StewMac UKULELE KIT - Installing the Rosette; Rosette Installation Steps

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Before we dive into bracing the top of your ukulele we need
to install the rosette. Your top has come with a pre-routed
channel that the rosette will t perfectly into.
To get started locate the cream and black puring pieces.
Neatly arrange them in the following conguration: cream /
black / cream / black / cream. As you can see it’s challenging
to align them all neatly, they have a tendency to slide around.
To help hold them It is helpful to use a tight piece of masking
tape on the end to help keep everything in place.
Once you have them arranged place them in the rosette
channel.
Using a razor blade or your fret cutters trim the ends of the
rosette. It’s not absolutely necessary that the puring pieces
make a perfect join. The upper ring of the rosette will be
hidden under the ngerboard extension.
Next remove half the rosette.
Flood the channel with glue (Titebond Original Wood Glue
works very well for this application).
Now take your nger and guide the purings back into the
glue lled channel. The glue acts as a lubricant and every-
thing should slide back in place very easily. (Don’t worry
about the mess, we will clean that up in a second.)
Now remove the purings from the unglued side and repeat
the process. Be sure you remove enough of the puring so
the entire rosette is glued into the channel.
Now we will clean up all the excess glue from the top of the
instrument and any that may have got through the sound-
hole on the inside of the top. (It’s a good idea to wipe up any
glue that may have got on your workbench as well.)
Now place a sheet of wax paper on your workbench under
the top, and one over top the wet glue on your rosette and
weight it down with something heavy to dry – a spare 10lb
plate does the job nicely, but a heavy book would work
equally well.
Let this dry for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, remove the weight and use a sanding block
with 120-grit adhesive sandpaper to sand the rosette ush
with the top. Be sure to sand in a wide area so you don’t
accidentally make the top thinner in this area.
Installing the rosette