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I have one of my x brace ends , in the lower bout , about 1/4 to 3/16 short of the linings, the reason I posted here viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=17270

I was thinking I should maybe angle the end of the brace, so the seam goes sort of accross the grain ofthe top , then glue in a small peice of brace material so I have wood going all the way to the linings,to hopefully avoid any stress risers. is this a practical solution ? is there another solution? should I even worry about the brace being slightly short ? I know some builders inlet the braces on the lower bout so I am thinking this could become an issue under stress..... thanks Jody

Hi Jody. You should find lots of discussion of this subject in the archives if you do a search. I end all of my soundboard braces short of the linings. I'll see if I can attach a photo of the bracing on the alto guitar I'm finishing up now.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

Notice they are scooped/tapered down to very thin before they end. This way they will flex with the top and not pop loose if the top takes a hit.

Some non-tuckers like to feather them down to nothing and have them end right at the lining. I prefer to thin them way down, end them about 1/4" short of the linings, and make the ends look nice.

Carrying the braces all the way into the linings seems to me to be over-stiffening the perimeter of the board. But everybody has their own theory and opinion about this sort of thing.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

Thank you Todd Stock and Todd Rose ,cool now maybe I will be able to glue the back on next week ..! Jody

I agree. I feather braces to paper thin at the linings. I do not notch the linings as a result

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Greg
http://garibaldiinstruments.com/

Todd, I hate to sound stupid(believe it or not ) What's an alto guitar? That photo looks almost round! Do you have a more straight on look?

Clean work BTW!

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

Billy, you ain't stupid! I'm not the first one to have ever conceived of and built an alto guitar, but it sure isn't something you run into at Guitar Center. My design isn't based on other alto guitars. It's my own concept. It's like you took a standard guitar and capoed it at the 5th fret, eliminated the lowest two strings, then doubled the remaining four (unison pairs). So, it'll be tuned GGCCEEAA.

Here's a couple of photos of the body before it went to Joe White for finishing. This is the first one I've made, but the second is already under way, and there will be more.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/