Official Luthiers Forum!

I think I'm probably out of luck but thought I'd give a shout to those with
much more experience.

I was using some Stew mac black epoxy to fill some gaps around my
rosette and the black ran into the end grain in a couple of spots.
I tried sanding it out, then noticed I had better quit before compounding
the problem with a dip.

Just wondering if there's any chance to remove the stain from the Port
Orford cedar top. Tomorrow is shoot the vinyl day so it's make or break
time for me.

It actually won't kill me to have some flaws in my first but I sure wish they
weren't on the face!

_________________
Christopher C. Cordle
North Muskegon, MI

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

I doubt that anything will remove the epoxy and the black color.
First, will anybody except you even notice it?
Most of these errors are not noticed by folks who will be totally impressed with the fact that you made a guitar 'from scratch' at all.

On my first (sorta classical) I tried to inlay the tie block and got one of the pieces crooked. Either people were awfully polite, or nobody except me ever noticed.

#2 will be better!

John

Do you have some pics?

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

Is it just in a pore? What kind of wood is it in?

My first inclination would be to leave it alone if it is not noticable by someone who wouldn't know it is there.

If it is just in the pores I might try to pick it out with with a dental pic or exacto knife.

Worst case I would route out the rosette and replace the wood ring.

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

If it's just on the outside of the rosette (as opposed to on the soundhole side), you could also try routing an additional challel and adding another ring of some kind. Sounds like an opportunity for creativity to me!

_________________
Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

I have the exact same problem right now on one of my tops for an upcoming guitar. After I did the rosette I thought about throwing the top away b/c of the black stain. I routed on either side and added a b/w/b , but it did not cover the whole problem. Here are some pics. Any advice is welcome.





Thanks,

Homeboy

Homeboy39056.8522222222

Homeboy,

My problem looks exactly like yours and also on the soundhole side.

I wasn't too happy about it initially but I did come to peace with it.
I don't like to say it's "good enough" as that is not how I work.
However, I know now the initial cause of the problem and what to do
differently next time.

To most folks I think it will be very subtle and easily overlooked,
especially if I don't point it out. To the trained luthier/craftsman's eyes it
will be apparent but so will many of the other "first-timer"
inconsistencies.

I found the more I tried to clean it up the more I was compounding the
problem. Therefore, I'm not calling it good enough, I'm calling a truce!

It's time for me and the top of this guitar to put aside our differences and
just get along.

Thanks alot guys for trying to help.

_________________
Christopher C. Cordle
North Muskegon, MI

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