James' hand cut type — Typophile archive

mica20 May 2005 · 12:32

Today, James completed this totally amazing nameplate for a custom bass guitar. The mother of pearl shell is .060" thick and he used a jeweller's saw to cut the letters completely through the shell. Then the sawn out sections are filled with a mixture of epoxy and ebony dust.

The plate is to be installed on a fingerboard with a twelve inch radius, so the form will distort a little after shaping. On the next one, I'll correct the artwork to allow for this final step.

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mica31 October 2005 · 21:21

Here's the finished piece:

Our customer loved it, and we're making him another bass with a different nameplate. The next one will be "Scooter" inlaid with the same technique, but with a different font, something to pay tribute to his recently deceased cat.