Official Luthiers Forum!

Hey gang,

I have a newbie question for you. I'm working on my first Acoustic build, It's an OM. I'm concerned with the placing of my back braces. The plan I'm using has the braces equally spaced between the heel and end block, after I glued them up I had a better look at some other plans and the bracing is not in the same location at all. I'm guessing the way I have it the back will be a bit more stiff, especially in the lower bout. I would just plane them off and start again however I already notched the sides.

Should I be worried about this, is there a way I can compensate for it?

Thanks in advance,

Scott

Got a picture you can maybe upload, or at least tell us the spacing and brace sizes + wood type?

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Colin,

Thank you for the quick response. The brace wood is 5/16 Sitka spruce, the spacing is around 3 1/4 between each brace. The back and side are mixed woods I found in a barn and re-sawed, some kind of Rosewood. I'm not sure you can see it in the attached pic.

Thanks again,

Scott

Scott,

Welcome to the zoo!

For my two cents, I wouldn't worry about it. Specific location of the back bracing is likely to be less relevant than many other variables in the design of your first build. I'd save your rebuild energy for fixes on really critical issues. For me, the first build was a learning experience in so many ways, and while I was shooting for perfection, well.........ahem .

My advice is to stick very close to whatever plan you're following, and concentrate on fit and finish. Build it to tolerances that are as fine as you can possibly manage - tight joints, tops and backs that are joined without a visible seam, etc. etc. That's a learning experience in itself. If my experience is an indicator, you'll have plenty of opportunity to compensate for errors, issues, etc. and some rebuilding is probably in your future. I'd leave the backbraces alone,though. Especially if they're glued well, and with a good fine "join" (my terminology - may be wrong) to the back.

Have fun!

+1 for Corky and welcome Scott.

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Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com

Scott: Welcome and I agree with the others. The first few guitars are carpentary learning exercises with the hopes of producing a decent guitar.Follow your plan and see how things turn out. Good luck and take care.
Tom
P.S. No photos arriving on my computer.

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

All gree so far.. God luck, enjoy the build

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

On the first few builds you learn how to construct a guitar...the actual cutting, measuring, gluing, etc. It's no different at this point that learning how to make a nice hutch or dresser. You make some mistakes, and learn a massive amount of information, and you might possibly get a good sounding guitar out of it if you are lucky. I wasn't lucky my first time, but that doesn't mean you wont be. I'll agree that the back braces are far less to worry about than the top braces by a long shot, and I bet in the end as long as you build a good fitting box as the previous member said, you wont have any issues. Happy building and welcome!

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http://www.sixgunguitars.com

Welcome, and +1 with what everyone else said.

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Tracy
http://www.luthiersuppliers.com