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Hi I,m in the process of building my first and was planning on notching the X braces into the sides. I was wondering if I needed to glue the braces into the notches or leave a small clearance around the brace without gluing?

Regards

Craig.

Sheesh! Am I the only one here who remembers Mario Proulx?? Mario advocates feathering anything in the lower bout. Have a look HERE to refresh thy memory brothers and sisters.

I can tell you this, I have done a little brace re-gluing, but only ever when they have been left untucked and NOT feathered. It would seem that feathering the ends allows them to flex with the top.

The thicker you leave the ends of the braces, the more stress will be applied to the glue joint in that area WHEN the top receives a sharp jarring impact some time in the instruments life. Once is enough to pop a brace especially as the wood and glue become more brittle with age.

Cheers

Kim (who is STILL not a guitar builder )

[QUOTE=larkim] Sheesh! Am I the only one here who remembers Mario Proulx?? Mario advocates feathering anything in the lower bout. Have a look HERE to refresh thy memory brothers and sisters.

Kim...How could we ever forget Mario...and how could we ever forget that "blast from the past" thread. I sure miss his wisdom and his acute BS detector demeanor.

I have been leaving the lower legs of the X-braces untucked over my last 4 guitars after listening to the likes of Paul Woolson and Mario. So far, I like the results. I'm not yet sold on the benefit for the back yet but have not totally rejected the idea.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Pillars on the sides at ends of back braces; feather the top braces out to nothing. Just my opinion, but it comes from having done nearly 44 years worth of guitar repair.

Some thing in the picture that Lance post I found interesting is the revers kerf linings have what looks to be a .002-.004 backing strip That is pretty cool in my book. Makes for a closed kerf system. I like it

Michael these liners are Charles Fox style two piece capped linings. You install the piece with the kerfs first, then you come back and install a solid piece that covers the front of the kerf.

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Here is a set before the cap was put on.

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

I was aware of the Fox linings but I guess I was just looking at the picture wrong . To me the picture appears to have a joint line on the back side of the kerf. I guess it is just an illusion