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A few years ago, I got a Guatemalan Rosewood set that was a Custom Shop reject from a Hearne lot. The GRW apparently was prone to checking and this set did. But I could eke out a 00-size instrument without any trouble. So I finally got around to starting the build this year. I'm finishing up the binding this week and will be close to wrapping this one up. I have the FB (ebony) and bridge (Br RW) left to make. I can't find all of the photos I took before closing the box, but here are a few. The peghead is overlaid with cutoffs from the back.

That is sweet.
Is the first picture showing what the GRW back looks like?
If so that is WILD.

Beautiful! I have a gorgeous set of GRW that I'll be using soon. It certainly can check, which is worrisome if the guitar is heading to a dry region of the country.

My solution to the problem is to pore fill these guitars with 2 part epoxy instead of my usual Aquacoat. I don't seal the wood with shellac before pore filling like I usually do when I use epoxy, so that it stabilizes the wood. At least, this is my thought process.

I do this with all guitars made with wood with crazy grain patterns too.

Thanks, Kevin and Diane. Yes, the first pic has the back in it. I've been calling this the angel wing guitar. 😇Interesting idea about pore filling. I have enough z-poxy to do that. A traditional finish would, of course, be french polish, but I've been contemplating tru-oil at least for the back and sides. Don't know if that would help stabilize the wood, though.

TruOil will look great. But epoxy will stabilize the wood. That's one of the purposes of z-poxy. If it were me, I'd epoxy it and finish it with whatever medium you wish.

Thanks, Diane. Ok, z-poxy it is. Can you direct me to a thread of yours where you get into specifics? I am out of practice with epoxy filling...

I'll try to find photos, but it's easy peezy.

Just mix your epoxy, pour it on the back (it's better to do the back and sides separately). I spread it around with a thin little squeegee. You can also use a business card, old credit cards, or my favorite, those fake credit cards that you get in the mail with solicitations to get a card (Capitol One used to send me 3 per.week).

Just spread it around, then squeegee off the excess. Go with the grain, crosswise, and 45° angle. Spread it like you're grouting tile. Let dry thoroughly. Sand lightly. Repeat as often as you need to.