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I have just been browsing an interesting site that has a lot of info on setup and repair of older Martins : www.bryankimsey.com/.
I was intrigued by comments about bridge plates where the grain direction is perpendicular to top grain, and that the down side of this is "very little anti-belly strength and since the pins were all on a single grain line, the plates tended to crack, reducing the anti-belly resistance even more". Bryan Kimsey runs the bridge plate grain parallel to X-brace.
To date, my bridge pins have been in a straight line, so are obviously a candidate for this problem.
The bridge plates purchased from LMI provide a bit of extra width to run the grain off the parallel, but not a lot.
Do you have a view on this, one way or the other?
Frank

What direction is parallel to an X?

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

Howard - maybe it can be interpreted to mean something else, but this was how I saw what he was saying....

Mmmm...feel like a bit of dill....just re-read your question and realised it probably wasn't serious!!

I think there was a post on this last summer.
You probably can find it in the archives.

I use a laminated bridge plate.
2 or 3 layers with opposing grain.
They can be anywhere from 2mm to 3mm thick depending on the strings to be used(light-med.) and there number.

Mike

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Mike Collins

Frank my friend no worries Howard is not always easy to understand.......

Above all do NOT call kerfed linings "kerfing" or you are sure to see Howard posting and correcting you...... Some of us do it anyway because even negative attention from Howard is better than no attention from Howard....

I use EIrw as bridge plates, and they are mostly quartered or slightly off (seeing as they are cutoffs from Larrivee backs !!!). I always try to make the grain in the plate run opposite to the angle of my pin holes (note - I drill the pin holes parallel to the saddle slot, so they have about a 3 degree slant to them). So if the piece I am using has grain that tends to run off one side, I flip the piec so that the grain angle is opposite the pin holes, in order to prevent a single grain line split running thru the pin holes.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

I believe Frank Ford commented on his website that he wished bridgeplates had their grain oriented parallel to the grain of the top, rather than perpendicular, but it's been a while since I read it.

Joe

I agree with Todd !
The plates job is to hold the string ball !

90 degrees to the top grain makes since!

Even though this is a learning place -each maker must do some experiments & come to thier own conclusions !]

A plate would easily crack if it's grain was parallel to the top!

Stop & think about the load (from the strings) and the humidity swings that tops go though and you'll come to the conclusion that the plate need to be 90 degrees from the top wood.


Mike

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Mike Collins