Arched, Purfled, Rough graduated...

Things are starting to move quickly, and sometimes more quickly than I can think to reach for my camera, which is why the the profiling, edge thicknessing, purfling slot cutting and channeling were left out of this sequence.

There is nothing quite like cutting through spruce with an arching gouge during the rough arching. Though he know it well, I always tell John (Moroz) that it's my favorite part. You can model the arch rather quickly in the soft spruce, and the the tool makes a satisfying sound as it unzips another curl destined for the workshop floor rather than the mandolin top.