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None of these posts actually answer the question as stated. What is the Most Popular Style of Linings? 90% of all guitars made use the triangular kerfed linings. A lot of custom builders are switching to other kinds but I suspect that LMI and StewMac sells a heck of a lot more trianular linings than any other kinds.

If the question was really meant to be "What kinds of linings do you use?" than let the discussion begin!

Mike is absolutely right in pursuit of our ongoing humor on the side topic of a verb being used as a noun we forgot to say much about the linings we use. Bad manners on our part.

Daniel I use mostly Spanish Cedar reverse kerf linings for it appearance, weight and workability, I have also use a bunch of various timbers for linings like Mahogany, Western Red Cedar, Basswood, and Aspen (a favorite of mine but hard to come by here in West Texas)

Why do I use reverse kerf linings? I like the look

Hope this helps

Guitar terminology is notoriously imprecise with multiple names for the same thing. Some of my favorites are:
The sides are also called the rims.
The back of the guitar is parallel to the top. I've never heard the top of a guitar called the front.
The head is connected to the neck but the heel is in between the neck and the body.
The tail is also called the butt.
A brace that is a continuous fair curve is now called a parabolic brace even if the curve is nothing like a real parabola.
Most steel string guitars are "X" braced including those that are "A" braced.
All fret boards are finger boards but not all finger boards are fret boards.
There is nothing on the guitar that you can measure that is the scale length.
A tuner is a device for adjusting the tension of a string.
A tuner is a device for measuring the pitch of a string.
A tuner is a person who sets the pitch of a string often by adjusting a tuner while looking at a tuner.
In Boston, a tuner is a fish

Yep

These are all good points and each is a fair notation of discrepancy and there is irony in several. However not one of the names were verbs. That has been the real thorn in this topic over and over. Kerfing is a verb. I am not try to stir the pot more the terms you used are explicit terms well used in this craft and woodworking in general plus they are all nouns.

Just a note of point not a poke point Mike

By the way I was taught that flat or bent but in all cases loose wood used to make up the exterior profile of the body are called sides and the glued up assembly of the neck block, tail block, linings and sides made up a rim or rim assembly. I have never referred to a loose side as a rim, that I can think of anyway.

Words get their accepted meaning from use. If we (OLF members) are on a crusade to preserve "kerfing" as only a verb, then maybe we should campaign with the many sources that use the word to describe a kerfed lining, and sell the product as "kerfing".

Anyway, there are many words that are both verbs and nouns, and it seems very likely that each word was originally used as only one or the other. Then the alternate use became accepted after may years of "incorrect" use. We string a guitar with strings. We tune a guitar to play tunes. We stuff a turkey with stuffing. We purfle a guitar with purfling.

Adding "ing" to a verb can make a verbal, which is no longer a verb. The gerund is the noun form of the verb which is made by adding "ing" to the verb, but I think it is normally used as a noun in a short noun phrase, rather than as a stand alone noun. After being used incorrectly as slang, if you choose to call it that, eventually words become accepted as legitimate. That is how all language develops and evolves, except maybe Esperanto.

Did anyone mention "ribs"? Although usually seen in reference to violin sides, I have seen it used for guitar sides, also. And I am not ribbing you.

I have no preference for style of lining.

I like the stiffness and glue-soaking properties of reverse kerfed lining/kerfing. I've built with standard triangular, solid and reverse and the latter is definitely my favourite. I would one day like to try the fancy A4 stuff or Charles Fox's for interest's sake but reverse does the job for me just fine.

As I said in another topic many months ago (which ironically started off asking the same question as this topic), I assume those who are adamant about not calling it kerfing also go to the museum and marvel at the wonderful painted canvases instead of paintings.

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Richard
http://www.guitarmaker.com

Hmm? Nouns used as verbs and verbs used as nouns. Consider the following:
"After lunching together, they went for a run."
It may grate the ears in some cases but the practice is so ubiquitous that it has become a characteristic of the language. Almost any noun can be verbed and it is almost as common to noun a verb.

Kerfing, when used as a noun, is similar to building when used as a noun.
"I am kerfing this strip to make some kerfing"
"I am building a new building"
In both cases the noun form stands for the product of the activity described by the verb. Kerfing seems to be the plural form while building is singular which may be a clue as to why kerfing grates the ear so much.

The difference may be that object being kerfed is removed.
A closer example may be the word painting.
"I am painting this canvas to make a painting". The word canvas is removed.

"I am painting a painting"

The sentence, "This is a kerfed lining", takes a noun (kerf) turns it into a verb (kerfed) and uses it as an adjective (kerfed lining)".

Ain't English fun!

English is obviously not my first language, so I'm going to leave the 'kerfing war' to you guys.

I use triangular kerfed linings (or whatever you want to call them), and I'm not convinced that the type of linings, solid or kerfed, glued this way or that, matters structurally once the box is assembled.

BTW, I believe I have also seen sides referred to as 'scantlings' (or at least that is what I think was referred to...)

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Reversed Kerfing...that's when the sawdust on the floor rises up and fills in the void left by the saw.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

OK, in the past I have used all of the different designs of kerfed linings, (we Brits do find it funny when you guys over there get pedantic about the English language, when you all murder it so badly ). Now however, I only use laminated solid linings, once the linings are on and the head and tail blocks glued in, well the mould is virtually redundant.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

Good to see that little has changed. I opened this thread for precisely this entertainment value. And, how perfect? Mr. H. K. responded first.
One of the best improvements is the smilies and such. They are the best I have seen and want WoodNet to adopt them.mt

G'day Daniel ,
On my last guitar I made some Charles Fox style liners . These are a two piece arrangement with the Kerfed strip glued on first. The ones pictured are made from Walnut .
For aesthetic reasons ,I contrasted these with Tasmanian Sassafras capping strips, to suit the colours of the Myrtle back and sides.

I used a bandsaw and router table , but it still takes a while to make them.

They really firm up the sides , but more importantly give a very solid anchoring point for the perimeter of the soundboard . This should hopefully contain more of the soundboard energy rather than lose some to the sides.






Cheers , Craig Lawrence
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CRAIG LAWRENCE of AUSTRALIA
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That is one sweet looking neck block! Are the grooves for braces?

Show us the top!

Mike

Thanks Mike. This is getting a little off the topic of kerfed liners so I hope Daniel doesn't mind and others who have already seen these pics

This first picture shows how the A frame braces fit into the neck block. I like these braces strong @ 5/16 " X 1/2 " so they can do a good job of supporting the block. This demands notching both the A Frame braces and the upper transverse for a good tight fit .

The Mahogany piece between the A Frame is for a bolt down fretboard extension . The neckblock inlay can be seen through the soundport.



'The bigger picture '
I have three lower braces because of it being a 12 string




B.T.W. The capping strips which are rebated into the kerfed liners are just over 2 mm. ( 5/64 " ) thick.

L.M.I. have included a picture of this guitar in their new catalogue . I'm thrilled to bits !

Craig Lawrence
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CRAIG LAWRENCE of AUSTRALIA
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Bldi Kiwi's......they make the inside of their guitars look nicer than the outside. To be expected I guess from down under.

If any of you have LMI's latest catalogue then check out page 8 for a pic of Craig's 12 string...she's a beauty.

Thanks for the additional pics... that is one cool design. Hope its not patented!

Back to the linings. That laminate strip, what is it made out of and how thick? is there any lateral shape to it or is it flat? Do you fine this adds noticable weight?

Mike

I just noticed something else. I love your idea for spreaders. I adding to my arsenal. But they prolly aren't so good for when you glue the top on?

I use tentallones for the soundboard.And kerfing on the backs.I don't know what is the most popular style is or type of wood that is prefered by most.I make mine from different woods though.I even use ash on some.Mark

UHHH....exactly how small are kerf linings, and how do you get them into the kerf to glue them???

I'M SORRY MICHAEL!!!! I COULDN'T HELP IT!!!! THE GUITAR TROLL MADE ME DO IT!!!!

I use reverse linings.....they sound like a dump truck backing up. <------ I know I ended the sentence in a preposition.

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Brad Tucker

My favorite quote is that of a child waiting for her dad to read to her, and she asks, "Daddy, why did you bring that book you are going to read to me out of up for?"

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Waddy, I had to read that 4 times before I could make sense of it!!

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Brad Tucker

Craig;
Great design ,woods ,and work(nice tight fitting parts!)

The 2 piece or even 3 or more is a great way to help the top do it's work and not lose energy to the sides!!

Mike

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Mike Collins

Adding layers to the lining helps the top do its work? Really? It seems to me you are making the top thicker (near the edges). If one does this, would it make sense to thin the top (more) near the edges?

Mike

it is not the glued up setion of the diaphram that works it is the part just past it where it all starts to happen. now by making the glue flange wider you alter the top some but very little

G'day again Mike ,

The Fox style liners I've made aren't really that much thicker than conventional . The 5/64 " thick capping is rebated into the kerfed liners . Mine ended up to be 6.9 mm. in total, as opposed to conventional's being around 1/4 ". That's only a difference of around 1/64 " to 1/32 " . I did make them deeper though , to add mass. This aids in containing the soundboard's energy to the top only and not lose it to the sides.

This type of design does add weight to the instrument , particularly when using Walnut liners ,but it's what I wanted to achieve.

I'm in two minds whether this is the way to go on all guitars though . I have a Mahogany guitar I built with conventional light wedge shaped liners and the guitar is phenomenal. Sides aren't that thick and the guitar weighs very little in total . In this case I'm thinking that the instrument as a whole , is sharing and radiating the soundboards energy.

Because I used a wood much heavier than mahogany with the guitar pictured , I elected to go the other route. There was no way it was going to end up a light weight guitar, so made the sides as thick as I could get away with and added the fox Liners . This was all to contain the soundboards energy to the top only . It makes for a loud instrument having great projection , but not the " chest thumper " of my Mahogany guitar. For that reason I added a soundport to give the player a little more ' feedback' . I don't think "chest thumpers" require them.

Mike , I thin the soundboard around the perimeter in all cases to give it more freedom of movement . The spreaders I use fit through the soundhole when the box is closed ( I checked first )
I first saw the A Frame bracing design on a guitar built by George Lowden . In fact I think he may have been the original designer . Martin have since adopted the design to some of their models

Thanks for those Kind words Mike ( Collins ) Appreciated coming from a builder of your calibre.

Cheers all !


Craig Lawrence
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CRAIG LAWRENCE of AUSTRALIA
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