Official Luthiers Forum!

I just started a rosewood 000 from stewmac and I'm excited!

I noticed an issue with the X braces though - it doesn't have the same radius as the plans, or as the Dreadnaught braces. Is this ok, or should I try to shape the radius to match the plans? One side clearly has a radius on it but it's not tight enough.

Thanks,
Peter

A picture is always good. Not sure what you mean by radius. Check the way you are putting the braces together.

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Wisdom is justified by her children

If the radius is off you can either match the radius to you dish, or if it's not off terribly far you can (light hand pressure makes it conform) you can simply flex it in when gluing. If you flex it in while glue give yourself some extra clamp time to help minimize spring back.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

Hopefully these will clarify. Is this close enough to bend, or should I shave off some wood and try to match the radius?

I thought the braces were pre-scalloped. I would check them against the radius dish, assuming you're using one, not the drawing.
If they're that far off and 5/8 tall, I'd match the brace to my radius dish.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

The X braces for the 000 kit aren't scalloped; everything else is. I'm not using a radius dish, but I think the drawing should be correct, especially if it matches the dreadnaught x brace (which it includes for comparison).