Best practices in cutting rosettes and sound holes?

Take us through building your guitar step by step. Post pictures and tell us what you're doing.
ChuckBarnett
Posts: 136
Joined: Thu Jul 09, 2015 7:46 pm
Location: Arlington, WA

Best practices in cutting rosettes and sound holes?

Post by ChuckBarnett »

Newbie, working on 1st project, a tenor ukulele. Got the top glued and down to about .086" and now to the sound hole and rosette troughs. What do y'all do? by hand? StewMac dremel gear? or...?

Thanks for the help!
tippie53
Posts: 7011
Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2006 7:09 pm
Location: Hegins, Pa
Contact:

Re: Best practices in cutting rosettes and sound holes?

Post by tippie53 »

The stew mac unit will do the job
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
MaineGeezer
Posts: 1711
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Re: Best practices in cutting rosettes and sound holes?

Post by MaineGeezer »

I made a pivot bar for my DeWalt compact router. I clamp down the top to a piece of plywood that serves as a bench and drill a 1/8" hole in the center of what will be the sound hole down through the top and the plywood, which gives more solidarity to the hole. I use a 1/8" dia. dowel pin in that hole as the pivot point to rout the rings for the rosette, then as the final step use it to cut out the sound hole.

Note: don't be in a big rush to cut out the sound hole. Once you do, you lose your center point! It can be recovered, if need be, but it's easier to wait until you're sure you won't need it again before cutting the hole.
Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
johnnparchem
Posts: 2354
Joined: Sat Apr 10, 2010 10:50 pm
Location: Seattle
Contact:

Re: Best practices in cutting rosettes and sound holes?

Post by johnnparchem »

I normally use a router with a base that allows me to make circles. I have used an lmi circle cutter and a chisel, it is easier than it looks. One best practise I have is that I do not thickness the top until after I have installed the rosette. It just gives me a bit of wood to deal with tearout or other minor accidents.
ChuckBarnett
Posts: 136
Joined: Thu Jul 09, 2015 7:46 pm
Location: Arlington, WA

Re: Best practices in cutting rosettes and sound holes?

Post by ChuckBarnett »

Thank you all! I found while researching this that a good number of folks have turned from whatever method they were using to the StewMac Dremel base and circle cutter. I could think of a lot of ways to spend the money but decided I'd just jump in. I did try messing around with a chisel and might again sometime but like the security of a tool that is slip-proof.
tippie53
Posts: 7011
Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2006 7:09 pm
Location: Hegins, Pa
Contact:

Re: Best practices in cutting rosettes and sound holes?

Post by tippie53 »

look at the exacto brand stuff
https://www.amazon.com/OLFA-9911-Compas ... cle+cutter
I never used this but this may be what your looking for. It has a blade to score the rosette lines and you clear the rest with a chisel
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
MaineGeezer
Posts: 1711
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Re: Best practices in cutting rosettes and sound holes?

Post by MaineGeezer »

To set the radius I want to cut, I drill two 1/8" dia. holes in a strip of acrylic or aluminum that are spaced at the radius I want. I can do that very accurately on my milling machine. Then I slip that strip over the center pin of the radius arm on the router and over the toolbit, which guarantees the radius setting is what I want.

Lacking a milling machine to locate the holes, I'm not sure that technique would get you anything though.
Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: Best practices in cutting rosettes and sound holes?

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

Hi. I've got the Stewmac base and I'm no longer using it if you want it. I sent you a pm.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
Kevin Sjostrand
Posts: 3712
Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2008 8:06 pm
Location: Visalia, CA

Re: Best practices in cutting rosettes and sound holes?

Post by Kevin Sjostrand »

Diane what are you using now for your rosettes?
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: Best practices in cutting rosettes and sound holes?

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

Kevin Sjostrand wrote:Diane what are you using now for your rosettes?
I'm using my Ridgid compact router and a JS Bogdanovich attachment I found online. It's plastic, but made to work like the stewmac rosette attachment. Unlike the stewmac, it's made for a compact router, which I prefer.
router-attachment-500x384.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
Post Reply