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On a commission I am doing the customer picked this rosette:

It's the white mop and black mop

http://luthiersupply.com/125/832/produc ... uitar.html

I am assuming it is to be set in black epoxy to fill the voids.

They are showing it against a black background...

Do you think that will look good?

or will the black mop be "washed out" into the black epoxy?

Also will it look better with a black purfling around it or right against the spruce?

Black MOP is not actually black.

If it says to cut the channel wider and fill with black epoxy - you have to be comfortable with using colored epoxy against end grain spruce inside the channel. Purfling is one way to mitigate some issues.

Probably best to go with the instructions on the web site. Black MOP shows fine against actual black due to the reflectivity, and in this case it's supposed to look like it's in a shadow anyway.

But you'll have to ask the customer how they want it. Technically it would be possible to inlay it directly into the spruce with no circular border, but if that's what they have in mind then you'll probably need to charge extra.

Yes, Aaron,-good point about the end grain. I am leaning toward some type of purfling-probably just a single black line so as not to takle away from the simplicity of the design.

Thanks

Dennis,

Thanks for the insight.

This customer is leaving the nitty gritty details up to me.

it is a "money is no object" commission so no need to charge extra.

A good friend of mine died and left me more than I would usually charge for this guitar, (to build it for her boyfriend) so I am getting paid handsomely for this one...........

Brad,

I think the black MOP would be stunning against the black infill. It won't jump out, but will glow when the light hits it. I think it will add a lot of depth.

You could experiment with the black epoxy against spruce end grain. In my limited experience, epoxy doesn't penetrate the way some other adhesives do.

Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

I have not had a problem with epoxy penetrating spruce either. It's rather thick and gloppy but I suppose the dye used to blacken the epoxy if not mixed in real well could. But I would guess a coat of shellac would mitigate that problem. The one thing any filler will do though is find any and every flaw in the routed out channel edge and fill that. Sometimes that's why you see little saw tooth filled marks. Sharp tools of course for that problem.

FWIW I like using charcoal and white glue for black mastik fills.

In my experience it is very difficult to get a good sharp line with black epoxy/spruce. I have tried and ended up re-routing and putting in a piece of purfling. Maybe my technique was not good enough

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I just reread the description. Your idea of a single black line on the inside and outside will do fine, especially considering you'll be placing and glueing each piece individually.

BTW, this is not a simple design. Personally, I'd throw a bwb purfling in there like Andy describes - I think the lighter colored lines will make the rosette "pop" where it needs to. This will also allow you to "practice on scrap" and setup your spacing. In theory, you could glue up the actual rosette on a blank, cut/route it out (and route off the white purfling if you don't like it) and inlay the rosette into the actual channel as one piece.

That said, I think that design is just begging to be engraved to throw shadows between the pieces and add depth. Imo.

Brad, I used that same rosette several years ago. It will probably look fine set in black epoxy. But, never being smart enough to do things the easy way, I made an ebony insert for the rosette and inlayed the pearl the old fashioned way. It was a PITA but did come out ok.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

Hi Joe,

That looks great! Looks like you have a .020 B/W/B purfling around it?

I think I am going for that look-except I am using the dyed epoxy......

Brad, I didn't keep good records or even a good picture of the rosette. (It was a rush. I think I had it out the door in less than 4 weeks).

I blew up the best photo I had and my best guess is I used 10/20/10 BWB, but your aesthetic choices have always been excellent. Look forward to seeing the finished product.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

Thanks for the vote of confidence....

Are you saying you built (and finished ) a guitar in 4 weeks?

Could you please share something (anything) about your process?

I an trying to get my time down and on one of my models I am around 60 hrs.

Wow

Joe, that does look nice, also I really like the simple oval fret board inlays.

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http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

Brad, yes sir, about four weeks. The only rest I got was when the paint was drying!

Actually, since I was on a tight schedule I did do several things differently. For one I bought all the inlays from Andy DePaul, John, I think that was his snowflake fretboard inlays. Buying those, plus the headstock and rosette inlays really speeded things up.

And I usually make up 3-4 neck blanks from time to time and I just happened to have one ready for this build.

Now that I think about it 4 weeks was probably slow for that guitar.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

I installed a similar rosette on a guitar for my daughter several years ago. Hasn't seen much use lately, so it has plenty of dust on it!

Rosette was set in black epoxy with BWB purfling.