Stewart MacDonald 5297, Assembly Instruction Manual, Page: 10 / 42

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Glue the purflings in place with Titebond and press them
firmly into the channels . A flat clamping caul covered in wax
paper will seat them well . After drying, scrape the purflings
flush to the surface of the soundboard, using a sharp scraper
blade . Flex the scraper slightly as you work, and trim the
purflings until the tool begins to pick up bits of spruce .
Soundboard bracing and fitting
Installing the soundhole rosette
Installing the soundboard bracing
Three bent wooden purflings form the soundhole rosette .
The two narrow rings composed of parallel black and white
strips install in the inner and outer rings of the rosette, and
the wide decorative ring goes in the middle channel .
The purflings are longer than needed, to enable the removal
of the straightened ends on each ring left from the bending
process . Dry-fit the three rings in their channels . Trim the
ends closely at a slight angle to compensate for the curve of
the channel . The outer and center ring joints will be hidden
under the fretboard, so you don’t have to be too critical with
the fit of the ends . However, be careful to trim the inner ring
accurately, as it will be exposed . Trim the outer and center
rings first for practice, and then concentrate on the inner
ring . A few extra minutes of careful work here will make a
big difference in the appearance of the final instrument .
Pencil the soundboard bracing pattern (pictured) on the
inside surface of the soundboard (cut small holes in the brace
pattern at the corners and intersections of the braces, lay
the pattern on the soundboard, transfer the hole positions
in pencil, and “connect the dots” on the soundboard when
the pattern is lifted away) . The pattern MUST be correctly
centered along the soundboard’s center seam, with the
soundhole properly located . Note that the soundboard and
the back have been trimmed to allow about 1/8" overhang
all around . This offers a little freedom when assembling the
top and back to the rim, and will be trimmed away later .
Shaping the X-braces
Braces in our Triple-O and Dreadnought kits are nearly iden-
tical, with the exception of the X-braces . In the parts of this
Triple-O kit you will find both .
X-braces for Dreadnought
Discard
X-braces for Triple-O
Carve these according to the blueprint,
to use in your Triple-O guitar
The longer, shaped X-braces are used when building a
Dreadnought guitar, and not in the building of your Triple-O .
They are to be used as a visual aid only, then discarded .
The uncarved X-braces are to be carved according to the
blueprint and used in your Triple-O guitar .
The radiused edge (bottom) of the uncarved X-braces is
to be glued onto the soundboard . Round over the straight
(top) edge of these two braces to resemble the X-braces for
the Dreadnought set, but carve the scalloped curves and
notches as illustrated in the blueprint . Use a file, plane and/
or sandpaper .
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