My Grandfather on my mother's side was decendent from the samurai and our family crest was 9 circles, 8 surrounding a larger one in the middle. I drew it out on paper to get the scale and then marked it out on the rim.
I used forstner bits and tried to put something behind to prevent chipout, but I got some anyway. I had put some veneer as reinforcement in the area of the soundport, and the outer layer of that seemed to be the most susceptable. I think the bit for the inner circle is a little dull as it kept giving me trouble.
I used veneer to form a b/w/b with maple on the outsides and the depth is such that I can't see the inner most layer of Maple. So I just cleaned up the hole from the inside. As a side note, I really liked the way the holder worked. I made the giant washers and both curved boards out of the same piece of wood in my scrap bin. Afterwards I realized it was some local mesquite someone had given me. I guess I can use it now for either category of backyard build...
I held off gluing the back until the soundport was done.
Now I just need to trim off the overhang and the body is ready for binding... I'm going with walnut to match the center stripes on the neck and back.
Raymond
Thanks for the kind words Joe.
