Oval rosette repair. Refurbish. Help. 1890 bowlback

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Hi. Just got this bowlback. Unsure about what to do with the rosette. Please check out pics.

[rcc56]

1. Reinforce the underside of the top beneath the rosette before doing anything else.

2. Remove as much as you can of the "whatever it is" between the inlays with scraper, gouge, and/or chisel; or you might be able to get most of it out with a Dremel in a router base.
3. See if you can lift the inlays out with a thin, flat tool. You might try using a drop or two of alcohol to dissolve the glue.
4. Clean up the channel and inlay a new rosette. If you're lucky and the old inlays survived, you can inlay them into a piece of ebony, black-dyed maple, celluloid, or whatever you think looks right. If the old inlays didn't survive, you can either try to replicate them, or you can make a new rosette in the style of your choice.

5. Before starting, read step 1 again. It is the most important part of the whole repair.


Troy Harris in Poughkeepsie builds and repairs mandolins. He can probably handle the repair if you do not have the experience.

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Thankzzz much. And again. Thankz.