Purfling the front plate
The front plate gets a decorative inlay called purfling. It consists of an about 1.8 mm thin strip of wood. This strip is made of three layers, outside is thin black colored maple, in the middle white pear wood.
The purfling is not only for decoration but also protects the edge from damage. A double line is scribed and both lines are deepened with a knife. The rest of the material in the middle is lifted out with a narrow tool. I have brought the small channel to about 2 mm depth.
The purfling should fit well without the need of excessive pressure. The corners of the inlay are mitred to get a nice tip. The narrow curves can be quickly shaped on the bending iron. The inlay is glued in with hot glue and carefully tapped in. After hardening, the edge can be planed flat.
