here is a detail photo of the rosette and the fretboard inlay ( mother of pearl) of my new Melochord

some inlays and sound hole rosette details of the new melochord

This is the finished "Melochord",it took me awhile...but I'm really happy about the look and the sound..when I am playing it, it transport me to the land of dreams...hope you enjoy the photo.

My latest painting "between two worlds"and a sculpture "brain an beauty"

Between 2 worlds

My representation of life and death...not in a negative way but rather in a real meaning of life as everything has a beginning and a end..

Sculpture (wood)

Not much to say here...I called it "brain and beauty"

Here are some photo's of my new "MELOCHORD" in process. I have been working on it for the last month...and its slowly getting there. It will have many new features: Rosewood body and sides, Canadian sprues sound bord (like sitka european sitka), a re enforced Mohogany neck , a dark Rosewood fret board with mother of pearl hand cutted inlays and a Maple hand crafted rosette. The instrument will also have a acoustic pick up and will have 6 stings that will be tuned in Daddee (not to be comfused with DADY!!! ah ah)... I install a X brace on the sound board for stiffness....I can wait to finish this dulcimer-like instrument!!! I will post a new photo when I will be done...this month!!!

Cutting a rosette for an OUD

For this rosette,I use a large saw frame.I use different saw frames depending on the size of the rosette...the larger the saw frame ,more difficult it is because of the balance of the frame...I brake 2 saw blades on this one!!!not too bad!!

making a hand carved Rosette

To make a rosette,I use several plies of alternating grain veneer epoxied together and cured in a press.The thickness of the wooden plate is now 3mm. I draw the pattern directly on the wood and spray it with fixative to avoid smearing of the pencil marks while working.I drill the voids and cut out the design with a jeweler saw, using a 2/0 (antiloppe) saw blade.I then use small wood chisels, small jeweler files to carve out the pattern in 3 dimensions.
Depending on the intricacies of the design a carved rosette can take several days to complete,thus several days to dream about my next project