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Trying to phrase this question properly. I would like to have a 'stock' rosette that I can use on any guitar any time I choose. Not really like a classical 'roll' of goodies but something similar I can 'slice' off and use anytime. Like a figured Walnut, or Rosewood and not just a circle of wood with the grain running one direction. Like I say not that easy to phrase this question but does anyone have a strategy they use to create rosettes from a 'stock' pattern or supply? I would create more complicated patterns when needed but would like something simple and effective I can stick in a rosette anytime without custom creating each and every one. Any ideas?

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Do you have a lathe? If so you cloud glue up a design and then turn a tube on the lathe that you could just chop off into rosette veneers.

Anything you can glue together and then slice up. You can cut the rosette shape with a circle cutter.

As an alternative you can make tiles that you can glue individually in the rosette.

I'm thinking my next few will be relatively simple.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

No lathe but my first thought was to indeed glue up something that could be sliced up into veneers. Have you ever done such a thing?

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I'm thinking of simple too but rarely follow through on simple. If I get something interesting glued up with various woods (I have cherry, blood wood, walnut, mahogany and other scraps) perhaps that can be sliced then routed to shape for each rosette? Was wondering if anyone has done such a thing other than classical rosettes. Also seems it would need to be 3 -4 inches thick to make the exercise worth while.

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no I've never done it. I'm still new to woodworking (less than 1 yr experience, I'm a metalworker). I don't think I'd want the same rosette on a bunch of guitars, but if I did I'd make a 3-5" thick rosette tube that could just be sliced off at will. You could do it without a lathe but a lathe would make it easy.

A burl bowl blank or two? Make sure it (they) are very dry. Take your slices off, cut your circles, inlay, then add a couple of purfling lines/shell rings to suit. They'll all be slightly different and not too hard to do. Figured woods work too, in a similar way.

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Trevor Gore, Luthier. Australian hand made acoustic guitars, classical guitars; custom guitar design and build; guitar design instruction.

http://www.goreguitars.com.au

I've sliced up burl - good method and easy and quick. Also can do multiple wood slices glued together in a radial pattern. I glue them down on 1/64" birch ply (thanks Todd) and then cut out with a circle cutter (Wells-Karol type). Thin on a drum sander then inlay into the top - the plywood backing stays on. Wait until you have the circle inlayed and then cut the purfling lines for the edges of the wood circle. Easier

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Burl sounds good, slicing sounds hard - my band saw blows and will dull a blade with each cut through burl if it will make it at all - but worth a try. I've used the 1/64" plywood method - it's great - thanks to someone else.

Sure Todd, I need 4 rosettes I'll PM you with my address (he typed sheepishly not really knowing what the generous sounding post really meant)

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Stock rosette - Todd Stock. Geddit?

Come on Todd, I know you've got a lot better than that in you!

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Trevor Gore, Luthier. Australian hand made acoustic guitars, classical guitars; custom guitar design and build; guitar design instruction.

http://www.goreguitars.com.au

Trevor, I didn't get it; blew right past me , but, I did get your books in the mail today, and ordered them only late last week. That's quicker than me apparently. Thanks.

Larry, if you email David at Bow River Woods and ask for a maple burl Rosette square, he can send you one for $10 or so. Might not be worth shipping just one, but there may be other things you can combine with the order.

Our rosette squares are sliced at 3-4 mm. If you don't have the slicing option yourself, it might be a good way to go.

I'm not there these days, otherwise I'd send it out myself.

For my own projects, I don't want to do the same rosette very often, but I have taken strips of wood, bent them on my iron, and clamped them with hose clamps around a plastic circle. You either slice it by hand, or make a jig and slice it on a bandsaw. My favourite so far is Rosewood/Maple/thin rosewood/Maple/Rosewood, with the maple being flatsawn so that the curl shows on the rosette.

Awesome idea Lincoln - thanks so much. I've got an idea to produce a few prototype guitar designs and I want to have something readily available for a rosette that I can use on these early guitars. I can always create a custom design as my skills improve. LOVE the circle and wood strip idea and I WILL contact David. thanks again for the help.

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You are most welcome, Larry.

Lincoln, the silk on that top is outrageous!

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

I ended up working something out with some scrap lumber. Way easier than I thought once I glued the whole block to a backer board to sliced it through the band saw. Will probably get tired of the design over time, as others have suggested, but for the next few prototypes it will work great. What literaly took me a couple of days to figure out with bad tools and bad circle cutting jigs literally took me 2 hours start to finish.

And I ordered some rosette squares from Bow River Wood, thanks Lincoln, and even ordered a couple from China for $5 each just to see what will work best.

Thanks for all the tips.

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It looks great!

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http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC

I agree, it looks excellent! Great job!

Hi Lincoln, I've got some rosette squares coming from Bow River (thanks) as well but this worked so well I'd do it again without hesitation. The pieces as you see them were quite hard to glue though until I decided to just flood with CA. The CA only penetrates a little bit though so before cutting each slice I flood again and of course that holds all the pieces together nicely. Then sand smooth one side, Titebond to the plywood backer is a must, slice to size, glue to 1/64" plywood, then route to size. The second rosette took half the time as the first and there's 10 - 12 rosettes left so the purpose was served quite well. Like I say I'd do it again. Might even be nice to have 3 or 4 different combos you could just slice off for some variation, or even combine a couple in one rosette.

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Very cool and it looks great! Glad it worked out for you.