Official Luthiers Forum!

I just installed a blackwood rosette in a sitka top and was amazed by the amount of bleed from the blackwood into the end grain of the rosette channel. I didn't seal the channel prior to installing the rosette with Ducco cement, and perhaps that was my downfall. The ducco may have pulled some of the dark colors from the blackwood too. But I usually do not seal the channel unless I'm going to use CA.

Has anyone else ran into blackwood color bleed into adjacent wood? This top is going to go into the experimental bin due both to the color bleed and due to some bad curl in the grain that showed up when sanding.

_________________
Tony Thatcher
Bozeman, Montana

Yes, had that gluing on an (African) Blackwood bridge with HHG to a top, which I had to take off and re-glue.
Fortunately it didn't show as it was side grain gluing and didn't wick into end grain.

_________________
The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

I'm guessing it's the solvent and heat.

Pat

_________________
Pat

Just curious. If you can shellac the channel and still get a good glue joint, can you also shellac the rosette before installing, to help reduce bleed, and still get a good glue joint?

Don’t know if it would reduce bleed but see no reason you couldn’t.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"