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Pearl Dot Installation

The installation of mother of pearl and abalone dot inlays is a pretty simple task. It requires little in the way of tools, and the dots can later be removed and a more elaborate inlay installed. . .That's a whole other series, though.

      From the beginning of the  project to it's completion, I will be working on a newly constructed banjo neck. This neck has no frets, making it easier to perform the installation.

   There are many sizes of dots for sale through mail order. It's not to difficult to make your own, either.  That will be another series, though.

You will need to match your dot stock with the corresponding size drill bit. This dot is 1/4" so I will use a 1/4" Brad-Point drill bit. A regular twist bit can be used, but is not accurate enough, in my opinion, for this application! You should also check the bit size against the dot size by drilling a shallow hole into a piece of scrap wood and attempting to press one of the dots into it.. If it fits slightly snug, you have the correct combination. If it does not, adjust with the proper size brad point drill bit. . .Did I mention the drill bit should be a brad point?
 
    Take a look at the pencil marks on the rosewood fingerboard. They are lines to find the center of each space where a dot will be installed. There aren't many things that are less attractive than an  instrument inlayed with dots without careful consideration of there placement. At no other place on the fingerboard is this more important than at the 12th fret marker where two dots are traditionally installed. The trick is to find your fingerboard centerline, make the mark that indicates the exact center between the fret slots (remaining parallel to the fret slots), and then finding the center of the two half's for your double dot location/s.

Note the holes are in the center of the "cross hairs". It is easy to achieve this using a brad point bit. . . Boy, those brad point bits are something else!