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I'm ready to start gluing this small Stauffer guitar up. I'm going to do the curved back first, then build everything on the flat back. I'm using the go-bar deck I built, but don't even have bars cut for it yet. Was going to cut up 1X2's. Will they work? I see that on Goodwinds (from an old OLF post) has 12, 4 foot 3/16 bars for about $28; but no rubber tips.That's about half of what 24 from LMI would run. $28 for rubber tips? I don't know anything about go bars, and didn't even think about that until I started typing this post.

I was really wondering about the center brace on the back. The Stauffer didn't have one, but new ones do, and people seem to think they work for something. I don't know what. A book I have for making a steel string, which is a mix of steel string, and classical Spanish build, says to cut slots in that brace for the cross braces. Does that work better than just notching the cross brace to clear the center brace?

The other question is the flat belly. Would you make it flat? It isn't a common flat top. It has an elevated neck, at about a 3.5 degree angle. The strings are about 4 degrees. up from the bridge. So it doesn't have a clearance problem over the belly. It will have the twisting problem, (but 4 degrees less?) that was ripping bridges off my little baroque; and I really don't like when that happens! But it does have the strings secured with pegs, so that STILL seems safer to me.

I can see that for extra clearance on a baroque a dish would be nice; the fingerboard is even with the belly; but this one doesn't need it. I don't really understand a dome, except on a guitar with a floating bridge where there is force going down on the belly through the bridge. Wouldn't a dish resist the force of the strings pulling on the belly more than a dome? I guess I just don't understand what's going on.

That's for anything that you can help me with.

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Why be normal?

Goodwinds has vinyl end caps for about 15 cents each. That's what I've been using for about 10 yrs and they work fine.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I have both fiberglass rods and wood strips. Both work fine. Use the fg rods for bracing and the wood for closing the box. I made the wood ones from a straight pine one by four. 1/4 inch thick and nearly for free.

Best deal for rods and caps try https://www.flymarketkites.com, rods $2.70 ea. for .0187 x 48", caps $3.10 for 24. They have a discount line too.

The piece running up the middle of the back is not really a brace, but a cross grain strip of spruce or mahogany that supports the center glue joint of a two piece back. Notch the strip and allow the actual braces to be full height because a notching the brace would weaken it.

So I guess I'll order some rods and tips, and also cut up some clear, straight wood. I still haven't glued the heel on the neck, or shaped it yet. So I'll do that while waiting for the mail.

Barry, I see how that strip, not even one solid piece, and as flimsy as can be, could not be a brace.

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Why be normal?

+1. I actually glue the braces in first, and cut the joint reinforcement pieces to fit just right between them and then glue them down. It's faster and easier for me. Oddly, every time I'm putting those in I wonder why. I don't do an inlay down the center of the joint, and I use Tightbond for the joint, so it's actually stronger than the rest of the plate. I guess I keep doing it because people expect to see it there, and it doesn't hurt the sound. Of course, we "never" put them on the top joint because of the negative effect on sound, and the top is where all the real tension is. Something to think about... In any case, I say it's a bad idea to cut into your braces. That weakens them for no reason.

I made my go-bars from pieces of soft maple I had lying around the shop. some had runout and eventually split as they sat under tension overnight and ended up on the floor. they were essentially "free" for me so who cares. I do plan to buy some fiberglass replacements when these all wear out.

If you have a problem with bridges pulling away from the top of a guitar, there's something fundamentally wrong. Either the saddle is way too high, the bridge is too shallow (neck to tail dimension) or the glue joint is bad. Worst-case, you should end up with a warped top. A good glue joint will stick no matter what you do to it. The wood should fail first. I don't think Bridge pins would make much of a difference when it comes to bridges delaminating (imho).

I'm not sure what you mean by "dish" vs "dome" but I put either a 30' or 40' radius on my tops, to allow for more stiffness while keeping the top thinner. I totally agree that people can get similar results with different bracing and a truly "flat" top, but I'm just more comfortable with the radius tops. Plus, I think they allow me more headroom on guitars that require it. But in any case, I feel the bridge tension issue is more about where the bridge is placed in reference to the center of the "X" assuming you are using that style of bracing.

Every guitar is an incredible opportunity to learn. hold tight to that and you'll be better for it.

The bridge is a tiny 7x1.4cm bridge on a small baroque in g. It pulls off spruce with it, across the entire bridge this time with the fish glue. I should have glued it on first, but I didn't better. I thought I had it figured at less than 60 pounds of string tension.

I think it only has two cross braces, nothing on the back. The bridge is quite low, only 8mm. Maybe the top is too stiff? It isn't rising up and twisting?
I need more string clearance near the neck, and maybe a bridge with a bigger footprint. I thought of taking of the moustache, planing it some, it needs to be planed by the bridge anyway, and gluing a new, slightly taller bridge on. It's sad to see it stringless.

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Why be normal?