LMII bracewood

[Dave Bagwill]

I've noticed that LMII has a paragraph on their bracewood page, stating that QS stock is getting more difficult to find, even as all wood is getting scarcer.

Is this a real thing? Are you having trouble finding quality quartersawn stock?

[Dave Bagwill]

Better yet: what is your source of good brace material?

[Tim Benware]

I bought $100 worth of brace wood from the Martin Factory store a few years back. They called it second grade and indeed some of it was. Some pieces were broken/split, had small knots etc. There was enough bracing to do 100 guitars and by the time I was done sorting it there were 50 complete sets of really nice braces. Most of the defects were in areas I would cut out/off while working the brace. The other pieces had enough good wood to make the fingers braces, sound hole bracing etc.

Now having said all that, I have gotten in some other "newer" brace wood that has not been even close to the quality of the "seconds" I got Martin. Much more run out wider grain etc. So my feeling is it is getting worse.

[Herman]

I've too trouble finding good stuff around here. Lately I got some blanks from a supplier here and as it was cheap, it was worthless also. Very nice looking, but flexibel as gum. Useless. I guess we have to pay for decent stuff.
2ct Herman

[Dave Bagwill]

The last batch I purchased was so off-grain that it yielded perhaps 50% of what a truly QS billet would have. Discouraging.

I may have to start thinking about making braces laminated with cf. Hassle.

[John Link]

Dave,

Besides the hassle of laminating in carbon fiber, it's extraordinary strength might make it difficult to adjust the strength of the bracing once it is glued to the top and you "really" get to experience the brace's effect on the top.

My last batch of brace wood was from Old Standard Wood (Fenton, Missouri) a number of years ago. They sent it to me, along with an invoice, for my inspection. If I wanted to keep it, which I did, I sent them a check. If I did not want it, I was to send it back, no explanation required. (I would be out the cost of return shipping.) Until I made that decision, I paid them nothing. Quite a nice way to do business.

I have also gotten other wood from them. Never disappointed. They have sold me red spruce tops, bracwood, an incredible Honduran Rosewood B&S set, binding stock, and the most three dimensional fiddleback maple I have ever seen, 4 large consecutive slices of flitch matched wood. I could tell them the characteristics I wanted and they hand selected from their stock to those specs as part of the deal. Then they emailed me with a description of the specifics with regard to what they found, before they shipped.

[Dave Bagwill]

An excellent reference, John, I'll be contacting them for sure.