Archtop progress

I’ve been having a bit of difficulty taking some good photos lately; don’t know why but I can’t seem to do the wood justice. So just to keep up-to-date, here's the best I can do. The completed rim-

I’ve made up the neck blank and you can see that I’ve used Brazilian rosewood for the head overlay. The inlay is from black pearl; I like its subtlety; in some lights, it disappears into the wood! The neck itself is maple with a rosewood core, you can see that I’ve started to carve the volute.

I cut up a billet to use for the fretboard and was really surprised by the bright rose-pink colours (is that why, along with its sweet, sickly smell, someone named it “rosewood”?). 

Quite a spectacular pieces of wood, although the colours will tone down over time, I’ll have to decide whether it’s a step too far!