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I was working on my first guitar build and going mostly by Jonathan Kinkead's book. When I started working on the soundboard dish I found that I wasn't getting an accurate and even dish so I made 15' and 25' radius dishes. Well, to make a long story short I had problems when I was sanding the sides and for a few reasons I ended up with sides that weren't tall enough. I now have a cool piece of wall art. I ordered some new sides and back and now my question is if I use the same plans will the geometry be correct with the radious dishes or should I use another set of plans and if so where do I get them? I also think I may be better with a bolt on neck instead of a dovetail, which I prefer, but I think my best chance of getting it correct will be with a bolt on. Now after my first try I am really humbled and impressed when I look at some of the guitars on this forum. Thanks for the help.
Mike

How far off are the sides you have now? There may not be a problem with a narrower box.

As for geometry, there is plenty in the archives about it but if in doubt, draw out your own profile and see what you need to do to get it to work. Typical solutions to using a full dome are...

-Use a flat Upper transverse brace.

-Use a wedge under the fingerboard extension.

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I built my first one from that book (great book by the way). You can use those plans, but you can not taper the sides the way he does, you will have to use your radius dish to shape the sides. The way he does it the sides taper from the bottom to the neck but the sides are also flat, that's why he uses the taper jig to shape the sides, the dish will put an arch in the sides. I like the way he does it. It took me a little time to make the dish but once I got it, it worked great.

The sides are far enough off that I doubt that they will be useful. Mark, how did you carve out the dish in the form. I started doing that but found it very difficult to make it evenly dished. That's why I decided to use a concave dish because I could use a jig to form it. Maybe I'll take another look at how he makes the guitar.
Thanks
Mike

I just used a R O sander and as I sanded through the layers of plywood I tried to keep it looking symetrical. A few places I had to use some wood putty to even it up and the plywood had a few knot holes. I just kept closing my eyes and sliding my hand across it till it felt good.