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Hi, I am starting an OM size guitar and due to uneven planing I brought 1 side down to .065" thick. Thats after sanding.. Is that too thin? I have been reading archives and I've read .075" and up. Oh, by the way, its walnut. I have more wood for sides if needed, but hate to trash it if it will work.

Well, I think you should be ok if you are very conscientious about your future sanding activities. It's not ideal but be aware and be ok.

It's thin... but you might be ok. Maybe you should add stiffer side bracings to prevent them to twist or warp.

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Francis Richer, Montréal
Les Guitares F&M Guitars

I assume you're talking steel string, given the OM reference. I think you're looking for trouble if you use it.... that's far thinner than anything I've used. If it were me, I'd chalk it up to experience and go again. Black walnut isn't terribly expensive, if that's what you're using.

Some build with laminated sides - might be worth a thought if you love the look of the sides, and have a tough time matching the back with other walnut.

I have seen Martins this thin but that was after the sanding in the production cycle.

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

stiff rigid sides are great. Why don't you bend another set, slightly thicker this time, and do double sides. Or just keep the too thin sides for random small pieces, like end graft, etc.
As mentioned, wallnut's pretty cheap. I'd just correct the problem now before many hours are spent on a guitar that wasn''t up to your standards to begin with.

I'm big on the double side idea though... yeah its's small body and probably really unnecessary but the more rigid the better, in my thinking... otherwise those thin sides are going to need some sort of bracing anyways. Good luck!!

thanks guys,, I think I'll just shelve it for odds and ends. As I said I have other sides, but hate to trash nice wood, so I'll find a use for it.. Any chance it might be thick enough for a parlor guitar side, or still too light?

I sanded some walnut sides too thin, and--since I had the matching back--I decided it was worth the trouble to fix them. I considered laminating two sets of bent sides, but there's a lot of complexity and room for error there. It seemed simpler to laminate before bending, and I had some quartered walnut veneer. First, on scraps I tested fish glue and PU glue, and for me the PU glue withstood the bending process better. So, before bending, I laminated some regular (about 1/32") walnut veneer to the inner surface of the sides using PU glue. I bent with a Fox bender and a damp piece of brown paper, per Todd Stock's tutorial. As far as I can tell, this worked well: the sides look fine and have held their shape.

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Tim Allen
"Never hurry, never rest."

Mike: Think .065 might be OK on finished guitar but you still have to bend and most likely will lose some thickness cleaning up any slight waveness. Then you have to bind and clean up for finish,again losing a bit of thickness. Your best advise was to either use it for double sides or redo with new wood.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

I use 0.06 but I use double sides. They are epoxied to EIR at 0.04. Allied sells the EIR sets. You can always go that route

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Andy Z.
http://www.lazydogguitars.com

What about taking some well quartered stock down even thinner, turning it 90 degrees to your bent sides that are now in the form and glueing it to the inside or your sides. If you make it thin enough it will bend right in and make a kind of plywood.

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