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Here are a few pics of my first rosette which turned out to be quite a project. When I dry fitted the rosette, it felt a little tight, but as it turns out it was WAY too tight I didn't know this until I had glued in the walnut ring and most of the purflings. Instead of ripping it apart, I let it dry and then scraped it flat. It of course revealed a major area where the purfling was missing (first picture black arrow) and a small area that I missed at first (first picture blue arrow). I cut a channel with an X-acto knife and refitted the purfling. When I scraped this down it revealed even more spots, so I repeated the procedure and inlaid new pieces of purflings. Finally I bound the sound hole with some claro walnut that was left over from my bindings and trimmed them with a chisel. I scraped it flush and then sanded. I am very pleased with how it turned out, although it's not perfect. I really learned a lot from the process and hopefully the next will go smoother.

The walnut ring was cut from a piece of scrap claro walnut that I found at my local Woodcraft. I book matched and joined the piece, and then cut out the ring using the tutorial that Hesh did (Thanks Hesh ). There is enough left over for a peghead veneer, end wedge, and heel cap.

I bent the sound hole binding using a soldering iron and a doorknob hole cutter.

Thanks for looking.

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Dan

Looks good to me. It's in there, and clean looking. What more can you ask?

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Looks pretty good for a forst carack to me as well.

If you are looking for a different way to do the same thing, hereis how I do those ...

1 - cut the inner wood ring, a bit larger than you want the final size/width to be, french polish or shellac around the rosette area, then inlay that all by itself, I use titebond for this. sand the ring flush to the top.

2 - figure out what you would like for lines around the inner/outer ring. Shellac the area again, then using a bit smaller than the lines total width, route for the lines inner ring, adjusting the jig until the trough allows the lines to snuggly fit in. repeat forthe outer lings. Shellac again, getting shellac in the troughitself as well (I use the Lee Valley french polish/padding alcquer for this) fit the lines, I use a scarf joint for hte joint area, then CA them in, inner and outer.

Use the same method to install shell rings inner and outer as well .. just add the filler strip to the lines after the main ring is in.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Thanks Waddy and Tony. Tony, thank you for the advice as well. I need a better circle cutting jig for my router that is adjustable. I was using 3/4" birch ply as a router base that I drilled 1/4" holes at varying distances, much like Mario and as shown in the Cumpiano book. I think next time I'll get the Stew-Mac set up. Thanks again.

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Dan

Dan buddy I think your rosette looks great!

Yes, for sure you need something thats acurate, and adjustable in thousands - (I can easliy make a trough 2 thou wider if something is too tight) ... like the one I built and Sylvan Wells did a tutorial on making .. check the archives.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Thanks Hesh!

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Dan

Dan I know this was a bit aggravating the first time out the gate but you did well. I bet you learned how important concentric tolerance is Hua? Just a small fraction is a big deal in the concentric shape of a circle. Just a fraction of tool push off, bearing run out can eat you alive

Great recovery

"Concentric tolerance" hmmm.... I had a different name for it at the time

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Dan

If I were you I'd cut it out and put a new one in, making the new center piece a bit bigger so the overall rosette is just bigger than the old. The rosette is one of the things you'll be looking at all the time on the guitar, so if its not clean, you'll stare at it and it will drive you crazy. I had a similar situation where I cut the channel a tad too wide on the first try and had some small gaps when all was dry and scrapped. I wasn't real happy with it and knew it would bug me for all time. I cut it out and re-did it. I'm really glad i did.