Brad, it looks great. Good to see something new.

Question on the Rubner tuners - I have a uke set I'm getting ready to finally use. I've had them around for a long time. They have a little bump on each bracket. Does the set you used here have that as well? If so, how did you deal with it? Make a small divot in the headstock to let it sit flat? File them off? I read that's a bad idea but I cannot find the article where I read that now.

Other Brad

Wow, that must have been a huge tree. The cedar seems to have a lot of sinking, and shine to it. Those tuners are different, I like the way they look. It looks like they come on a faceplate?

One of the things that draws me more to guitar making is the chance to use different woods; violins are almost entirely spruce and maple. Of course when someone finishes them up so well, it lures you in too.

I have a 14.5" long Strad baroque that I'm ready to start putting together. I have a 3 mm thick piece of 100+ year old Eastern Red Cedar barn wood for the belly. It is heavier than WRC (.47sg, so it is in a different ball park), and the charts say that while WRC has a low E modulus of 1.1, ERC is only .88! The original only had two crossbars above and below the sound hole. I was thinking of doing a X brace from the top to the bottom; like what Bruce Sexauer did on his Snakewood build, but with the narrow body, and low bridge placement it would go all the way to the top and bottom. Like crossed Parallel bars. I did build a similar one for the grandsons a couple (few?) years ago, with five, 1/2 scale nylon strings, and it worked with the two cross braces; so maybe I'm overthinking. I doubt that the 1/2 scale strings had 70 pounds on them though, and I did build it thicker. 4 boys.

Did you do anything different with the thicknessing or bracing on the top? I just found by checking that Aromatic Red Cedar IS ERC.

That is exceptionally beautiful. Do you find yourself wishing you had bought the entire plank?