades which allows you to cut in all directions no matter which way the saw is facing..... Takes a bit of getting used to though - especially getting straight lines. However, to start with it may be easier to use Standard HSS Fine Toothed blades, although they do tend to break more often than the Spiral variety.
So now it's back to..... MAKING AN ANGEL in the Cutting and Inlaying Section.