If you haven't tried carbide blades-- Laguna's resaw King, or Lennox Trimaster or Woodmaster Ct (if you handle that width) then you really have no business recommending the best blade for resawing. The yield per dollar of blade for the carbide blades is at least 5X the alternatives, and results are better than any others.

I embrace this luthiers ethos 100% especially when it comes to wood selection.

Thanks Kevin that jig is genius! I use the caliper idea on my home made drum sander, with one on each side. It helps tremendously! Your advice is priceless.

There you go again. You have encouraged me to try something that I’ve been putting off. I’ve seen some nice looking wood that I wondered if it could work as a finger board. Next time I see some I’m gonna try it. Thank you.

Really interesting

I get so bored with red oak, but I also keep rediscovering it as a stunningly beautiful wood

You crack me up!!!

I repaired a big 12-string a while back. The tail block was made with the grain parallel to the rim. Over the years (the guitar was built in 1980) there were several different tail pieces screwed into the tail block, which tweaked it enough to split and so did the rim. If the tail block was installed by your method it would probably not have failed - even after 40 years of touring.

Wide boards don't have to be band sawed cut 4 inches from each side of a table saw and if it needs to be wider use a hand saw cut what's left in the middle run it through a planer run it through a thickness sander don't want to spend $3,000 for a thickness center I built mine from stuff I had laying around my shop use granite for the bed had less than $ 40 in it works great

Considering two guitars made identically don't sound the same how you going to hear 200 difference in density

I myself would use something that I think looks good and has the qualities necessary for the task.

Ive decided to watch this whole playlist today because I wholeheartedly agree with the philosophy of making as much of the tools and accessories one needs in order to make that final thing.

Excellent!

This is great! My shop is much smaller and sooooo much more messy and unkempt, but Ive got hordes of all the same stuff! buckets of scrap metal, hardware, do-dads and what-nots of all shapes sizes and materials because anything that looks even remotely useful its a keeper! I dabble in electronics as well and the bench inside is just as full of salvaged components, transformers, tubes, IC chips etc. A guy can really get inspired by a bin full of associated salvaged materials when the planets align.

Thank you.

Very interesting to see the problem solving process! Thanks 😀

That jig for cutting the desired thickness is worth the price of admission! Very nice, sir! I can envision uses for that even if I never attempt a herringbone rosette. Thank you for sharing.

That's a really good way to do this. Especially mounting the dial caliper. When I made the guide rails for the router to run on, I used a similar technique but used a 10:1 wedge to move the workpiece. By using scribed lines at 10mm intervals I could get a really precise movement.

I didn't really see how you were going to get the herringbone woven effect 'til the end. Very clever. Anxious to see the results! Need to know if I guessed right.

Thanks for that! My real old Martin #2 has herringbone all over the place. I sure would like to see more of this rosette being put together, or at least the final product. Yer a Genius alright!

Hi Kevin Could you put the strip you just cut into the caliper jaws as a spacer? Just a thought. Cheers Andrew

I like the simple way to kerf you showed first, I have found that for me and a basement shop and not a lot of room to store jigs and fixtures, the simpler the better!

I want to try that. Thanks for the class.

Ha ha. This is one time the "old school" dial indicator is better than digital.

Nice job Kevin! Guys use your imagination with this and you can create some real cool stuff! Also, one of them cheap eBay dial indicators could be used as your measuring "tool"! 😜

Kevin. You are a Genius 👍

Thanks for the great instructional video. I’m an older guy that is soon going to try my hand at a kit build 37- D18. I do fortunately have a very experienced luthier that is willing to help me throughout the build and I can’t wait to get started. I really like your videos great job.

I was wondering if you could make a handle and insert it into the circle just like the one you use to make a circle in a flat iron. Hope you understand what I mean. I used Google Translate. Kind regards, Lars from Denmark.😊

This has been VERY informative!

Cork sniffers.....

Good idea sir thanks for sharing

Just starting out with this notion of instrument building. I needed to hear that

Perfect timing ,this is the next step on my first build . A simple solution for a beginner. Thank you.

This vid really got my attention. I see on the wall behind you that the fingerboard covers the split. How flexible is the ring after sawing it off? Can you do a almost perfect but joint?

Thank you so much for your videos, love them. Can't wait to see what's happening next. Couple of months ago, I made my rosette by bending it around a quart paint can. I'm going to try your jig next time.

Yes, this was helpful and I always enjoy watching you work. Can see how this is a big timesaver for a guitar not meant to be overly fancy, as compared with building the rosette right on the guitar in pieces. I guess you're going to have the neck and fretboard cover the end joint of the ring?

That was enough to earn a subscription!

Genius! Thank you.

That's really interesting Kevin, I may have to try that myself. Thanks for always coming up with and sharing cool, pragmatic ways to build guitars.

How do u get ur stripes of wood so thin, I wanna make rosettes but I don't have a thickness sander and can't seem to get them thin enough to laminate

Thanks for the class!

I really like your videos and have watched most of them. You always have practical methods to do necessary tasks for instrument building.

That jig is great. I'm gonna give that a try. Thanks Kevin!

I created something similar for a semi hollow electric guitar I am building as an homage to my custom acoustic. The rosette loops around the neck pickup and is purely cosmetic but it matched the aesthetic of the original. This looks a lot easier than the approach I took 🤣 I made life even more difficult for myself by taking the rosette up and across the fretboard but I was pleased with the result. It means the rosette is a complete circle and very distinctive. It also gave me a piece with which to create a back plate to access the electronics without the keyhole surgery needed to get pots in through the f holes (or "O" holes as I called mine as they also picked up on the idea of circles). I really could have done with seeing this before I embarked on my escapades. 👍👏🙌

Kevin my man u are awesome with a capital A , I love the creativity have ,u and I would be good friends, keep up the great videos

Hi Kevin I think a help would be to soak your strips before hand in a small plant trough with boiling water to soften them up. Also I think it might be an idea when bandsawing the rosette to have the open end facing down and use a square board (maybe with some of that thin soft rubber foam sheet from the art store attached) to help press against the fence, (protects your fingers too!!) Cheers Andrew👍

Another great one, thanks.

Are you using a tail piece on the ladder braced guitar? Smaller radius on the top? Can't wait to see what you do. I have done a few gypsy guitars, they are a fun change.

Thank you for your videos. Always informative. Always valuable information. Keep them coming!

Great video. Very instructive