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Well all was going great, and so far i have had plenty of time between what I will do next till actually doing it. But, all of a sudden I got this "at the time" great idea´to make a nice inlay on the upper bout of the top !!! . So without thinking any further, I draw the line I had in my head and took the router and cut !! it ended up looking ugly as &€(/€%&(/ in my eyes so I then thought I should fix it and the cut got even wider so now it became even more ugly hahaha. so after starring the top down for about 5 min I took my hand and made a nice fist-like hole through the top. So now I have had the pleasure of removing my first top. it went great though, so even here I learned a thing or 10.

I do have a question for you all. I was now thinking of putting on a Cedar top on it instead of the "mastergrade bearclaw sitka" .
this Cedar I have is real old and tapping on it is amazing. It rings for over 6-7 seconds without lying. as it sounds this amazing even now when its thinned to about 0.140-0.150 my question is, what is the preffered thickness of cedar ? Should I think in the same way as for spruce ? like 0.100 - 0.120 around. or should I leave it at this thickness as it rings so beautifully already ? "if this would have been a sprucetop I would have stopped the thicknessing now !.

Lars.

i feel your pain Lars......i ruined an amazing top once by dropping a block plane on it.........i have found that i can work cedar to around the same a spruce but i like to brace it different.....kinda like more braces but lighter braces....if that makes sense........joe

Hi Lars -
Well, if that's your first major mistake, you're well ahead of me....

I've used Western Red Cedar - same as what you're using? Now I'm thinking maybe not. If you're using a European Cedar that's a different species, please ignore my comments.

At any rate, if it is Western Red Cedar - I love it as a topwood - it's "open" from almost day one, and just gets better. When I used it, I kept it a bit thicker than Sitka - all things being equal, if Sitka had been .110, the cedar is .130. (I know, every piece of wood is different, etc.). But that's where I ended up.

One final caveat - Western Red Cedar is way more prone to dents and digs than Sitka. I've got a nice beauty mark on the front of my Cedar/Walnut combo that I don't have the slightest idea where it came from.

Wow Lars, you're a terrible builder, no one else around here makes mistakes. I usually like to sleep on a mistake before putting my fist thru it, though.

I myself have given up on cedar. The sound in my head, the one I'm trying to build to, has a sharper "cut" than I ever got with cedar. I love the look though.

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Thank a lot for the great replies. Well I am sure more mistakes are to come
More inputs on cedar are more than welcomed !!!
Also how am I to compare taptones between spruce and cedar. the cedar rings like forever,like a bell, while spruce seem to have a more distinct focused taptone if my choice of words makes sence.
when tapping a spruce I try to find its "peak" of tone, like before I feel it will start to go the otgher way so to speak. but the cedar seem to keep its long ringing tone but falls faster in pitch, for me to compare them would be to leave the cedar thick to not let it be to much bas sounding. help on this needed.

Lars

I feel your pain. I had to redo about 2/3 of the purflings on my Cherry ditson because I rushed and the veneer purfling strips didn't make it down into the grooves before pouring the superglue to it... I had my Trademarked "Bubble Dust Clear Superglue Purflings" They have a real special look to them...

On Cedar tops...
Al has mentioned this quite a few times... and I think he is right on it....

His info:
Cedar has a much lower density/stiffness and has a much higher Q than the same spruce....
So it has to be left quite a bit thicker than the same spruce to get the same stiffness.

I think that kinda bears out what I have seen on several factory guitars...
My cheap-o ($279) factory Tak GS-330C has a 1/8" thick cedar top -- The Spruce top models are crazy stiff and dead sounding.. but these Cedar tops are a tremendous value in stock form.... They just sound like a much more expensive guitar.... Why? The top is *Significantly* floppier and lighter than the same thickness Spruce top (Which is used on the GS-330)

I did a little "Re-voicing" on mine.. and I *Really* like the sound now. Big fat Mids (Taks are known for this) but it is now balanced with nice solid basses and very zingy trebles. It has a *Ton* of tone and is Loud Loud Loud... The Tone is just what sets it apart... Its almost Piano-ey..

I think the key here is that while a 1/8" thick Lower bout made of good stiff spruce is just too stiff to move with any bracing in particular... the Cedar is much less stiff and way lighter -- and at this huge thickness... it behaves more like 0.105" thick Spruce....

Good luck with your retop. It is definately worth it in the end.

John

Ahh, now its a 'Larsclaw' top...

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Lars, somewhere around .120 and Bob`s gonna be your uncle.I`d say your a little thick as it is.If it sounds good now it will probably knock you down at .120.This is where at least to my ears Cedar is awesome..Did I mention I have hearing aids.
James

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James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee

I keep my WRC tops at .125 so they end up around .120 when finished for most.I do go thinner on those with less deflection sometimes, as not all wood is the same.It's more of a judgement call for me when thicknessing top plates on all types of wood.

Thanks alot for the relies my friends. great info ! .
this is a real short post, my son is screaming DAAAAAAD. so I guess I cant be sitting by the computer hahaha.

Lars.