Cut the inlay groove with a router and oval guide with the unsanded top clamped down tight, paint the groove with dilute shellac to seal the grain.
Next tap the rope inlay into the groove and fix it with thin superglue. Then start the sound hole with the drill press.
Cut out the rough hole with a sharp blade. The dark stain is caused by the dilute shellac. It will disappear when finished.
Now we are ready to perfect the oval sound hole on the sander
And finally, the top is sanded to its final .90 thickness and it is ready for its tone bars.
The sanded redwood soundboard will provide a warm rich sound and the French Polish treatment will make the dark spot disappear.
