Post #8 - Rosette and backstrip update.

Since it easiest to sand pearl to bring it level, I ran the soundboard through the drum sander for several passes until the rosette inlay strips were close to level.

When, it was close to flush, I mounted the soundboard back on the work bench, where I used a palm sander to sand down until almost flush.  Then, finally hand sanding with a block sander.  My outer ring cut was not very accurate, and so the gaps will need to be filled in with a mixture of sawdust and glue.

For the backstrip, I am using the "HD-style" zig zag backstrip.  I set up a straight edge fence using a level as shown below.  The router will glide along the fence to route the cavity for the backstrip.

Here's the stew-mac binding/router attachment mounted to the dremel.  I set the depth of the cut to be about half-way through the thickness of the back.  

To get a clean channel, I performed a pass on this side, and then flipped the back around, and made another pass on the other side.  After a few tiny adjustments of the fence and a few more passes, the channel width was  just right.

Here, I test dry fit the backstrip.

I'm trying the Titebond liquid hide glue for this build and used that for gluing the backstrip into the channel.  Below, I'm using a straight edge and a few weights to "clamp" down the backstrip.  After drying it will be time to level it, and move on to the bracing.