My build process is heavily influenced by W. Cumpiano's book and method. That was my starting point. Yes, I build on a solera but my soundboard (ah..your soundboard ) has a 25' radius. Under the soundboard is a piece of cork and a piece of shy 1/4 ply about 1 1/2" wide which skirts the perimeter of the guitar outline. This supports the edges of the sound board and provides clearance for the radiused soundboard to be secured at the sound hole for the next steps of assembly, attaching the sides and finally the back.
My bracing generally follows the X line of thought keeping in mind "minimally braced structure". I use the best bracing material I can find and shave it thin when carving. This bracing is in the 35-50 grains per inch neighborhood so I am trying to keep it lighter by shaving the braces more and reducing mass on the top. The lower fan braces are an idea I saw on a Michael Gurian steel string in an old catalog I have and wanted to try it out. I figured the total mass of the three lower fan bracing and lower face brace is equal to or slightly less than two lower face braces. I realize one lower face brace alone might be enough too, but thought I'd try that on one of my own. We will see what the results will be!
I wonder if anyone out there has more information on M. Gurian's bracing scheme?
This top has some great color in it. I just realized I haven't posted a pic of the rosette yet, so I will. The rosette has a thin line of purple in the outer ring and a few lines of orange in the inner ring which really tie nicely with the colors in the top.
OH- the neck block is just sitting there for tracing the outline. The real one will have the mortise facing the neck!
Thanks,
Dean
