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I am working on a kit guitar whose soundboard was 'factory made' except for shaping the already-installed braces. I noticed the bridgeplate was installed short of the x braces, roughly 3/16" away from either brace. Good/bad/immaterial? I don't mind replacing the bridge plate or laminating another one atop this one after filling the gaps at the ends of the original plate.

Advice/comments/observations will be gratefully received.

Thanks, folks.

if the location is good you're fine. It can be tucked into, butted up to, or kept free from the x as yours is. Onward and upward.

Don't cap it!

send a pic
What you may have gotten was a martin reject. If you got it off ebay

Darren, thanks for the comments. Leave well enough alone so long as it is well enough, sounds like.

And I think it's probably not a Martin reject. Kit was sourced from 'US Guitar Kits' a couple of years ago.

post some pics it is unusual not to have the plate against the X brace.

tippie53 wrote:post some pics it is unusual not to have the plate against the X brace.

John's got a point - if you can put up a picture.

John, here's a couple of pictures. When I took them, I noticed that the dimensions of the gaps between the plate and the x braces were overlarge, but the fact of there being gaps is valid. Here's two pictures: At least there will be two pictures if I can ever figure out how this forum wants them attached.

I would shave it off and replace it with one that is fitted against the x-brace legs. Might be fine if you don't but my personal opinion is the guitar will sound better if you fit a new bridge plate.

Slacker, thanks for the reply. You're confirming my layman's thoughts on the matter, these things were designed with the bridge plate and the x-braces in contact for reasons derived from experience. I figured, with no particular knowledge, that tying the bridge plate to the x braces would do a good deed in helping the bridge area stay put and not try to roll up under string tension.

Now that I might attend to the bridge plate by removing it - - - suggestions, please, as to how. Don't want to pry, might lift the soundboard material away with the bridge plate. Sand, chisel? A router in this situation scares me, I think I'm going to somehow do this manually. I have no idea of what adhesive was used to install the bridge plate and x braces and I wouldn't want to injure the braces' attachment integrity by exposing them to whatever worked to take off the bridge plate. Any thoughts or suggestions will be gratefully received. I will defer to card-carrying luthiers in this matter.

Again, thanks!

the plate is close enough that you will be ok and the plate is covering a large enough area to be stable. The finger braces are not where I would put them , but this would be a good experiment to see the out come.
I don't know what the designer was thinking but I have seen enough to know that most things work and you are in a new area out of the norm.
This is a modified Martin design where your finger braces are not in the normal position but since they are more an anti split brace it is an interesting thought