For the top, this guitar will be using Adirondack Spruce. Much like the back, we prepare and face glue bookmatched pieces to form a singular stock to work from. Working from the top, I start with the rosette groove. I start by using an lmii hole cutting jig as shown here. Essentially, you drill a 1/4″ hole at the center of the sound hole location on the stock, in that the center pin of the cutter is inserted and the blade is set to the depth and distance from center required for the inner and outer edges of the rosette. Paying close attention to grain direction, I score the outer edges of the rosette to the right depth. To follow, I use a hand router chisel to remove material from the rosette channel.

After the channel is cut, I begin laying out the pattern for the rosette inside the channel. This particular guitar will feature a wheat pattern rosette, which I made a bit ago, and heated to the circumference of the channel. Around this pattern, I layer alternating colors of veneers to complete the rosette pattern. After I am satisfied with the aesthetic, They are glued into place and planed down flush to the top.

After the rosette is inserted, the sound hole is cut again using the lmii circle cutting jig, and the piece is flipped over for thicknessing. I use a no 6 1/2 stanley plane for this activity and methodically work, with attention to the grain direction to bring the piece down to around 2.4 – 2.5mm in thickness, perhaps a bit more to account for finish sanding.

Once thicknessed to an estimated appropriate depth, I begin tap testing the piece to listen for a good tonal sound. A little iteration here as I listen, remove more material, and listen again. Once done, I begin preparing brace work for the piece. I’ll get to that in another post.