Official Luthiers Forum!

Do you hand split your bracewood, or just cut it on the bandsaw?

What are the reasons for hand splitting it opposed to just cutting it to the desired dimensions on the bandsaw?

split then saw.

splitting helps avoid runout in your braces.

I believe it was Mario who recommended the Freud Diablo 7 1/4 inch blade for use on a table saw. Works well.

I sometimes cut them on the bandsaw though and then hit the drum sander to get them perfect.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

There is a way to see if your billet has runout before you go ahead and split it. I was taught to follow the cathedrals on the flat sawn face and the (obvious) straight grain on the quartered face. Draw a line connecting the points of the cathedrals and this is your straight split line then saw using this line and the growth lines on the quartered face as your guides. I feel more confident getting maximum yield with a saw, so I do it this way. This works well with the brace stock I have (red sruce 2x4's) but with more irregular shaped pieces probably splitting is best. I test all the braces after cooking them for stiffness too.

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Burton
http://www.legeytinstruments.com
Brookline, MA.

Here's a link on LMI's site on splitting billets to get the best out of your brace wood. Maybe I'll put this in the tutorials thread.

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now known around here as Pat Foster
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Yes split first then adjust the table on the bandsaw to the right angle and cut over size. Then either plane or drum sand to thickness.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

I only split and plane (to square) braces as in building classical guitars the braces are so small that all of the structural strength needs to be at the maximum for the dimension used.

In classical guitars the goal is to use braces that are very small and to have that size brace provide maximum support. Because the strength of the braces drops off sharply when the brace is off of vertical, to get the same amount of strength from a less than vertical grain brace, the brace would have to be much bigger which would rob sound vibration.

When I split and plane braces I am looking at the side grain, the cathedrals mentioned and will not use a brace unless there is no side grain showing...for a steel string I suppose it is less critical as the dimensions of the braces are so much bigger but with a classical everything has to contribute optimally or it should not be used.

Jose Romanillos has a quote that I like:

"The difference between a great guitar and a good one is minimal but obvious"

The reference was to the arched shape (like a cathedral window) of the side grain on a piece of wood that is flatsawn. Theoetically if a piece of wood is completely quartersawn on the face, the grain lines on the side would be indistinct.