Hi Josh,
partially blocking the soundhole will take the resonant
frequency of the body cavity down, and weaken that resonance a bit.
The sound of the lowest notes will be affected.
You might be able to get an idea of the sort of thing by carefully
bringing the flat of your hand down to shade
Balsa wood is a bad choice: It's soft fuzzy and not very strong. It *is* very
light, which is why it is used for model airplanes. I'll leave it to the real
lute builders to suggest something appropriate, but if you want something that
is available in a good hobby shop, use basswood. It is
Inset roses are more often in fruitwood (often pear), parchment, or some
combination of the two, but with wooden layers extremely thin. As a starter,
consider emulating the rose of the Cutler-Challen mandolino by Stradivari as a
relatively simple example in three layers:
