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Picked this up on eBay for $225. It's supposed to be Martin factory seconds for a 14 feet OM.

A couple months after purchasing the kit, I was able to afford an adjustable mold from Kenneth Michael guitars. I went right to work. I chose to not use the template that came with it, but to make even the shape and size kinda custom. So I set it up and glued in the kerffed linings, then pushed the mold off to the side of my kitchen table to prepare work for my rosette.

A couple months after purchasing the kit, I was able to afford an adjustable mold from Kenneth Michael guitars. I went right to work. I chose to not use the template that came with it, but to make even the shape and size kinda custom. So I set it up and glued in the kerffed linings, then pushed the mold off to the side of my kitchen table to prepare work for my rosette.

Pay very close attention when you flip the guitar so the neck block doesn't move. that can make setting the neck a nightmare.

I'm already way past that! I'm just slow at keeping up my posts with my work... I saw a guitar in Nicaragua with an oval sound hole, and after a little research, decided to go with that. The rosette design was a little tricky. That is crushed Honduran opal in black epoxy, and will match the end graft. I don't have any chisels, so after getting tired of using a single edge blade on the braces, I removed the blade from my smoothing plane, and that worked very well. Oh, yeah, in my research on sound ports, I found this Thurman dude and really likes not only the look of them, but the simple challenge of the wood work. After gluing the top on and removing from the mold, I found a dip in the top... The solution was that out of the mold the sides spread a little, so flip it and put it back in the mold, back side up, everything straightened out.

Sound board with rosette template

Mold for rosette

Epoxy and opal in the mold

Ground and polished

Location, location, location