Back/Top wood Question

[jazzandbeyond]

Who has built a four piece top or back on their guitars? Also, how has it affected
structural integrity? Suggestions? Their is a lot of wood I can get a hold of from various sources with smaller dimensions width wise than ideal, and could possibly
be to my advantage to consider a different route at first

[Laurent Brondel]

Does five count?







Providing the woods are stable, joinery is solid and thickness is approached the same way as a 2 piece back, there is no negative effect. Why should there be?

[jazzandbeyond]

That's encouraging.Not only is it grounds for a kill aesthetic, but I'm assuming you can use lees than ideal dimensions of wood to still put together a great guitar

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Laurent Brondel

Does five count?

Providing the woods are stable, joinery is solid and thickness is approached the same way as a 2 piece back, there is no negative effect. Why should there be?

I think there are some asthetic opportunities for the side and maybe even the back of a guitar that would not have a noticable effect on sound quality. I would be very careful mixing woods for a soundboard The reason there would be an effect is the individual differences in the vibrational characteristics between two pieces of wood would cause a damping effect on both. Think of how they make sound deadening material by using layers of different densities. Even in a single piece of wood like Sitka, sound travels 10 times faster with the grain than against it because of the density difference between the hard and soft grain lines.
This is also a reason to be skeptical of composite braces which structurely may be great, but could also at the same time be very sound deadening.

[Haans]

Four piece tops or backs...only out of necessity (wings on extra wide guitars)
Composite (laminated) bracing...just about all the time. Sound deadening? Ahh, no.

[Alan Carruth]

I'm with Laurent on this one; it's almost entirely a cosmetic/sales issue if your work is good. I think you'd have to go to some lengths to run into excess damping problems with a multi-piece top, and there would be lots of other issues associated with that, so you're unlikely to get that problem in normal construction. I've made lots of three piece backs, and a few with four, with no trouble so far.

[Tim McKnight]

LMI had some fantastic variegated banded MadRose sets 7+ years ago and all were four piece backs. There were a lot of us who built many successful guitars with that wood. If its joined properly there are no issues. I only wish more of it were available today ;(

[jazzandbeyond]

Thanks for all your input guys, it will help me consider more than a single source of usable wood, ie not just tone wood supply, though my tops will probably all be two piece.I have been digging locally for a good source of back and side wood and finally found a saw mill in the dallas area that sells curly qtr sawn oak and qtr sawn bubinga(the only qtr sawn woods they sell hahah) and while that still is only part of the construction, and who knows if it's the best grade, it's a good start since I can buy board feet of it and can re-saw the more ideal width lumber myself at a buddy's work who wants to help me build as much as I want to start. I just need a bigger bandsaw hahha,shopsmith is only a 6 1/2" clearance,which might work for the four peice backs,but no cigarillo for full size lumber I would want to book-match.Hes been a pretty good spotter for me, as before this endeavor I have had no experience with power tools at all. <<

[Tim McKnight]

Consider adding riser blocks to your saw to increase the depth of cut. I am not familiar with ShopSmith saws but most 14" C-fame saws can have riser blocks added to them. That's what I did before I could afford my current 18" re-saw.

[Howard Klepper]

There is no downside to 4-piece backs. It often enables a builder to put quartersawn wood all the way across the back, which is a plus. IMO when a builder does extra work in order to use better wood, the price should go up.

Using different woods in a top has always worked very well for me. Any downside to it is an unfounded conjecture. My guitars that have combined spruce and cedar have all sounded extraordinarily good. I think the different top woods have contributed to that.

[japple]

Man I love those dovetail guitars Howard. I am mezmerized every time I see them.