top bracing

[Scott Crissey]

has anyone ever braced a top with north American holly?i have a ton of quarter sawn!seems light but very stiff!yes it"s a hardwood,but looks like it would be a good bracewood.maybe stonger that spruce which might hold the dome better!going to weigh a piece the same dimensions as a piece of Adirondack to compare!any thoughts?

[ken cierp]

I've seen a few very cool looking Holly guitars (B&S) -- I know the conifer bracing sounds great, so that's what I use, if you want to experiment, spend the time and take a chance on a dud why not?

[Jay McClellan]

I have no firsthand experience with it but I did look up some numbers FYI. Here are a couple of links you might find useful for comparison with spruce:

http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-ide ... ods/holly/
http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-ide ... ed-spruce/

These pages indicate holly is 1.5 times as dense as red spruce so 50% more weight for the same brace volume. And its modulus of elasticity is 1.4 times less than red spruce so you you also need more volume for a given stiffness but it depends on the shape so it's not as simple a calculation. The shrinkage numbers also look poorer (larger) than spruce so it would be expected to have more seasonal movement. With all this taken together it doesn't look like a favorable alternative for brace wood, but that's not to say it couldn't make a good instrument. Just be aware that if you decide to experiment the numbers might be stacked against you.

[ken cierp]

Yep I have some Holly that I use for trim and Jay's specs support what I really suspected regarding weight and density.

[Tom West]

Hard to beat the stiffness to weight ratio of the spruces...!
Tom