Finally starting to brace my first build

[deadedith]

Thanks for the pix! It makes it a lot of fun to watch your progress.

[David L]

I also enjoy looking at photos of other people's projects, so much better than just a description.

David L

[johnnparchem]

I like the cauls on the end of you go-bar rods. I have slipped with a go-bar rod and made a good sized dent in a top.

[nkwak]

It'll be about a week before I finish the glue up - sorry, I work slow and sloppy - but that gives me a chance to plan ahead. First and foremost though, I have a question on the lower face braces. Since my X braces have a wider angle than the plans the outlines on the template are null and void so I need to figure out new angles and junction points with the X brace. Is there any rule that I need to know of? The original layout called for the bridge plate to have an angle to be cut out of one side to accommodate one of these tone bars. Is that really necessary or can I just slide the junction point down a bit?

[nkwak]

More pics from tonight:

1: I notched the X brace to lock in the tone bars:


2: I finally got the bridge plate to fit snug against the X brace. It's made from flat sawn osage orange. Here's a pic of the dry fit:


3: then I made a caul for the bridge plate and glued it all up:


4: here it will sit for at least another week before I finally glue in the sound hole graft/braces and cap the X brace:

[David L]

I like the idea of using the blocks on the sides of the tone bars to prevent them from sliding under pressure (I'm assuming). What did you do to prevent squeeze out from gueing them to the top and bars? Also, very good pictorial documentation, well done!

David L

[nkwak]

Thanks, Tony and Dave.

Actually, the blocks were my friend's idea. He made them during one of his builds and suggested I try them when the go bars kept slipping. In this case since my top has a 28' radius from the X braces but the lower facebraces are flat they kept getting pushed over from the lateral force of the go bars. I tried cleaning up the squeeze out the best I could but am curious to see if there is 100% contact between the top and the brace.

[nkwak]

Here's the latest on the top: I made a lot of progress and have a setback. I'm nearly ready to notch the sides and kerfing once I solve my little issue.

For starters, the RH in my non climate-controlled basement is now in the comfort zone so I brought my top and sides home to work on.



You all know that I made a go-bar deck in anticipation. All I had left to glue in are the sound hole grafts:



Next I tapered the ends of the X brace to get an idea of where to notch the kerfing:



Then I went about shaping the braces' profiles:



Now for the setback. My strategy for the upper transverse brace is not to taper it but to trim it so that it buts up flush against the inside surface of the sides. This is a technique that Ervin Somogyi uses to immobilize the upper bout. My execution was flawed in that I measured only once before cutting. I should have notched the kerfing first so that I marked accurately at the intersection of the brace with the sides. Instead I marked where the brace intersects the kerfing. When I cut the brace's ends off I left about 1/8" gap on either end:





All is not lost though. I have two options to explore:

1: the best case scenario would be to cut side braces to act as a shim. I have a short length of spruce bracewood that I could cut lengthwise for that purpose. If not, then...

2: the worst case scenario would be to chisel off the entire upper transverse brace and glue in a new one:

[johnnparchem]

I hate chiseling things off, always afraid I would cause more damage then I am planning on fixing. I think I would make a bigger (than a bit of kerfling) triangle brace and glue it to the side and the transverse brace. It is in an area of the guitar where the added mass will not really do anything bad. You could curve the hypotenuse side of the triange such that it looks like a carefully designed structural feature. You could also fill in the gap with a bit of brace in addition to the oversized kerfling if you like.

To tell the truth I did do this on one of my guitars. Up to now I never told anyone.

John

[deadedith]

Dang, Now John we have to vote you off the island..:-)

Actually I think you gave some good advice there that should work just fine.