Dana, I cut my rosettes with #5 scalpel blades. (A funny story. A medical supply house once said: "You're an instrument maker." On query as to how he would know that he replied, "Only two people buy these blades, instrument makers and Rabbis and you don't look like a Mohel to me.")
The design is drawn on 100% rag, acid free paper and then glued to the back of the belly. Initial cuts, done mostly as piercing, are made through the back of the belly cutting along the drawing lines through the paper and wood. The area of the rose should have been thinned to 1mm or so or this process is very difficult. Final shaping and trimming, cutting of the facets etc. is done on the front of the rose having first stabilized the wood with a very thin, blond shellac wash. Different strokes, Rob Dorsey http://RobDorsey.com -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, December 06, 2007 8:53 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [LUTE-BUILDER] Re: Lute construction On Wed, Dec 5, 2007, Troy Wheeler <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> said: > > So gentleman, > > if there is a minimum regarding tools needed to get started such as: > > work bench (any particular size?) I use a small carvers bench to produce componants, 24" x 4 ft, and auxilliary space on an old oks dinning table in the same room for staging parts. I recomend a larger workbench, 30" x 4 ft would do, more never hurts. > carving tools Depends on what you are building, some lutes were heavily carved, others plain. The rose can be worked with scalpel and small drills, but some use punches which you would have to make. I have a small set of gouges and carving tools which ends up involved in most projects. > measuring tools The usual, bevel guage, squares large and small, metric tapes and inch tapes. > planes Block and something long for jointing. drills -- Dana Emery To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
