Using laser in inlay

[Chuck Barnett]

I'm curious if anyone is using laser in doing inlay work, say creating the pockets on headstock veneer for inlaying material (pearl, contrasting wood, etc.)

The specific project I'm working on is creating pockets for small mop letters for a tenor ukulele. (The word lays out approximately 2 1/8 to 2 1/4" in height.) These letters are too small to be tackled using Dremel, even using 0.020" bits. There would be gaps.  I've done this on ebony with sanding and CA glue, but...

Could you laser pockets for the letters into that piece of wood? Right now it is about 1/8" thick but it will end up being about 1/16" They could be through cuts or pockets.

Always grateful for your wisdom!

Chuck Barnett
425-530-0328

[Charles Tauber]

That would likely be a good candidate for laser cutting. Something that size would literally take minutes to cut. 

One option is to use a UV-cured resin instead of an inlay. Cut the pocket on the laser, mix up the color of resin you want, put in pocket, cure in several minutes, level, done. UV-cured resins are available in starter sets, including the UV lamp for under $30. The resin can be coloured with appropriate powders to just about any color or swirls of colours, including metallics. If you haven't tried them, might be worth the small investment of time and money. 

I've done some laser inlay work with traditional materials, including reconstituted stone, and with resin. I've been satisfied with the results. A laser does a good job on those. I'm looking into applying that to rosette designs as well.

[Dick Fulco]

Laser is an option, but when you use UV raisin, a 30 degree bit is also good for very thin lines.

Met vriendelijke groet, Dick

Op do 4 sep 2025 om 04:24 schreef 'Charles Tauber' via Robert O'Brien Guitar Building Forum <obrien...@googlegroups.com>

That would likely be a good candidate for laser cutting. Something that size would literally take minutes to cut. 

One option is to use a UV-cured resin instead of an inlay. Cut the pocket on the laser, mix up the color of resin you want, put in pocket, cure in several minutes, level, done. UV-cured resins are available in starter sets, including the UV lamp for under $30. The resin can be coloured with appropriate powders to just about any color or swirls of colours, including metallics. If you haven't tried them, might be worth the small investment of time and money. 

I've done some laser inlay work with traditional materials, including reconstituted stone, and with resin. I've been satisfied with the results. A laser does a good job on those. I'm looking into applying that to rosette designs as well.

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[John Peters]

I have done both wood inlay and resin inlay with laser cutting.  If you are doing a traditional inlay just test out what your inside snd outside offsets will be based on the kerf of the laser.  I did this with maple and cherry and it came out great.  Just glue it up on a paper backer that you sand off before putting it on the headstock. 

As Charles said UV epoxy is way simple and what I do these days.  One thing though, unless you have a pretty powerful laser it would be difficult in something like ebony.  

[Elaine Seat]

I have a 10W laser, and had problems trying to cut a pocket in ebony. I did find that using the laser to cut an outline that I then could follow with my pocket cutting tool was a good thing as it made a great mark for me to cut too and the top wood was melted away.