December 19, 2009

Discovered that the backplate dome had compressed.  This means that the natural dome shape of the back had flattened.  This is not a good thing.  Many options, but the best was to remove the lower bout braces and replace, then assure the dome is retained as the top is installed.

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So the first step was to use the dremel to scour out the bottom two ladder braces and keep it in the go-bar clamp to teach it to be radiussed in preparation for installation of new braces, a little beefier and spruce instead of mahogany for lateral integrity.

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Once the braces are installed, new kerf pieces were installed to hold the end pieces of the braces down and retain the dome.   I’ll hold the back braced box in place in the go-bar clamp until I’m ready to install the top.

The top is fully braced and has the appropriate tap tone and is therefore ready for installation.  I’ll let the back and braces sit overnight to cure before I install the top.

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I’ve used a scallop approach to bracing the top.  After repeated tapping, I think that this arrangement will produce the tone I’m looking for.  The top is around .120 to .115″ thick, the bracing is sufficiently scalloped and feathered to zero toward the kerf line.  As guitar building is controversial, some will say “don’t feather, you idiot” or “the soundboard is not a speaker cone, you idiot” or “did you hear the falling of the water over the pebbles of Buddha” or “what were you thinking?”.  All of these comments are valid, but we must take our own journeys and arrive at our own conclusions.  I think, based upon what I hear, that this guitar soundboard will sing.  If not, many of us will be disappointed.

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I signed the top plate, and tomorrow it gets installed.  Whee.