Thickness mistake on sinker red cedar top
Thickness mistake on sinker red cedar top
Well I made a bit of a mistake. I was working with my thickness sander (jet 10-20) and my friend and I thicknessed some sides and backs , all worked well and sanded within .002-.003 across , note the backs were not joined yet. Any how since things were going well I thicknessed a nice Sinker red cedar to to .130 and then joined it. The next day I decided to run it through (now glued together so I could not sand full widthwith my 10'' drum sander) to bring it down close. Long story short it sanded unevenly. There were no ridges or sanding lines in the center , it just seemed to be softer there and removed more. I probably should have readjusted the drum angle before this process. Anyhow I ended up with a .100 thickness which I know is probably too thin for red cedar. If I clamp the edge 1'' onto my bench (parrallel to grain) the outboard edge droops about 7/8''. I really like the top alot, do you guys think I could use it for a 00 sized guitar at that thickness?? Or maybe brace it heavier. Any recommendations or help apprecieted. Thanks ,Jack.
Re: Thickness mistake on sinker red cedar top
Yes that seems like a lot of deflection for a large guitar, just guess not having in hand. Should be fine for a small body, Id' use regular 1/4" bracing maybe a tab taller.
ken cierp
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Re: Thickness mistake on sinker red cedar top
Hello Ken, Thats what I was thinking maybe a small body like a a palor guitar. Thanks for the help , Jack.
Re: Thickness mistake on sinker red cedar top
Jack,
In 1975 I made a 16 inch dread using cedar with that much deflection and it turned out fine and remains fine, nice warm bass. The top was thicker than yours, but the wood extremely flexible across the grain and not that stiff with.
I think it is worth considering that "weakness" is not necessarily a problem if it does not lead to self destruction of the instrument. Bass response depends upon it.
On the other hand, conventional wisdom has it, and rightly so I think, that it is better to have the center thicker than the edges, instead of vice versa. But Somogyi describes one builder who makes good gits reversing conventional wisdom, so there you go.
I say all this not knowing how stiff your cedar is in the first place. I have some that I've kept in storage for 10 years that rivals spruce. I would not be afraid of using it at 0.10 inch.
In 1975 I made a 16 inch dread using cedar with that much deflection and it turned out fine and remains fine, nice warm bass. The top was thicker than yours, but the wood extremely flexible across the grain and not that stiff with.
I think it is worth considering that "weakness" is not necessarily a problem if it does not lead to self destruction of the instrument. Bass response depends upon it.
On the other hand, conventional wisdom has it, and rightly so I think, that it is better to have the center thicker than the edges, instead of vice versa. But Somogyi describes one builder who makes good gits reversing conventional wisdom, so there you go.
I say all this not knowing how stiff your cedar is in the first place. I have some that I've kept in storage for 10 years that rivals spruce. I would not be afraid of using it at 0.10 inch.
John
Re: Thickness mistake on sinker red cedar top
Thanks for the info John. I will definitely use this top on a smaller body guitar. Just need to decide what body shape. I have a set of walnut back and sides that I might use with this top. The picture below has a pencil centerline drawn on the top just to clarify the joint in not very obvious. Thanks , Jack.
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Re: Thickness mistake on sinker red cedar top
Mark Hatcher, a small builder I know, thins his tops to about .080". He uses a lattice/ double x-braced style of bracing to restore the stiffness. I visited his shop and his braces are light as a feather but stiff as nails. Here is is his site:
http://www.hatcherguitars.com/
There are no pics of his braces that I could find in a quick look around, but he does post his builds at the acoustic guitar forum. Here is a link to a build thread at the AGF:
http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/foru ... p?t=312306'
My point, is that a thin top can be used if properly braced to compensate for the loss of strength in the top. However, if you don't have a lot of experience, you might be better off waiting until you are more experienced, or, as you have proposed, using the top on a smaller body guitar. I build a dread with some very stiff cedar and the top came in at just about .100". It sounds great!
http://www.hatcherguitars.com/
There are no pics of his braces that I could find in a quick look around, but he does post his builds at the acoustic guitar forum. Here is a link to a build thread at the AGF:
http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/foru ... p?t=312306'
My point, is that a thin top can be used if properly braced to compensate for the loss of strength in the top. However, if you don't have a lot of experience, you might be better off waiting until you are more experienced, or, as you have proposed, using the top on a smaller body guitar. I build a dread with some very stiff cedar and the top came in at just about .100". It sounds great!