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Here are a couple rosettes I just completed. They should look better under finish.

The first is a Michael Collins inspired. I couldn't quite make one with his flare for design but I think it looks pretty good. Thank you Michael It is on a SJ sitka top and will have EIR back & sides


This one is Andy Depauls great paua rosettes. It also should look better under finish. It is a cedar top going on sapele B&S.

Thanks for looking!

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

Very nice work!
I've just spent a couple of hours experimenting to try to find a way to cut those wood rosette rings cleanly- without much success. Obviously you have it figured out!
What technique do you use to cut them ? (type of cutter, etc.)?

Thanks

John

Very nice, Joe. Is that abalone 3/8"?

Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

Very Nice and clean. Great job

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Andy Z.
http://www.lazydogguitars.com

Joe -- nice clean work. The bookmatching of the spalted maple is top drawer.

I've got a bunch of spalted maple and paua -- do you take orders?

They look great, Joe!
I'm always amazed how well-matched is the color of Andy's shell. It just doesn't get much better than that, does it?

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Thank you all for the nice comments....

Ron,

It's 1/4", but it does look pretty big in the top. Should show off well.

Steve,

DePaul is great, I ordered a Paua rosette from LMI last year and I'm sorry to say, there is no comparison. (Sorry LMI but please know I do love you. You have made me happy time and again through the years!!!

Anthony....you couldn't afford me by the hour! I spent a lot of time and put a lot of beautiful wood in the trash getting this one!

John,

I starting doing it just like Michael Collins described a month or so ago. I had two problems, my spalded maple was to busy so after all the work bookmatching I might of just as well cut out one piece! The other was I tried to use CA to join the pieces together but the joints showed. The system Michael uses works well if you select your wood well and use LMI white glue...nice joints.

The way I did this one was a little wasteful but it worked. I took an inch and a quarter piece of maple burl, used a circle cutter on my trim router with a down cut end mill and cut an outline of about a 3 inch segment of the rosette. I picked a piece with a nice pattern. I cut about 3/4 way through the board. Then I set my bandsaw at about .1" and cut some slices.

The rosette in the picture is made of about 5 pieces, no set size, I just cut the lenghts I needed to make a nice pattern. I made a jig with the router and circle cutter to trim the pieces to lenght. Kind of like Michaels except I used a rasor saw and not a sanding disk for trimming, Glued with LMI white, inlayed the rosette and the used the router to trim around and make a channel for the purfuring.

I know this is abreviated but I hope it helps!Joe Beaver39063.9900578704

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

Very nice clean rosettes Joe, both look awesome!

Joe-
Thanks for the explanation. I had seen the posts you refer to, so I'm pretty sure I understand what you are doing.
Tomorrow's project is to make a decent circle cutting jig for my lam trimmer.
Hopefully I'll be able to post a few pics once I get the quality up to where I want it.
John

Hey Joe, Lookin' good
I think that maple burl is real nice work!
Andys stuff is always nice too.
WTG............

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Those look great!

[QUOTE=JohnAbercrombie] Very nice work!
I've just spent a couple of hours experimenting to try to find a way to cut those wood rosette rings cleanly- without much success. Obviously you have it figured out!
What technique do you use to cut them ? (type of cutter, etc.)?

Thanks

John
[/QUOTE]


If you are talking about cutting the rings I think a lam trimmer is the best tool to use and a downcut bit. Take a tiny tiny tiny cut, plunge a little deeper and cut again. If you are getting chips out of the edges of your ring try taking shallower cuts.

Microfence makes a great tool that is can be modified into a rosette cutter. It gives you .001" accuracy, but it is expensive.

If you use a dremel, just go slow. I really am not a big fan of the dremel, but I use it for rosettes sometimes.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Excellent work!

I think creating the rosette is one of my favorite things to do.

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Christopher C. Cordle
North Muskegon, MI

http://www.yardsaleunderwear.com
http://www.facebook.com/christopher.cordle

Brock-
Thanks for the hints.
Stay tuned for some better results from my shop!
John

[QUOTE=Joe Beaver] Anthony....you couldn't afford me by the hour! I spent a lot of time and put a lot of beautiful wood in the trash getting this one! [/QUOTE]

Who said anything about paying you by the hour Besides with all the practice you got on the one shown -- waste shouldn't be an issue this time

Joe -- my initial comment was intended as a backhanded compliment to say I'd be happy for one or both of those rosettes to adorn my guitars.

Cheers mate!

John, take a look through the archives under "circle cutter"

You'll find a couple of home built's that will work very well.

I made on based on Tony Karol's, you can see it here

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"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

Joe, sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet looking rosette's there. I love to coloring in that paua, it's electric.

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My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

[QUOTE=Rod True] John, take a look through the archives under "circle cutter"

You'll find a couple of home built's that will work very well.

I made on based on Tony Karol's, you can see it here[/QUOTE]

And it works just great John, Rod made me one!

Who said anything about paying you by the hour Besides with all the practice you got on the one shown -- waste shouldn't be an issue this time
Cheers mate! [/QUOTE]

Anthony,

I'm beginning to realize that if I stay with it... ruin a bunch of wood, but keep trying, I eventually get it... and that is a goood thing. Did I tell you about the ten or so sides I threw in the trash trying to get my cutaway bending technique down? Luckily I cut them all from a $40 piece of sepelle I bought from my local Austins hardwoods. It was some of the best money I've spent!!!

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

Joe, a man after my own heart...been there too, why do you think I asked you to make my rosettes