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I'm about to start on a guitar which will be a replica more or less of an early 30's OM-18. This will be my first steel string type sound hole and I have a few questions. Where do I get purfling to match up with a 30's 18 style rosette (see pic)? Stew Mac or LMI don't seem to have the right combinations, unless I have overlooked something. Also, what is your preferred method of cutting the rosette channel? I am considering the fly-cutter type jig that LMI sells but it is expensive. Is it worth it? How about using a router? Or by hand via the Cumpiano method?

I believe you can probably get what you need from either Martin, or from John Hall @ Bluescreek guitars...The StewMac jig that utilizes a dremel style router works very well

For cutting the rosette channel a lot of us are using the Wells-Karol type jig with a laminate trimmer.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Thanks Steve and Jack. I will look into your advice. Im liking the Wells Karol jig. Seems much safer than a fly cutter on a drill press.

A nice variation on the traditional Martin style rosette is to use end grained ivoroid and tortoise for the inner rings. +1 for the Wells Karol jig.

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Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement.

If you like tiled rosettes, you can glue one up using thick tiles so that you can simply slice off rosettes as you need them. You don't need a lathe since you can use the circle cutter to cut out a rosette from your "blank" and vary the thickness of the rosette. Some could be narrow, others wider, but they will all look the same. I saw a guy do this over at luthierforum.com. I know the user was Steve Stevens, but I can't seem to find a link to the rosette. He made a tiled rosette about 2 inches thick, and sliced off rosettes as he needed them. He grew tired of the same design after a few uses though, so that's something to think about.

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Found this thread Tony - I've been looking for something similar

http://www.luthierforum.com/index.php?/ ... e-designs/

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The popsicle stick that Cumpiano shows works very well. For security I place a dab of superglue at the upperside base of the blade. Shellac the rosette area first. I use the small Stanley router Plane to cut the channel. The Veritas miniature router plane is on the shopping list. It's a pretty quick method and once you have set the inner/outer diameters it's there for future rosettes of the same.

That's a +1 for me on jackwilliams post. I am just starting an OM-28 thirties era and John Hall was very helpful with the rosette and purfling. The StewMac router jig works great for me as well.

That's the thread!

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http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC