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First build from martin kit 000 auditorium (unfortunately not purchased from blues creek), seemingly my first major mess up other than gluing the bridge plate on flipside, that doesn't seem to be as big of deal. If you cant tell by the picture the plate drifted quite a lot while gluing, didn't realize it was such a big deal until placing the top under the sides with the neck block and realizing they do not match up at all.

For a fix should I chisel and sand down the top plate? Any other ideas?

Hopefully I don't have to replace the entire top and bracing, trying not to spend a ton of money on my first build as it wont be perfect.

It looks to me like it only drifted off a little, less than 1/8"? If it's just a little bit, you're fine.

Now, if you did what a FRIEND of mine did once (never ME! said with a grin), and you were 1/2" off, then you'd need to remove the plate and glue it. But, it looks tiny and if it is, you're safe to continue with your build. Your bridge will still sit on the plate fine.

you will be ok
move the tone bars down you will be ok
you move them down on the X brace but keep the out side end at the same spot
it will still sound like a guitar

_________________
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com

Thanks for the quick replies! I was worried more about the top brace with the neck block, see the circle. I just roughly put it over the top and they dont match up.

I see what you're talking about. I don't know how you have the top lined up on the rim's when you took the photo. You will line up the top (and back for that matter), so that the center SEAM of the top, where it was glued together, is lined up on the center of the neck and tail blocks.

I always glue the back onto the rim's, then the top, so I don't have a photo of how it looks when the top is centered, but I do have photos of the back on center. I know the back center seam is covered by the reinforcing strip, so you can't see the actual seam, but that seam is what is put on center of the neck and tail blocks, on both the top and back. This is why we make the top and back oversized, so we have some wiggle room to ensure that these seams are what are centered on the blocks themselves, not necessarily where the rim's meet on the neck and tail blocks.

If your transverse brace is off center a little, and you're worried about that hole not lining up with the hole for your truss rod in the neck, there shouldn't be a problem. If you stick a 4mm Allen wrench through that hole, which is what it's there for, you'll find you can move the wrench around to engage the rod. That hole would have to way way off to give you any problems.

Here is a mid-40's Banner Gibson L-00. This amount of mis-placement resulted in the top coming up and the action increasing badly enough that no one wanted to play so it was in pristine condition when it landed in my daughter's shop a couple of years ago.

Your amount of misplacement is fine - as long as all the pins sit well within the border of the plate, your fine.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruby1638/13948929293/in/album-72157644122006301/

Ed

I've taken a round rasp and file to the hole in the T brace and "ovaled" it out so the wrench lined up with the truss rod. Worked fine.

to be honest that cantilever can be removed. That by design is actually a clamp caul for the fretboard extension so remove it your fine. It really is not needed

_________________
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com