Official Luthiers Forum!

Would someone please discuss the correct way to cut braces from billets?
Thanks,

I'm hardly an expert, but here goes:

Split billet (down the middle), unless it's already got a split face/you trust the vendor to have given you that split face. In theory you can split all your billets by hand, but most people seem to split, and then saw perpendicular to that split.

Can someone explain the point of splitting the braces off the billett when
you're just going to subsequently plane and carve the brace? Wouldn't
you get the same net result by simply sawing the billet up? I guess if the
billet is off-quarter, you could split and plane a face and then saw from
there...that might make sense to me.

For what it's worth, I split every brace I used just because that's
apparently the way to do it, I just find myself asking the question...

Cumpiano discusses this at some length in his book. Doing it the way he outlines really reveals the straightness -- or lack thereof -- of the grain and the runout in the billet, both of which need to be taken into account.

To me, the most important cut is the first one -- perpendicular to the end grain. This will reveal the runout in the billet. Once the run of the grain has been established, and assuming the grain is straight, the pieces can be sawn, but I usually split all of mine and plane them to final dimensions.

Best,

MichaelMichael McBroom38879.7621412037

_________________
Live to Play, Play to Live

Here's a few pics.

This is an extreme example of twist and runout in a billet.
It came to me looking pretty normal, until I split it.

Here, one piece is put back for illustration purposes.


Here's what I got on this split. Major runout.
I pretty much gave up on this billet altogether. Too much runout and twist. Not an inch of straight grain anywhere. If I'd just cut it up without splitting it to see what was there, the resulting braces might have been very weak.

Here's a good one.
The split surface is a perfect quarter, as evidence by the grain at the narrow part. The other lines to the left are from the tablesaw, which I used only to make the grain show up. I "developed" the split surface to use as a reference, with a plane and tablesaw, making it flat. From there, I split it vertically and make that surface flat. From there, I rip it on the tablesaw, ending up with something like these, which will be further ripped. No surprises here.
Oh, expect a fair amount of waste.

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

Nice description and pics, very helpful thanks

Thanks Pat!

I resaw all of my brace stock to 3/4 inches thick, starting with a split face. I didn't hand split (after it was re-sawn)the brace stock for the first (and current) guitar I am working on and don't think I will in the future either. I process brace stock only from stright, tight grained trees. In Pat's examples above, you can really see the runout in that first block just by looking at the flat face, although that is not always a positive indicator. So if you know you have good brace material, from a reputable supplier who takes care in their operation, you can probably just saw. If you are unsure, then split to find out what you have. Be sure though to always split in halves. If you have a 1 inch square and you want 1/4 inch pieces, split to two 1/2 inch pieces first then your 1/4 pieces, to do otherwise will likely result in the split tearing across the grain, rather than following it.

Shane

_________________
Canada

I split all of mine over size with an old blunt chisel, I want to split it not cut it, I can then select the good straight pieces for use as brace material and plane then to the right dimensions following the split. For a very good piece you can split the billet in half then saw follwing the split face, but it is just as quick to split them all.

Colin

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