One More Ladder Braced Birch GC

[Joe Sustaire]

What the heck I'm on a roll.......
So we'll do it one more time and see if I like this new one as well as I like the one I just finished. White spruce top, birch back and sides, ladder bracing, built with a 12' radius cylinder arch on top and a 15' radius dome on the back. I'm going to try and get the angle right on the dovetail neck join this time so I can use a pinned bridge and see how they differ.

Now I'm not a production guy so I've always just layed out my bracing pattern right on the top, figuring it out each time. This time I did a lead pencil cad drawing so I won't have to figure it out again next time I build this guitar.





Sure makes it easy to layout your bracing onto the top!




Here's the sides in the mold with end blocks and kerfing in. Top sanded to fit a 12' radius cylinder and back sanded to fit a 15' radius dome.


Here's the white spruce top with a birch-bark rosette and a celluloid tortoise soundhole binding set into the top so it's supported from underneath as well. I figured it's about time I tried out Grants bark rosette idea since this has birch back and sides.








Bracing the top.




And the top bracing before carving.



And showing the 12' radius to the top.




And now I'll get to carving the braces and tapping the top to see if I can make it come alive......

[Dennis Leahy]

Looks great, Joe!

[Fred Blom]

Great pictures, Joe. Love the birch bark rosette

[Joe Sustaire]

Thanks Fred and Dennis!

Got a bit more done....



Sure looks better after they're carved!




Routing for the back strip...




Inlaid...




Well on the way to a box, and the back bracing carved......

All for now.

[Dennis Leahy]

Looking great, Joe!

Hey, you may have already stated this, but what is the secondary laminate on your bridge patch? And, what's the idea with it?

[Joe Sustaire]

It's just east indian rosewood, for the string ends. The spruce wouldn't stand up over time. Not needed if you use a tailpiece/floating bridge, but I'm planning for this one to be a pin bridge. I know, I said that on the last one also, so who knows how it'll end up.

At least if it's in there you can always go with a pinned bridge later...... flexibility, yeah, that's it......

[michael]

Joe, it is looking good. I'm surprised at how big the bracing looks. You said the other one sounded good so I guess it works out some how. I would like to build a similar guitar and look forward to hearing how this one sounds.
Mike

[Joe Sustaire]

I know Michael, it looks massive to me also.

I'm basically following Haans's pattern on this except that he has the braces at 7/16'' x 3/4", John How, who built some great ladder braced guitars used the same dimensions. I actually reduced them to just under 3/8" x 3/4", I just couldn't go the 7/16". It sure worked out on the other one and I got this box closed up yesterday and it's got a heck of a thump to it when you tap anywhere around the bridge area. Makes a very nice drum...... so I've got my fingers crossed this one will work out as well.....

On looking at the bracing picture trying to analyze it you'll see that basically most of the bracing is going to reinforce the soundhole area which has a bad tendency to develop a "potato chip curl" in the old ladder braced guitars. So to counter this Haans uses a thick .120" top, doubled plate around the soundhole, and the braces tying the top two braces together.

But if you look at it, in the sound producing area you just have the one ladder brace, which isn't tucked into the bracing and the spruce bridge patch which ends before the kerfing also. So that leaves you a nice big area free to vibrate for sound production while keeping structural strength in the upper bout to hold it all together.

At least that's my analysis of what's going on. Who knows?