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I'm thinking on building a dread with a hardwood top plate this year.What are your thoughts on braceing? I would think much lighter especually around the edges.

Mahogany, Koa and Maple are the only hardwood tops I have used so far. Mahogany I did not treat any different than spruce. Koa I thinned to .110 prior to bracing. I braced with 3/8 x 3/4" X and 1/4 x 5/8 an all other braces other than UT brace. I thinned the edges to .100 in the lower bout out side of that I tuned by shaving braces just as I would any guitar. The maple was pretty much the same. One thing I did notice is that hardwoods of course have less elasticity than spruce. Therefore it took a tad less thickness. But on the other hand that lack of elasticity means some added fragility as well. Watch out for grain run out.

Yea,I can see where grain run-out could be a problem with a thinned plate.Thanks,i'll look out for that for sure.