Is this scrap?

[chilos]

Doing my first carved top and I hit this knot. It goes all the way through from the side to the centre. Is there any way of salvaging it or is this firewood?
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[Bill McCall]

Colored tops can hide many things. Either black, white, cranberry, red or sunburst might do the trick.

[belbein]

Also, depending on where it is and how creative you want to be, you can incorporate the knot into a bit of marquetry. My first build, I had a really ugly knot right in the middle of the back. I decided to marquet it (I'm assuming that's the right verb form) into a mouse. Then I added a few more mice to complete the them. Marquetry is no harder than inlay ... in fact, I learned some tricks from marquetry and that I use in inlay.

In case you don't know, here's my philosophy. I don't do these for a living. I don't have to be cost- or time-efficient. I am doing it to have fun and learn. So every total charlie foxtrot is an opportunity to learn. Once it's a charlie foxtrot, what's the worst that can happen? But maybe that's all just rationalization because I'm not very good at building.

[chilos]

A bit of marquetry - that's a brilliant idea, thanks. Like you, I don't do this for a living, so can afford to spend a bit more time than is commercially sensible doing stuff I enjoy - inlay in particular.
You've also made me realise I can salvage an English yew guitar back someone gave me, already jointed and thicknessed, with a poorly disguised knot in the centre of one side of the lower bout that I had more or less given up on.
Happy days.

[belbein]

I'll try to remember to post pics of the Mouse Mando.

[belbein]

Here's the "Mouse Mando." The back had a pretty good size knot that was totally discolored, and I though about sending the piece back (it was a Saga kit) but realized it was cheap because it was s**t and I wouldn't get anything better. I decided to learn marquetry and did this. Not yet finished, which is good, because at the time I wasn't very good at finishing. My first mando, my first marquet.

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[SammyV]

Here's the "Mouse Mando."

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I love it