Boulder opal for inlays?

[Dennis Leahy]

Has anyone tried using boulder opal for fret position markers?

Seems like this would be gorgeous set into an Ebony or other dark wood fingerboard, and would certainly put an "Oz" stamp on the instrument:



I would think a small chunk, (about half the size of my thumb), sliced into multiple thin slices (possibly glued to a backer, for strength until inlaid), would easily do a guitar neck's position markers, and would have about the same color scheme in every piece.

Anyone got any mates that deal with Yowah or Koroit boulder opal?

Dennis

[Allen]

Haven't tried or seen it yet Dennis, but there is a stall or 2 at the local markets that sell some. I've looked at them and thought "what if", but it ends up to be a pretty expensive exercise if it doesn't work out.

[Paul B]

I've thought about it. When I visited Lightning Ridge (opal fields) there was some boulder opal available (but I don't think it was sourced at Lightning Ridge).

Seems to me that it would be pretty difficult to do well because the opal and rock is so hard, you might be able to cut out your pieces, but leveling would be very hard to do.

[Dennis Leahy]

The opal itself is a pretty soft stone, but the ironstone matrix might present quite a challenge especially in large inlays where a lot of leveling is needed.

From the samples I have, the lighter colored ironstone seems quite a bit softer than the dark ironstone. To me, that is a bonus, because I think the pieces with the lighter colored matrix will look really nice in Ebony or other dark woods.

If you could get someone to make a small cylindrical plug, such as would come out of the middle when using a diamond hole saw, then that cylinder could theoretically be crosscut into fret position dots. Dots would be less surface area to sand down, and with silicon carbide 320 grit on a radius sanding block, I bet it wouldn't take too long.

I have bought a few pieces of Koroit boulder opal, and I have a set of (cheap, crap) diamond hole saws and at some point I'll give it a go.

Dennis