Marshwood Acoustic, Chapter 2, The Back

Installing Spruce Braces to the Back:

1.I set out the radius dish, the back and the OM plans. The placement of the spruce braces are measured (locations taken from plans).



2.The spruce braces are sanded to a 15 foot radius using the dish. I used a bandsaw and hand plane to remove the bulk of the wood until the brace fit roughly to the dish.



3.The placement of the spruce braces are transfered to the center strip on the guitar's back. Using a square, I held each brace perpendicular to the center strip and scored the outline of the brace with a razor onto the center strip. Using a saw the back strip was cut with a small saw then chiseled the rest to the scored line. This small channel will allow the brace to lay flush against the maple back.



4.Using the "Go Bar Deck", a clamping devise, I glued in each brace while cleaning up all glue squeeze-out along the way. The next step will be to shape the braces.