Okay time to get some more pics up. Lets talk about sides and rimset construction.
I laminate my sides. A standard side thickness is going to be right around .075" to .080". The outer layer of my sides is .060" and that is reinforced by two more .030" layers so final thickness comes in right around .120" or just under 1/8th of an inch. Yes, this adds weight but benefits are significant enough that I wouldn't want to build any other way. When I was initially testing laminated sides for myself, I was actually able to stand on 1 side (supported at the head and end block to prevent flattening) and it held me at 170lbs with no cracks or signs of failure. Necessary? maybe not, I do not recommend standing on your completed guitar, but it is nice to know that the strength is there in case of an unfortunate impact. A flexible rimset also has the potential to take energy from the top and make the system less efficient so keeping the sides as still as possible through laminating is probably a good idea in my build method.
I always try to nail the seem at the lower bout. If I don't have to use an end wedge to hide a bad join, I would prefer not to. Here is the brazillian join:
Sometimes though, the grain just does not line up no matter how you shift it. In this case the join on the Macasser is tight but the grain lines do not meet in an appealing way so I will take care of this with a decoration later.
Side interior reinforcements
And finally, three complete rimsets ready to accept top and back plates!
-Tyler