|
|
#2
07-28-2019, 07:35 AM
|
|||
|
|||
Light, stiff and split resistant. One that best fits that bill is spruce. Quarter sawn with no runout.
|
|
#3
07-28-2019, 10:00 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
I agree with Charles, Spruce, in particular Sitka Spruce imho. Split the blanks on both planes for strength, crack resistance, and ease of carving. You’ll be glad you did!
__________________
Mark Hatcher www.hatcherguitars.com “"A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking". Steven Wright
|
|
#4
07-28-2019, 10:15 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
I settled long ago on American Red Spruce for my bracing. This particular spruce seems to have less variation in density and stiffness than other spruces in my experience, making it easier for me to gauge the results when I am hand trimming the braces. Whichever wood you choose, you will want the highest quality you can find, and as perfectly quartered and grain aligned as wood can be.
|
|
#5
07-28-2019, 12:49 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
My measurements suggest that all of the spruces vary a fair amount in density and Young's modulus, with no one being much better than another in that respect. Bruce probably has a consistent source. Spruce tends to be tougher, more split resistant, than redwood, fir, or cedar, so I'd go with spruce too. The species matters less than the density: Young's modulus tends to track density in the same way for all softwoods. Lower density wood will need to be left a little taller, but can end up lighter for the same stiffness. Cut from split billets and well quartered.
|
|
#6
07-28-2019, 02:24 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
I have used one redwood top, which was on a retop of a Gibson J-100. That one has Engelmann spruce braces except for the upper transverse brace, which is black locust.
|
|
#9
08-16-2019, 08:17 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
I tend not to think about it much but I suppose I should. On hand I probably have enough spruce bracing for 50 guitars, some of which was cut in the 1970's. It's all marked as to what species it is but I usually just reach into the stash and grab a chunk and use it regardless. For a while I would use Sitka on Sitka, Red on Red, Euro on Euro and so on. Why? I don't know. If it's Quarter Sawn spruce and has no defects then I use it.
The one redwood Dred I built I used Sitka. The two guitars I am building now are Torrified Red Spruce tops and I am using Torrified Sitka bracing, just because.
|
|
#10
08-16-2019, 10:29 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
Not the subject of this discussion, but I use mahogany braces for backs.
|
|
#11
08-16-2019, 11:02 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
We once made up a sample of spruce/CF/spruce bracing, with the CF layer perpendicular to the top, when a student wanted to try it out. It was only marginally stiffer for the weight than an all-spruce brace (!), and would have been difficult to fine tune by removing wood from the top. CF/wood/CF 'I' beams, such as Smallman uses, with the CF as flanges with the wood (balsa) as a web, can be quite stiff for the weight, but impossible to change usefully once they're on. My understanding is that he fine tunes by adding mass, which sort of negates the effort of using the I-beam in the first place.
|
|
#12
08-16-2019, 04:38 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
|
|
#13
08-18-2019, 10:07 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Try fuming the locust with ammonia: it gets very dark, and the color goes deep.
|
|
#14
08-19-2019, 03:39 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
|
|
#15
08-20-2019, 11:35 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
It worked for me. It might be possible to get 'janitorial grade' stuff that's stronger, but 'blueprinter's ammonia' is hard to find any more. I was worried about the R.H. in the bag when I fumed the wood, but a hygrometer didn't register anything terribly high. I guess that the partial pressure of the ammonia kept the percentage of water vapor down.
|
