Uke build 4.0 - Top: rosette

Installed the rosette on the top today.

The instructions are very clear and straightforward on this part (they really are throughout, but especially here). The rosette is comprised of 5 concentric rings of plastic, in the pattern alternating white and black. The channel for the rosette to sit in is already routed in the kit.


First, the center of the top of the soundhole is marked using the template.

Next, the plastic strips are cut to length. This is done by lining the strips up flush at one end, and putting them in the channel (no glue yet). The strips are fed into the channel all the way around until they meet up with where they start. Using an X-Acto knife, they are cut to length here, allowing a little extra to be trimmed off later (it's easier to trim more off the end than to add it back). It's important to keep these in order because they will all be of different lengths. The outermost ring will be a little longer than the one next to it, which will be a little longer than the one next to that, etc.

Now time for cement. I used a weld-it cement from stew mac for this. Did the gluing in the garage because that stuff stinks. It comes in the metal tube that wants to squirt a bunch out all at once. I was kind of standing around trying to figure out how to start, and MM (Mrs. Melandy) said, "why don't you just squirt some out, then use a scrap of the plastic to dab it in place?" Brilliant, and worked like a charm.

The puddle of cement tended to develop a skin quickly, but I could just jab through the skin with the plastic scrap to get at the gooey center. Starting at the top of the sound hole (marked earlier), a little cement went in the channel, then some of the plastic. A little more cement, a little more plastic.

When I got back to the top, the lengths of the plastic strips were fine tuned with the X-Acto. It was still a tight squeeze to get it all into the channel, and I had to use a small flat screwdriver to get it all mashed in there good. I dinked up the plastic a little in the process, but that will be sanded off when the rosette is sanded flush with the top anyway. I got a little glue out of the channel on the top too, but hopefully that will come out in sanding.

All for now.

-A