Official Luthiers Forum!

Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving. Good to have a few days off to play in the shop!

I am about ready to close up the body on my OM, and decided to put a post up to see how many of you reinforce your rims. With my one and only build, an OMC, I did not put any reinforcement on the rim as the guy who sold me the parts told me to not reinforce. He said if the rims are going to split, they will split whether they are reinforced or not, and having those reinforcement sticks glued in will just make the repair more difficult. So, with the OMC, I added no reinforcement. Now I know there are more of you builders out there, I thought I would ask before I button this one up.

Thanks,

Ken

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http://www.casperguitar.com

Ken;
I've made many guitars with none!
It matters at what humidity the guitar is assembled at -the condition of the woods and most important -that the sides are not subjected to trauma !!(sp)
Also - are you making a big box -Dreadnaught-Jumbo-or a small guitar?
Classical?
All these size variations will determine if you need braces & what size you need !
But to answer your post-YES use them!

They help for sure to keep the sides rigid so the top can work hard to pump air !
This will help with the guitars output (loudness)
But all parts of the guitar are important-so the side braces are only
a part of the end result!

Wow that's a confusing reply !
I hope this helps ya!!

Mike

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Mike Collins

Hi Mike,

The guitar is an OM, fairly small body, and the rims and back are southeast asian rosewood.

Ken

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http://www.casperguitar.com

Ken;
I use spruce or cedar ones.
They do not have to be tall.
Even 1/8" ones will help.
I made cork lined cauls for gluing them on.
One caul on the inside up against the stiffner and one on the outside of the side.


I'd use them on your OM

Mike

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Mike Collins

Ken;
I use spruce or cedar ones.
They do not have to be tall.
Even 1/8" ones will help.
I made cork lined cauls for gluing them on.
One caul on the inside up against the stiffner and one on the outside of the side.


I'd use them on your OM

Mike

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Mike Collins

I'm trying something a little different on my latest guitar. I added a little bit of reinforcement right where the kerfed linings get glued on. The idea was to add a little more wood right where the binding and purfling channels will be cut.

I made the side reinforcements out of the same material and glued them in so they fit tight between the reinforcing strips. My notes say the wood is about 0.10 thick.

I have also used fabric strips before, but I tend to get glue everywhere and make a mess with those.

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53% of all statistics are made up on the spot
http://driftwoodguitars.blogspot.com/

Ken, I have to disagree with the advice you were given. No, side braces will not stop a crack from happening, but they will help to keep it from spreading. Without any side braces cracks quickly tend to spread much further. And in the hundreds of side cracks I've repaired, I can't recall a single case where I felt existing side braces impeded the repair in any way, shape, or form.

They may not be necessary, but I certainly don't think they can hurt either.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

Alright guys, you talked me into it. Thanks for the input.

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http://www.casperguitar.com

Good job Ken - BTW your work looks very neat and clean!

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Ann Arbor Guitars

I've been told that those little pillarettes or splints increase projection.
Something about making the sides stiffer and improving the coupling between the top and back plates via the sides.
This is, I'm told, why some luthiers laminate their sides.

Cheers,
Claire

Thanks Hesh!

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http://www.casperguitar.com