Second attempt at inlay. This was for my duet partner’s Taylor 916.
This time I used thin ebony veneer over 1/16 walnut veneer, with mother of pearl inlay. And of course I had to make a gift box. 
Still not perfect, but feeling better about this try.
I think it looks great!
Thank you! 
Luckily we have a bunch of stringed instruments for me to practice on!!
That’s amazing! I’m just getting into doing this as far as a research topic for future projects, did you use any specific resources for researching how to do this or is it something you just kept trying at until you got it working right?
@techquest89 I spent a lot of time thinking it through before I even got my GF. I also watched videos on kerfing and marquetry. I think the key for me was finding that thin MOP (and next try abalone) veneer. It really is thin enough to cut with scissors. I got it off Etsy from a shop called Sea Your Dreams.
This second try, I designed a little better. My first try, I had spots in the design that were too thin and the MOP cracked, so I had to piece it together in one place. This one didn’t crack. I also had a slightly thicker MOP veneer this time and was able to use 3M adhesive and masking which helped prevent scorching.
@techquest89 Also, my first try, I messed up when I did the pocket inlay (I didn’t know that was what it was called until @evansd2 sent me some great info). That time, I messed up my steps and adhered the wood veneers together before I cut, so I had to engrave the design.
This time, I cut the outer truss rod shape out of the walnut veneer, then cut the outer shape and inner design shape out of the ebony before I adhered them together. Then I dropped the MOP inlay into the pocket.
Heh, more accurately, it would be what I call it. 
I don’t know if there’s an official name for when you engrave out a channel for your inlay instead of cutting all the way through.
@evansd2 It made perfect sense to me!! I say we make it the official term!! 
Fooled me!
@timjedwards Thank you! You know how critical we always are of our own work though, right?
If you’d be willing to post the MOP source and your cut settings in Beyond the Manual, that would be ace. It looks like a very nice clean cut and I have been thinking about using MOP since I got my GF.
That appears to have an arc to the surface…? Very nice work there! 
@GrooveStranger Okay, I will.
@PrintToLaser Thank you! The arc and the countersink are from the epoxy resin I applied afterwards.
This looks lovely! Great work!
@rvogt Thank you!
It’s lovely!
It’s lovely, definitely see the progression!
@marthajackson1970 Thank you!
@awebs76 Thank you! I felt the progression too. Much less cussing involved this time. 
