Bridge Plate

[Zen]

Just wondering if the bridge plate always touches the x bracing? Kinkades book advises that it should be kept away from the x braces by 1/16th but I notice others have it jointed up against it ? Would it make more sense to have it touching ?

Thanks
Rusty

[tippie53]

rule of thumb is that any wood that touches wood should be glued I butt all my plates to the X

[Zen]

But if you do that, you'll also want to keep the plate small so you don't lose all that nice resonance. Big plates kill tone. So make it smaller, place it precisely QUOTE

So, what would the minimum thickness of the bridge plate be on a parlour ? If I need to keep it as small as possible then I should probably try keep it as light as possible without losing strength.. Thanks for all the good advise so far

Rusty

[tippie53]

.100 is the average for steel strings.