Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I remember seeing a link in an old thread showing the restoration and replacement process for crushed pearl or "glitter" fingerboard inlays. Anybody remember where that was, who the Luthier was? Thanks!

Here's your own thread on the subject, Alexander!

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=413099

PW

Dale Fortune does these too, don't he?

Yes, he does.

Didn't the old Rickenbackers use crushed abalone?

I remember reading that the abalone were harvested from the Southern California coast, mainly for use in furniture, and that the population decreased enough that it was stopped.


bluewhale

bluewhale wrote:Didn't the old Rickenbackers use crushed abalone?

I remember reading that the abalone were harvested from the Southern California coast, mainly for use in furniture, and that the population decreased enough that it was stopped.


bluewhale

Possibly, not sure if the actual species.

But as I understand it, the original inlays were sheets of pre-crushed shell material mixed with resin and sold in 1’ square sheets as flooring material. Electro string procured a large supply around ‘63/‘64 and used these until the supply ran out in 1972.

There are modern equivalents of this material available today.

So, I could have done my kitchen floor in CP. Cool.

jps wrote:So, I could have done my kitchen floor in CP. Cool.

With checkerboard trim?

teeder wrote:

jps wrote:So, I could have done my kitchen floor in CP. Cool.

With checkerboard trim?

Like PW's round kitchen table with the CB edge on it.

It's crushed white mother of pearl...
I use this, with West Systems epoxy:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LX ... UTF8&psc=1

Matches perfectly with the original 60s material.

collin wrote:

bluewhale wrote:Didn't the old Rickenbackers use crushed abalone?

I remember reading that the abalone were harvested from the Southern California coast, mainly for use in furniture, and that the population decreased enough that it was stopped.


bluewhale

Possibly, not sure if the actual species.

But as I understand it, the original inlays were sheets of pre-crushed shell material mixed with resin and sold in 1’ square sheets as flooring material. Electro string procured a large supply around ‘63/‘64 and used these until the supply ran out in 1972.

There are modern equivalents of this material available today.

The link is in the post earlier in this thread. Didn't you try that stuff?

bluewhale wrote:Didn't the old Rickenbackers use crushed abalone?

I remember reading that the abalone were harvested from the Southern California coast, mainly for use in furniture, and that the population decreased enough that it was stopped.


bluewhale

No. The original material was sourced from Japan in sheet form, specifically from a firm that produced many of the fancy laminate materials used on drums of that era. This company seems to have gone away in the 1970's.

Gonna give this stuff a try:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LX ... UTF8&psc=1

Thanks All! I'll post results in case anyone else is interested in trying it.

johnhall wrote:

bluewhale wrote:Didn't the old Rickenbackers use crushed abalone?

I remember reading that the abalone were harvested from the Southern California coast, mainly for use in furniture, and that the population decreased enough that it was stopped.


bluewhale

No. The original material was sourced from Japan in sheet form, specifically from a firm that produced many of the fancy laminate materials used on drums of that era. This company seems to have gone away in the 1970's.

johnhall,

Belated thank you for clarifying that. I must have misunderstood this post

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=402115&p=724930&hil ... ne#p724930

specifically, the comment about F.C. Hall and the otter population.


Be well,
bluewhale