Official Luthiers Forum!

For my first commission (YAY) my client is interested in a celtic knot rosette (pictured).

What's your recommendation for inlaying this into the top? Am I literally going to have to manually trace and route the miniature curves on the perimeter of this rosette? (yikes).

Thanks!!

Rather you than me!
Set it into a channel with Black Mastic, possibly with purfling lines in the outer and inner circumference.

Route out a circular channel the width of your rosette and drop in the rosette and a few drops of CA to glue it in. Then mix some epoxy with black die and fill the gaps. Sand flush after its dried and voila.....seamless! You can also do purfling lines if you like.

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

Peter, Michael,

Perfect. I use dyed epoxy for inlays on the fingerboard. Can do! Thanks.

As the others said.
I might think about trying that black epoxy from stew-mac.
Hey Corky, where did you get that?
I love the shape, and Paua is my fav color at this time.
Alan

I would seal the periferal area of the rosette with shellac first to avoid ending up with a grey soundboard after sanding.

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Alain Moisan
Former full time builder of Acoustics, Classicals and Flamencos.
(Now building just for fun!)

Hi Corky,
just a caution. I have had the black epoxy bleed into my top wood, so purfling bands help to isolate the epoxy. Also, a mask around the area is a good idea.
Craig

Great idea on the purfling, sealing withshellac, and the mask. I definitely want to be very careful with this - it's a special top I'll be using.

What I've done in the past is use either zpoxy or System Three epoxy, mixing in System Three black epoxy paste pigment - think I got it from LMI. Man, does a little of that stuff go a long way.

Last question - So, after I've carefully spit coat on top with shellac as protection, routed the rosette channel, set the pufling and rosette, spot glued with CA, then masked and carefully filled the gaps with black epoxy.....

after totally dry and hard, is the right technique to pass it through the drum sander to level it? If so, what grit sandpaper would you use?? Is there any risk of the epoxy heating up, and staining the other parts of the top?

Drum sander?

I would just use a scraper to get things level. A sharp scraper and some time. Drum sanding would be too scary for me.

Christopher

Drum sander?

I would just use a scraper to get things level. A sharp scraper and some time. Drum sanding would be too scary for me.

Christopher

Vinal sealer works too, and seal after you've routed the channel, inside and out. Don't worry your glue and epoxy will still stick.

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Todd Lunneborg
http://www.tlguitars.com/
http://www.fretboardjournal.com/

If you don't want to cheat you can always go the Al Carruth route.

I would use the drum sander to a point where the rosette would be almost level with the top (.010 or something like that). Than finish up with a scraper.

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Alain Moisan
Former full time builder of Acoustics, Classicals and Flamencos.
(Now building just for fun!)

Thanks, all!

Great advice.

Looks like an inlay from Andy DePaule.
http://www.luthiersupply.com/pearlrosetteinlaypage.html
He also has some suggestions or tuts on how to.
Not to mention he's a good guy to deal with.

WOW!!!

I would inlay it into a separate piece of ebony or perhaps the back/side wood and then inlay the assembled rosette into the top. This will lower the risk to the top.

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"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." G. K. Chesterton.

Check out Alan's website and you'll be amazed. i yhink Alan said it took something like 21 plane jigs to make the parts but I'm not sure if there were more for the ablam field.

Yes go Andys site !

I take his roses and peel the plastic off from them and set them in the
pre-routed channel still glued to the card they came on .
In epoxy .
The channel has to be the same size as the inlay!
1/2" or what ever size it is !
Let set overnight & sand,scrape the backing off.
Then cut the outer & inner purf. channels
Glue them in and level the rose !

Mike

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Mike Collins

Thanks, Chris!