I still remember the “Time to Make The Donuts” ads that Dunkin Donuts ran back in the early 1980s. What does this have to do with instrument making? Funny you should ask – time to make the donuts.
I have found that after inlaying rosettes, especially with fiddleback grain, that it makes tremendous sense to back the rosette on the inside of the top with a “donut” of the same material the top is made out of (ie. spruce, cedar, pine, and fir). I believes this helps maintain the dimensional stability of the area around the rosette and protects the rosette itself. Every time I do this of course I have to say (you guessed it), “time to make the donuts”. What a genius advert that I still remember it decades latter. Off to make the donuts…