mica/val
out of curiousity..how do they and what is used to route the recess in the board

A hand router with a bunch of different bits and a guide to keep the depth consistent.
 
Valentino

if that was james at the controls?
that man has the hands of a neurosurgeon..
i assume there is a template for the routing..
but the lines are so straight etc. truly the work of an artisan....
:-)

Bill that looks great!!

I have been doing some levelling, fretting, and fret marker inlays, and I'm getting ready to do some logo inlays.  
There aren't any routing templates like the ones we use for the body construction, the pieces are placed on the fingerboard for tracing, and then cavities are routed out by hand, as Val said, with a dremmel, base, and multiple bits.
Even though he's left-handed, James is a great teacher for this kind of work. It's amazing to see this piece come along.

Peter; thanks for the first hand account!

yo billy.....
 
 
wassup?

Bill's already seen these in person, but I took some other progress shots to share and document anyway. First, the world, inlaid and revealed:

  Also the 24th fret inlay:

I love that world Bill;  makes me think of Standing on the Moon.  Your wait must be nearly over.
 
Mark

great Inlay! what's missing is A star in northern Cal representing 'Santa Rosa'!

Inlay for the back of the peghead getting potisitioned for scribing:

 
This is actually the back of the inlay - you can see the paper pattern between the inlay and the peghead, that's the front side, but who wants to look at paper when you can see shell.  
 
Big inlay next. Stay tuned!

simply freakin gorgeous billy boy....

Thanks Flax.  I stopped by today after hours to drop off my bass player's broken SF-2.  I went back in the spray room and saw the completed inlay.  WOW!  Then, I turn around and, lo & behold, hanging right in front of me is the Scooter Tribute Bass.  Way cool.  I can't wait to see the top under finish.
 
Bill, tgo

Wow!
 
It looks really three-dimensional , seems like a shame to sink it into the finish ... And on the back of the peghead?
 
Anyhow ... wow again!

I've seen an inlay like that before!  Looking really sweet Bill.
 
Mark