Official Luthiers Forum!

Okay....I am quite convinced that the question I am about to ask is certainly one of those that will get me a good audience so they can watch me get beat up by the forum folks....

So here goes....got my stuff from LMI today....enclosed...a Scott Antes plan for an OM. The sound box on the left hand side of the plans shows the pick guard on the left of the sound hole....I can see this coming from a mile away....but the answer escapes me.

Why is it on the left side?...I have been told that the tone bars below the x brace are different between a lefty and a righty.....I want to build a righty....

Here's where I squint real hard and tense up cuz I know the truck is coming....

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There is no difference between the man that thinks he can....and the man that thinks he cannot.

I do not have that plans set but I suspect that the view is drawn as viewd from the inside of the guitar looking at the top bracing. If so then the tone bars will extend towards the right side lower bout and the pickgard if shown as hidden or phantom lines would appear on the left side.

- - - - - - hidden lines


_____ _ _ ______ phantom lines

Sometimes it the items on front side of such a view are just drawn lighter rather than hidden or phantom

Howdy Sniggly,
I also ordered a set of plans from LMI that Scott Antes drew up. Mine is for a Deadnought...and also has the pick guard on the left side. It also is in a dotted line, as is the bridge outline. On the plans itself, in bold black letters, you should see PICK GUARD FAR SIDE (PLASTIC OR VENEER). You are acutally looking at these plans as if you were looking from inside the guitar or the bottom of the sound board. Notice how all the bracing lines are solid and everything else is dotted? Just means the top is on the other side.
Hope this helps.

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"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

I bet you are looking at the guitar from the inside. If the pickgaurd is shown with a dotted line (is it?) then it is behind what what is shown with a solid line.

It's dotted.......

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There is no difference between the man that thinks he can....and the man that thinks he cannot.

as suspected

So there ya go, it is like you took off the back of the guitar and are looking it. You would not actually see the pickgaurd, but that is where it would be if you had x-ray vision ... so yes it is a "righty" design.

Wanna see some pics of my Granadillo?

(trying to change the subject...)

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There is no difference between the man that thinks he can....and the man that thinks he cannot.

Snig buddy the others nailed it - you are looking through the top, from the inside perspective of the box, outward and as such things that we would not normally see, from inside looking out, are designated with dotted lines. The bridge will be dotted too I suspect. And since we are looking from the inside out the pick guard appears on the wrong side than it is for a right handed guitar. Just brace per the plans with the bracing facing you as the plans are drawn for a right handed guitar.

NOTE: The Antes OM plan is over braced in my opinion and I have one here that I built to plan a long time ago. Make your X-braces and tone bars, finger braces too, 1/4" wide and consider a reduction in height too and you will have a better sounding guitar.

If the pickguard is to the left of the soundhole and if the ends of the tone bars that are close to the bridge plate are to the left of the center of the top, then the view is from inside the guitar, or looking at the top from the bottom of the top.

Bear in mind that if you build from the Antes plan, that it has been mentioned here and elsewhere that the top bracing as drawn is considerably heavier than needed, which may result in an overly stiff top. Also, look carefully to see that the tuner holes for the two e strings are drilled a bit further apart from each other than drawn, other wise the a and b strings may contact the tuners for the e strings. Martin locates the two e string holes the same distance apart as the a and b string holes.

edit:

Hesh, great minds think alike!

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

oooooohhhhh yyyeeaaahhhhh.......this is good. I was going to ask some questions about the bracing on this plan. I haven't researched the posts here on the OLF for these plans so I might consider doing that. Please.....if there are any more suggestions let me know. I'll get pics up of my granadillo soon.

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There is no difference between the man that thinks he can....and the man that thinks he cannot.

The view is from the inside of the guitar.

How many times do we need to answer a question anyways?

May be this will help....It is drawn viewd from the inside because that how it looks when you actually glue the braces down...Daaaaaaaaaaaaa

Being the first to say it I just had to say one more time for good measure

Sniggly,

In addition to adjusting the size (width/height) of the X-braces, you may also want to consider changing their position somewhat. Others may chime in here, but I"ve been coached to either shift the X-braces forward and/or spread them a bit, so that the bridge intersects the X-brace out nearer to the ends (so that only the very end of the bridge is positioned over the braces). As the Antes plan is designed, quite a bit of the bridge ends rides over the x-brace, which probably has a limiting effect on how the top vibrates, i.e. how much volume your guitar will produce (and the quality of tone).

Of course you don't want to overdo it, but you might want to play around with that idea before the construction actually begins.

Ken