My mate`s rosette

[John Cadd]

When my mate was removing some thick varnish to be able to hear (my) his guitar better (I) he was surprised to see the rosette go like the main street in an earthquake.(What is he like?)Result--One new rosette needed.Where would be the best place for him to find a replacement?I know you all make your own on this site but you might be able to enlighten (me) him.

[Greg Mirken]

This is quite an opportunity! How about a photo or two and some details about the guitar? Was it inlaid or just a decal?

There are quite a few sources for rosette material.

[Tim Mace]

LMII or STEWMAC or call up rosettes on google but get a very good measurement to match.

[John Cadd]

Greg and Tim I can`t do photos on computers as yet.In a way I was picking on an innocent guitar that was working but had a straight jacket of thick varnish.I wanted to let the nice mahogany sound out.The varnish remover was waterbased Nitromors and the glue seems to be animal glue .Well it softened with the stripper.Need to double check that.Also the glue was only attaching the outer and inner areas of the rosette.If it had all been glued it would still be there.There is a short time limit with the stripper and they stress not to let it dry out.It goes hard when it dries.I was not sure what would happen if I just left it as it was.I thought a gentle separation would be less stress on the top and did not like to start wetting the wood. So now there is the original clean cavity ready for a new rosette.I am surprised how few suppliers there are.The Russians are doing a stirling job.
This is a Spanish guitar (Moreno made in Madrid).For a cheap guitar it is very cleanly made.Accurate joining.Clean edges.Quite understated in appearance.Coffee coloured .
The question is should I order one exactly the size of the hole or get one a touch smaller?
I shall try the two you suggested Tim.Already I am visualising something a bit special.It`s certainly something to beware of when changing varnish.If thin varnish is good enough for Torres it`s good enough for me.It was an itch I just had to scratch.

[Russell Vance]

Bits of me get itchy from time to time...but I don't put paint stripper on them. R.

[Bob Webster]

Try peroxide.

Anonymous

[Russell Vance]

Hi Bob, hope yr having a fine weekend - it's all good here - I spent some time in Asia and our Amah taught me some of the finer aspects of Asian cooking.....unfortunately one thing she didn't teach me was not to scratch anything after chopping chillis .......eyeballs especially and any balls generally. R.

[Bob Webster]

Yes, it's called dancing the Vida Loca...

[Bob Webster]

John, this may be a silly question to ask but, was the rosette so terminally damaged when it came out that you couldn't reinstall it?

And, to back it up a couple of frames, what kind of guitar is it? A classical or a steel string acoustic?

Bob

[John Cadd]

Yes terminally.It was lifting and separating .and I knew it would start to dry out and harden.The stripper is an unknown quantity in that situation.Wood wants to have it`s own way especially when it gets moisture in it as well so I thought best not to risk anything.Oh yes Classical. The size is slightly awkward.OD 135 ID 95 1mm thick. I could use some purfling to make up the difference .The Japanese do a rosette exactly the right size but the catalogue is 2002 and at £1.90 it must be made of paper surely. I`m finding out lots about niny router bits as well but not for this job.

[Bob Webster]

You know, with a little bit of luck, you might be able to fit an existing product from LMI into the channel. There are a number of rosettes that are 93mm ID and 20mm wide. Mind you, that's 20mm +/- a few tenths of a mm around the circumference but still, they're in the ball park. The rosettes can be pretty malleable when they're wet and also expand when they're wet. I've watched them grow 0.5mm in a channel after being coated with hide glue.

Given all that, you might want to make a circle with ID of 95mm out of Masonite and see if one of those rosettes can be persuaded to fit around it and be flattened when wet. It will also expand in width when it's wet but will shrink back after it dries. Not a whole lot to lose. Might be a good idea to buy a couple of them just in case.

Cheers,
Bob

[Bob Webster]

Oh, Bill, so close and yet so far. How could you pass up suggesting that he make one "from scratch"?

Bob

[John Cadd]

The strips idea sounds good as simple colourful ones are very attractive.Natural dies are on sale.Maybe simple geometric patterns.Worth a try.