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Warwick Bass: Pearl Dot Inlay Installation

Related Topics: Gibson Logo Transfer | Warwick Refret |


1. Warwick makes great instruments. This one is a corvette 5 string.	2. Side-Dot Markers are a great visual aid that help musicians navigate between fretboard positions. That said, many musicians also like to have position markers on the fretting surface of the fretboard.


3. Establishing the Center Line of the fretboard is the first step of the crucial layout process. A violin maker's knife lightly scores the center of the fretboard at the positions where I'll be installing the dots.	4. Measuring the Fret Spacing at each position to recieve a pearl dot with calipers.


5. Layout Continued. Now I'm using the calipers to score the fret- board at the exact center between the two frets.	6. Marking the Fretboard with an Aul will give the drill bits a perfectly placed indentation to prevent the bits from wandering. I'll repeat steps 3 through 6 in preparation for each dot inlay I'll be installing on this bass.


7. Drilling the Fretboard for dot inlays is best done with a brad point bit. This type of bit is much less prone to wandering. Plus it creates a nice floor for the pearl to rest on. I'm drilling each hole to a depth that's shallower than the thickness of these pearl dots. That way I'm sure to have enough protruding pearl that I can make the inlays level with the surface of the fret- board. It's best to do this with a drill press. That's not a problem with this bass because it has a bolt on neck which can easily be held in a drill press vice with cork lined jaws for padding.	8. Gluing in the Pearl Dots can be done with a number of different adhesives. I prefer super glue be- cause of its thin viscosity and its rapid curing time.


9. Removing the Excess Pearl. In order to speed things up, I'm using the shop's dremel tool with a router base and an engraving cutter. I'm resting the routing base on the frets while the cutter removes the pearl. I'll adjust the depth of cut so the cutter is .005" above the surface of the fretboard.	10. Removing the Excess Pearl Continued. A small Swiss-needle file will bring each pearl dot the rest of the way down to the fretboard.


11. Lightly Sanding the Pearl and Fretboard with 220 grit sandpaper gets rid of the file marks. I'll progress through the usual sanding grits used in the shop during fretwork: 400, 600, #000 steel wool, #0000 steel wool, and micro mesh pads: 7 polishing pads that range from 2,400 grit to 12,000 grit. After I've polished the frets with the micro-mesh pads I'll clean the fretboard with naptha, then seal the board with mineral oil.	12. Pearl Dot Inlays make great position markers. They even add a bit of bling to this quality, utilitarian bass.


13. Dot Inlays.