I was just wondering if anyone has ever tried using butterfly wings as part of an inlay? There are some interestinh colors and patterns to be had, I have afew ideas on how. I was just wondering if anyone has had any success.Thank Jim Gaskins

Never tried it, but it sounds interesting.

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Glad to see there is another masochist out there. Give it a shot....Jim

Sounds much more interesting than the gnat which inlayed itself in one of my just-finished rods.

O' Clyde have I been there,gnats, flies, bees and the ever present Florida mosquitos.
John

I had a gnat inlay too, on an old rod I redid for myself, I just left it. My question about the butterfly wings is how to deal with the fine powder they are covered in, I would think CP would work, but you would probably want to try to spray it on with an airbrush or something, because I think if you brushed it, it would upset the powder. Wow john, I never got a bee, you sure are lucky!

Yes, I have and failed miserably at first. You have to be very careful because butterfly wings posses a fine powder that gives them much of there color. I have sprayed them with clear lacquer and then stuck them down with CP. That seemed to work OK. You can't wash them or you will remove most of the powder that gives them color.

Try flower petals. Even more colors available. Rinse them to get dust and pollen off and then treat them like a feather inlay. The small petals of wildflowers are really nice and you can make some intricate patterns with them.

Add to that list Canadian black flies, and the nuisance cluster flies that bunch up in the fall. Oh, yeah the moths that develop from the plague of tent caterpillars that peak in 10 year cycles (dreadful)!
Somehow, these bugs seem to try and find their way onto an 'unplanned' inlay.

I would think a mayfly quite appropriate, or the wings thereof depicting such? Violet or wild rose petals might be worth a try??

Rich