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Looking for the best method, epoxy,CA, anything else. The rosette is 1/2 inch thick and will have a purfling of fiber B/W/B on the ID as well as the OD. I already have it inlayed on the Adirondack top. Should I shellac the edge first so the glueing medium doesn't wick into the sound board. I will be applying a French Polish finish once the guitar is complete.

Thanks for the help guys. This is my first build.

Brad

John Mayes in his Videos puts LMI white glue down first and then wicks in CA glue on top for a shell rosette, and yes I think you would want to put down a light coat of shellac if any CA is involved. Not sure how FP finish could affect things.

I am of the school that you don't use CA on a top . I did once , turned it yellow and will not do that again. Then there are those that say it is ok to seal it ,and use CA, I don't do that either as to be honest , why ? speed? I can do a rosette using duco or weld wood and run that through the sander within a few minutes and I don't need to worry about yellow stain from CA . It also eliminates a barrier for the glue. Glue won't stick well to shellac . For those that use this technique , I am not trying to convert you , I just use this technique and it works well for me.
Pearl , I agree that white glue or tite bond is just fine. I have a video coming out to show this very technique in a few weeks . The only thing you need to be careful of is the depth of cut. I like my tops a touch over sized so I can thin them to the correct thickness once I am finished resetting . If I have to shim up the pearl , a few layers of cotton thread do well . When wiping excess glue off , I use a wet paper towel and wipe across the pearl not with it.
Once I have the rosette ready for the pearl I lift the poly strip and check depth. Shim if I need to and I do about 1/8 of the rosette at a time. I use straight pearl and snap in . I often use Abalam and if I use solid pearl I will get that from Andy DePaulle.
When using straight pearl the more breaks you can make the better it looks . Once set let the white glue dry about an hour or so before sanding . I don't worry about the area under the fret board , only what will be exposed . If I am laying pearl in a wood rosette I do it a bit differently , I do the wood rosette and sand level. Once that is done I will set the channel for the pearl. I like to use a black purfling to frame the pearl and once the channel is set to the pearl I will drop it in the same way . The only difference is that I don't rely on the poly , I cut the channel with a fresh bit.

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

Thanks John, what do you do to fill a small gap between the black fiber and the blue paua, we are talking a 64th of an inch in a few locations?

Ed, where can I find John Mayes' video.

I shellac the top in the rosette area before I route the the grooves into top as I feel it gives a cleaner cut, I shellac the edges of the rosette channels and CA the rosette in place with thin CA, any on the top will sand off with the shellac after the rosette is completed. For pearl I use the teflon StewMac sells when I clue the wood rings in, then install and miter the pearl and hose on the thin CA with a pipette, if you have some small gaps a second hit with CA should fill them if there is still some small gaps showing after sanding out a little medium CA should fill them, unless gaps are huge they will be hard to find after the finish is applied.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

John, (and anyone else who knows the answer) I've always used CA for Pearl or Abalone. I don't have any white glue, or titebond. Will hot hide glue hold pearl? I'd never thought about it, but I've always hated the idea of gluing it on top of shellac.

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I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

HHG is fine for this . I use black purfling for the border of the pearl. Once you get a feel for the routing you can make this very clean. If you do have to fill I wait till I get the pearl in , then I sand flush . Once I am flush I use a fine paper and will drop fill with Lacquer . This makes thing appear very clean to fill the voids.

_________________
John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

Brad, John's DVDs can be found here:
http://www.mayesguitars.com/newdvd.html

Great resource... especially if you are just starting out.