Shoulder brace contour?

[Mike Bradley]

Hi everyone, I've been studying the KMG section on achieving neck angle by flattening the upper bout rim, by raising it in the mold by 8 cards thickness, and keeping the waist clamped level with the rim etc. Earlier in the section, there is mention of the shoulder brace being contoured at the ends and flat in the center to accomodate the flat bottom of the FB. Maybe I'm not quite reading this correctly, but does sanding the upper bout rim as above, negate the need to radius the ends of the shoulder brace so that it's all flat, or is it still necessary ? And if it's still necessary to radius the ends of the shoulder brace, by how much? On the diagrams, the radiussed area of this brace appears to be a couple of inches or so at each end, leaving a fairly long flat section which is flat. Obviously, the wider the flat section, the lower the effect of the brace to raise the top to the right level. And, the narrower the flat section, the higher the raised top will be.
So, is there a fixed length for this flat area, to fit in with the rest of figures quoted in the section, i.e. 40' radius top(x braces) and 89 deg neck angle?
Sorry if this is a bit long winded, but I'm just trying to understand. Thanks in advance.
Mike

[ken cierp]

You'll never know the difference if you add the tiny slope to the ends of the shoulder brace or not. When we prepare the shoulder brace for out kits we barely touch the last two inches or so of each end, if I did not tell you, you would not even notice. I doubt that most manufactures/builders even bother with this step.

[Mike Bradley]

Ken, thanks for the response, but to quote the KMG instructions "Even more importantly – before gluing the shoulder brace to the top you must know how
high it rises under the fingerboard area and what angle, that rise creates back to the neck
block at the rim." and this part confuses me. Do I slope the end 2 inches or keep it all flat?
thanks Mike.

[ken cierp]

Are you sure it says that in the instructions? Or is it in one of the articles stating a general premise?

This is what's said in the instruction manual --

"The shoulder brace is almost flat on
the edge that is glued, there is a subtle
taper at both ends to blend with the
contour of the “X” bracing."

[Mike Bradley]

Ken, it's in this section, maybe I was incorrect to say instructions. http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/neckangle.html
Nevertheless, the same question remains. Please bear in mind this is my first guitar build, so I've no experience to fall back on. and so I seek the advice of experts like yourself. I decided to follow the guidance from the said instructions from the success kit, section 2 rim assembly, and sanded the upper bout as suggested, and now need to know what to do next with regards to the shoulder brace. Sorry to labour the point. Thanks Mike.

[ken cierp]

See above post