Purfling

I faced a bit of a challenge putting in the purfling which goes round the soundhole. I had been wondering for a while how to cut a neat oval channel. In the end I made a template out of some 1cm thick oak (from an old drawer side) and used this to guide a mini router. My practise attempt went well, but on the real thing the router bit slipped down while I was cutting and the channel was a bit too deep in one place. Still, no real harm done, and the fitted purfling looks quite good.

I will now cut out the soundhole itself (just inside the purfling, and re-inforce the inside with a strip of sycamore veneer.