I don't know how thick it is and MIGHT have a way to measure it but haven't built guitars in a couple years so tools are quite scattered about.

I'll see if I can find a way to measure it.

Take my suggestion with a grain a salt as I have only built a few guitars, but I am an engineer. I would consider removing the lateral brace under the bridge plate. The lower bout on the guitar wants to bulge when it is under tension. With that lateral brace I suspect instead of bulging across the entire radius of the lower bout the top is folding on the lateral brace. I sort of think pup tent instead of dome.

Does the idea with additional small braces have any merit from an engineering stand point? It seems as though those two spots are the weak points that are giving way but I'm open to more suggestions.

Remember the guitar is complete at this stage so any work will have be done inside the finished guitar.

I am not sure, you need more expert advise than mine, but the extra bracing may help if it transfers more of the stress to the xbrace.

It doesn't look like excessive belly from the photos.

Doing nothing is the default.

Just to cover all bases, how's your humidity?

That bracing scheme does create something like a hinge point just behind the transverse brace so it's not surprising to see it pull up there.

I would leave it go and see if it stabilizes. Guitars develop a bit of belly over time, some faster than others, and most seem to reach a point of equilibrium where all that can move has and it is around that point that they sound their best. It is also true that due to some structural short comings, some guitars do not stabilize resulting in the bridge rolling as the top continues to fail.

I understand a 'wait and see' approach would be difficult for you. But I feel that if you are otherwise happy with this guitar apart from the deformation issue, trying to arrested any 'built in' structural problems by adding or removing wood now is 'very' likely to change more than you would like. As I see it, if indeed this current problem is going to lead to catastrophic failure, there is nothing much you can do to prevent that from happening that is not going impact upon the tone of the instrument in a negative way. So the only real solution to my mind would be to either re-top the guitar now or to wait and see if what you have stabilizes....If it were me, and my guess is that with the top being loaded the way it is this guitar sounds pretty bloody good right now, I would just enjoy playing...even if it is the last dance on the titanic

Cheers

Kim

It's hard to imagine that adding a couple of little braces would impact the sound that negatively but if it does then turning back would be difficult indeed. Hmm.

No more difficult to imagine than how the same couple of 'little' braces are going to solve the problem.....if there is one. As I see it its all relative, add a little brace, expect little change, add a big brace, expect big change. Life is so full of compromises...

If you are convinced that this top will fail and remain determine to do a six million dollar man job on it, then I would recommend removing the two finger braces for a start and gluing on new ones aligned more toward 90 degree off the lower legs of the 'X'. How they are set now does nothing at all to direct the longitudinal strength of the grain in the top itself to resist the bridge plate from rolling...I also feel that the two braces behind that which crosses the rear of bridge plate are too large and too few. I do a similar configuration however I use 3 thin, low, braces on a small top and 5 on an SJ and up..only done a couple with that system but they are hanging in well this far. With redwood, I would use 5.



The same top just over 3 years on shows no deformation, only a nice even dome..




Cheers

Kim

Thanks very much for the post Kim. I wasn't thinking that my next possible step, which was to add two small pieces to the existing bracing to be in the 'six million dollar man' realm but maybe I've mis-posted.

Very interesting to see the fan type bracing and the advice about placing the finger bracing more perpendicular could help matters.

This is my third guitar and haven't built for a couple of years so any internal work at this point seems a but intimidating with removing and replacing braces etc.

Maybe it's not as difficult as it seems?