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Hi I am in the process of building my first acoustic, a steel string dread and am at the stage of bracing the top. I was wondering what the general feeling among other builders was regarding final  soundboard thickness and brace dimensions. Is it better to leave the top a little thicker and shave the braces or bring the top right down and leave the braces a little heavier? I am using adirondack for both the soundboard and braces and Queensland maple for the back and sides. I would greatly appreciate any advice or feedback.

Regards

Craig. 

Hello and Welcome Graig.
There's really no answer to your question unfortunately. Great guitars have been made both ways. The real trick is learning to work with each individual piece of wood, and they're pretty much all different.
Sorry about the vague answer but it's really the way it is. For a first guitar, I'd follow some plans and build to that. It becomes a good stake in the ground.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

Craig.   Welcome to the OLF.
You will get many opinions to this one, but I am a strong believer in
thicknessing the top to what you think is the correct thickness and brace
accordingly.
Personally I think a thinner top/ taller braced guitar will sound better than a
thicker top/lighter braced guitar.
I personally thickness my tops to a certain degree of deflection then "tune"
my tops with tap tones. I leave my braces too tall and carve them down
AFTER the top is already glued to the rims.
Just my opinion

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

A big Coooooeeee from another aussie Craig . Well ,O.K , I'm a bloody Kiwi really , but have lived in N.S.W. for about 25 years . Where are you ?
I found the Cumpiano /Natelson book a good reference for dimensions on my first build . You can alter thickness' to suit as you gather experience . Each soundboard has it's own requirements to maximise it's potential . Some soundboards are stiffer than others !
Sorry I can't be more help . A 3m.m. soundboard should be safe.

Cheers, Craig

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CRAIG LAWRENCE of AUSTRALIA
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Welcome

Like Hesh, since this is your first thickness your top to .115-.110 brace tall and carve the glued up braces in the lower bout to get a good solid clear tap tone through out the lower bout. Keeping in mind a stiff top, a brighter and clearer the tone. Floppy tops are muddy sounding.

I know nothing, but WELCOME to OLF!

_________________
Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

[QUOTE=WaddyT] I know nothing, but WELCOME to OLF!
[/QUOTE]



THE FIRST man honest enough to say what's true of all of us.

Good for you, Waddy.

Steve

_________________
From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Take that back, I didn't mean it!  I know some stuff, just ask my wife.  NO-DON'T!  Nevermind!

_________________
Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

It really does seem to fall into two camps; thick top/light braces and thin top/heavy braces. Each will tend to have it's own sound, and both can be good. Either can also be bad.

I tend to leave my tops on the thick side, often as high as 3.5mm (.140") at the bridge. I do taper them down toward the tailblock, sometimes by quite a lot. It all depends on the wood, the sound I'm trying for, and how I feel that particular day, although I have been trying to inject a bit of 'science' into the process.

The best bet for a first timer is to find a set of plans that will make up imto something you know you like, and then just stick with them. Don't fall into the common trap of loking at six different sets of plans and picking features from each one to copy, at least, not this time. Each guitar is a system, and all of the parts have to work together. Any successful design will have everything in some sort of balance, and just how that works is not always obvious, or easy to explain, even for us old timers. It's mostly been worked out by trial and error, and it's complicated enough that nobody really understands everything rationally. After a while you'll get a feel for it, but right now, pick one thing and go with that.

Thanks everyone for your warm welcome to the forum and your views regarding the best way to go with the top. I gather that the stiffness is the key but without some sort of benchmark it is just guesswork to figure out where exactly that is. I think I will aim for the .115 and tall braces. I have some brace material that i have dimensioned to 1/4inch by 3/4 inch. Is that a reasonable size to start with? I do have a set of plans which I very loosely follow.

Craig I grew up in Queensland but am now living in Canberra.A.C.T.

Craig.

Craig, adi is typically very very stiff, and I'd go .11 as well. Some of these
guys are doing .09 - .1 on them.