Cutting pearl

[Joe Hillmann]

I had a customer bring in a piece of pearl to try cutting for doing an inlay. It is .058" thick and I am having a hard time cutting it.

I can get it to cut but I have to run it so slow the underside ends up discoloring and I think the heat is making the pearl very brittle.

Can anyone share there experience with cutting pearl?

[Mike Null]

Joe

Cut from the back in multiple passes and not so high power to avoid cracking it.

Here's a similar material. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?168422-Headstock-and-guitar-finally-finished

And a piece of abalone that I did. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?78709-Engraving-a-fretboard

[Joe Hillmann]

I ended up rastoring a mirror image from the back side 3 times, after each pass I had to get in there with a dental pick and toothbrush to remove the "char". I didn't go quite all the way through so all the letters stay together. Then I did a unmirrored engraving of it in a piece of walnut I had laying around instead of on the instrument. I will have the customer attempt to assemble the sample and sand it all down to make sure it turns out before I touch the instrument.

It means that I will have wasted a piece of mother of pearl but that is much better then risking it not turning out on the headstock.

[Martin Boekers]

Laserbits sell sheets of pearl, not cheap though...around $36 a sheet..... 5.5x9.5in. yup, to say it's a bit expensive would be an understatement!

www.laserbits.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=621 (http://www.laserbits.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=621)


You may want to check with luthier supplies as it is used in guitar and instrument decorations also.

[Joe Hillmann]

The customer supplied the pearl so it isn't money out of my pocket and it was only about a 2 square inch piece. And it is still way cheaper to ruin a piece of pearl and make sure it will work then to my testing on his mandolin. I think he said it was a $4-$5,000 instrument, so I doubt he will get mad about me being overly cautious.