Laser Cut Marquetry

[TallDad71]

Here's a little tute on using a Laser Printer to shortcut some of the more tedious work building guitars. I use an xTool D1Pro by the way and you should consider buying one!

Initially by interest was piqued in using the cutter to make templates. As you can see this one is very useful for marking out exactly where to put my falcate braces in relation to the bridge pin holes. Ive made loads of templates like this for bridges, headstock shapes, sound holes etc. The previous method was to print the patterns out to size, glue them to my work, then cut them out. The laser printer has already paid for itself at this stage.

Then it came to making the logo for my guitar, a no brainer, make some templates, you'll have both parts required, a 'male' if you like to cut the recess, and a female to cut the logo parts. By using the female template I was able to use my scalpel to cut the recess outline without the fear of slipping with the knife and scarring the material as I was always working inside the template, not outside the logo shape. We've all missed with the scalpel and had scars to mask, this is the crux of the problem, it's a really laborious method with a high chance of failure. These templates minimised the risks.

I was just about to use the male template to cut out my logo shape from a piece of Indian Rosewood when it hit me. "Why on earth should I try and cut out this intricate, delicate logo with scalpels, files and small chisels, for the next 3 hours, when I already have a laser cutter?"

Consequently I threw everything in the bin and started again, this time letting the cutter outline everything for me. I can now cut the parts for an inlay in less than 10 minutes, an extra 5 for routing out the recess and bingo. In fact it is so quick I can make a variety of logos to fit in the space and choose which colours work best in situe.

I really value my laser printer as a perfect alternative to my inkjet printer, the levels of accuracy are much improve and the levels of faff are much reduced. By One!

Next time I need to cut a fretboard, I am going to use this laser cutter. It doesn't stand a cat in hells chance of cutting very deep as Ziricote is too dense. However it will leave very accurate lines, 0.5mm deep, for me to use as guide for sawing.