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Okay I did an archive search (cited below) and have nearly completed reading the Cumpiano book.

http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/search.asp?KW=Splitting+s pruce&SM=1&SI=PT&FM=2&OB=1

Dickey started two great threads touching on this along with another one or two threads.

Cumpiano's book seems to favor splitting each piece of strut blank but his cut diagram of the billet would be hard to pull off without using a saw.

Others on the thread seemed to believe that as long as you started with a split billet sawing should not diminish the strength of the blanks.

Is there a consenus on this at least on this forum?

I have not done any splitting and think I would end up with more waste than strut blanks but perhaps it is less problematic than I anticipate.

I did get a splitt billet of Sitka spruce from LMI but I need to check to see if it is going to be long enough to make X bracings for my ABG.

Scooter,

Most suppliers split billets from the log rounds. So you have the rough face following the grain lines already. Then it's a matter of splitting or sawing off that face.

For sake of clarity, if you split a brace, then sawed it 90 degrees from that face, you'd have pretty good bracewood if it is straight stock.

I wish every luthier on the OLF had a piece of Adirondack Spruce like I have in my shop. They came from John Griffin in Fulton, Missouri. www.adirondackspruce.com Old Standard Instrument Wood. My best braces come from him. I'm sure any good wood cutter would do you right and send you split billet material.

[QUOTE=Dickey] Scooter,

Most suppliers split billets from the log rounds. So you have the rough face following the grain lines already.

For sake of clarity, if you split a brace, then sawed it 90 degrees from that face, you'd have pretty good bracewood if it is straight stock.[/QUOTE]

So I have this rectangular split billet of spruce then in theory I can just rip cut straight cuts a little larger than the width of the brace and they will be ready for shaping?

[QUOTE]
I wish every luthier on the OLF had a piece of Adirondack Spruce like I have in my shop. They came from John Griffin in Fulton, Missouri. www.adirondackspruce.com Old Standard Instrument Wood. My best braces come from him. I'm sure any good wood cutter would do you right and send you split billet material.[/QUOTE]

If my billet is not long enough or appears less than desirable I will order some from John.

Thanks

Splitting or sawing off the originally split-out billet should give you good brace stock. Now if it's C-shaped and you joint or saw it straight, then you have runout and it's not as desirable.

What you are trying to achieve is quartered braces with little to no runout.

I've gotten brace stock from suppliers up to 15 degrees off quarter. I've also investigated wood which was perfectly quartered, but when split lengthwise along the grain, it resembled a washboard surface. Not good.

And... one final caveat, old wood is not necessarily good wood. Spruce can become brittle or punky over time depending on it's living conditions. I'd take healthy, new wood over old unknown wood. Of course seasoning this wood, preferrably air-drying rather than kiln-drying is preferred.

At Fulton, John has a way of air-drying that is really cool. He hangs or stacks wood in a low humidity enclosed environment and blows air over it, quickly but naturally removing the moisture. He has a large AC unit in this area to control humidity. Caring for wood as he does, it's no wonder he's stayed in business so long.