[Neil K Walk]

Originally Posted by charles Tauber

Sure, but keep in mind that the sound hole removes that portion of the centre seam and the area above that, covered by the fingerboard, is never seen, and is reinforced by end blocks, cross braces, whatever else you put in that area. Practically, the portion of the joint that needs to be perfect is the visible portion in the lower bout below the bridge.

Changes in humidity make accurate fitting of thin components very difficult since they are constantly changing size and shape. I once had a top braced to a convex arch change to a concave arch as the humidity changed. Trying to fit, for example, side contours to that is difficult, to say the least. If you can't control the humidity in a larger area, a small closet of large box/chamber can relatively easily be maintained, taking components out to work on them then returning them to the controlled environment.

Thank you for bringing up that first point, Charles. I was pondering that very point and nearly discounted it because I thought it would somehow compromise the voicing process. I’m particularly interested in doing deflection testing so that I don’t overdo it on reducing the thickness of the joined plate. That’s my biggest regret on my second build; there was too much flex on the soundboard because I planed it too thin.