Bowlback pickguard inlay question

[bmac]

I am helping my wife restore(?) an old bowlback... The pickguard had been removed by a previous owner and my wife wants to inlay the pickguard indentation with imbuya burl veneer.

My question is: How best to support the veneer when cutting to shape with a coping saw... What are your suggestions as to cutting the veneer? I have never cut veneer to an odd shape like the pickguard. Would simply supporting it on a thin sheet of plywood and holding by hand against the work bench be adequate support to prevent problems in cutting?

Your thoughts appreciated.

[billhay4]

I would want more support. Tack it to a thin piece of plywood or MDF. Double sided tape will do this. I'd also prefer to cut it out (at least roughly) with a scroll saw or bandsaw.
Bill

[Michael Lewis]

I agree with Bill if you have the equipment but for a one time event make a rubbing of the recess with a sheet of paper and a pencil laid on its side for your pattern. Lightly tack this to your burl with double stick tape (low tack) and using very sharp chisels walk the chisel around the line to cut out the veneer. This will take only a few minutes to cut if you are careful, and if you are it will be accurate if your rubbing is accurate. Or find another way. It is not rocket science.

[sebastiaan56]

Glue the burl to some cardboard with water soluble glue, like paste. To soften wet the cardboard again. Just make sure the burl is really dry before you insert it into the soundboard.

[bmac]

I like michael Lewis's advice of working with a chisel as I am afraid of a saw causing tearout on the edges. Thanks folks for the suggestions.

PS: sounds like "rocket science" to me... not wanting to make any mistakes on this.

[Jim Garber]

Pardon my ignorance, but what about a good sharp xacto knife? I guess it depends on the thickness of the veneer.

[bmac]

Jim:

The imbuya burl veneer was considerably thicker than I had anticipated and was cut with a utility knife and fine tuned with sand paper. It worked quite well with no spliting or breakage.

And by the way, we were quite pleased with the service and quality from Logs to Lumber.com on the internet.