David Petillo
Petillo Guitars
Ocean, NJ
David Petillo got a very early start as an
inlay and marquetry artist. “When I was in
sixth grade,” he says, “in Catholic school
I had to keep a notebook with notes for
math, history, etc., and I used to just draw
in there and doodle, and draw my classmates and stuff. When I handed in my
notebook at the end of the year they were
going to leave me back, and my parents
were called in for a conference. When
the nuns passed the book to my dad he
thought it was great.” Not surprising, as
Petillo’s dad happens to be Dr. Phil Petillo,
master builder, inventor, engineer, and all-around Renaissance man [see Phil Petillo,
May 2009]. The elder Petillo took the
younger into his workshop and started giving him projects, starting with shapes and
designs to cut out.
Petillo says working with his father was
extremely advantageous: “My father once
restored a hurdy-gurdy for the Smithsonian,
which had old marquetry in it and he
learned so much from the experience of
working with such an old instrument. He
saw how the old masters did their gluing
and veneer cutting. Later, when I learned
marquetry, it helped me understand and
develop my techniques. My father initially
learned pearl inlay from the D’Angelico’s,
and marquetry, boulle work, and metal
carvings from Philipp Rimmler, who inlaid
the Orient Express, the famous train. I am
very fortunate to have learned the techniques of all these masters.”
I asked Petillo to explain what marquetry is
and how it works. “Marquetry,” he told me,
“is an art form using inlaid wood veneers
to form a picture, pattern, or design. It is
done in two different ways: with X-acto
knife blades of varying shapes, and with a
jigsaw. It differs from conventional inlays
in that marquetry is done in an overlay
form—you make the whole piece or scene
as a single overlay and then glue it into the
instrument, such as an entire headstock
veneer featuring many intricate cut shapes
and designs. For example, I’ll make a background out of one piece of quilted maple
and cut out and add flowers or something
else to it, and glue the final piece onto the
instrument all at once.”
marquetry you’re dealing strictly with wood
veneers, which are soft, so the chance of
the knife blade wandering off track is there
if you’re not careful.”
Part of what makes a Petillo guitar unique
is the bindings, backstrips and purflings
that are all handmade. The process involves
layering materials together in a long
block—thick or thin wood, fiber or cellulose
plastic—and gluing them. After the glue
cures, thicknesses can be cut off the block
with a very fine saw blade.
David Petillo
Years Building:
17
Contact: David Petillo or Phil Petillo
philluinc@aol.com
petilloguitars.com
There are some clear advantages to working
with wood instead of pearl when it comes
to shading and fine detail: “It’s easier with
wood marquetry because wood is so soft.
You can actually cut a flower petal and dip
the ends in hot sand to create the shadowing, or, when it’s all assembled, you can
take gasoline on a Q-tip and touch it to
certain areas, then using a piece of metal
as a guide, take a propane torch and burn
it. The flame follows the edge of the metal
and then burns that shape of the metal. In
burning the shadows into the marquetry
itself you achieve a three dimensional effect.
I use a very small propane torch. So after all
the hard marquetry work is done, you risk
ruining it by burning a hole in it! That’s what
makes it so much fun, the gamble.”
Both inlay and marquetry are complex and
time consuming, says Petillo, but “with
