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Does everybody cut their x-braces to a certain degree or do you cut it differant for each guitar?

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I always position my bridge first when laying out the internals (I draw everything on the inside first). Then I make sure my xbrace runs over the wings of the bridge. I also like to make the front of my xbrace about 1-1/2" to 1-3/4" from the back edge of the sound hole. So, I really don't think about the angle too much, just make sure they cover the wings of the bridge.

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I do the same as Rod. The angle isnt critical but having the braces run under the ends of the bridge is important.

Like others I know where bridge/bridge plate is going first. If that (bridge placement) gets messed up, well then one is for lots of other issues that are not fun. I use to mess with the angle of the braces, and then set the plate to fit.

I do the bridge plate as the first thing glued in. I then do the upper transverse brace. I started this from way did it at Bourgeois and worked well no matter what model made. I know where the top is going to meet the neck in join and can set the bridge plate from there depending on 12 or 14 fret, and soon going into making a batch of 13 fret to body. The angle of the plate ends allow me about 90 degree's +/-, I never have looked at it with a protractor or whatever do that with. I just leave's a good distance for soundhole braces and where upper ends of the X ends. From there it is placing and gluing the rest and whittling them down. I note though, I use vacuum to glue down the braces, so easier to do the bridge plate first. For me just faster to place all of the braces at one time and not mess with the sticks.

On my last few I have run the unbraced thicknessed top through the chladni testing and drawn the shapes on the underside of the top. I have found that many of these patterns cross right where the normal Martin style bracing crosses at the x-brace, upper tone bar and finger brace area. I have been using this point and the wings of the bridge to set the angle. Not surprisingly, most of the traditional Martin bracing matches up well to main points of intersection or strong Chladni lines on the unbraced top. The only spot where there hasnt been (also keep in mind, very small tesing group) too much of a clue is the lower tone bar. Also not surprisingly, this area seems to be where most of my attention is paid in trying to close the circle. But, for the X that is how I am doing it. It hasn't been far off where I would normally put it (i.e. close to 90 degrees).

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Burton
http://www.legeytinstruments.com
Brookline, MA.

Do you consider the stiffness of the top when arranging your x-brace? How should top stiffness effect brace placement, or is it not a consideration?

I was wondering how critical it is to have the braces running right under the bridge posts for an archtop. Is this an absolute rule that should never be broken? In the Benedetto book, for an X-Brace he shows it varying. However, for a parallel brace he has them directly under the posts. I've read about a lot of luthiers experimenting with X-Brace positioning so I would be surprised if they have to stay exactly under the bridge posts all the time.

I use 98 for most guitars, likely pretty close to what Martins are .. Laskins and Larrivee's use 90 for everything except basses if they still make them. For baritones, I end up at 90 because the brigde has moved back intothe lower bout.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Thanks Guys, the reason I asked was because I saw where some of you were making x-braces in batches, so I figured you had a pre-determend degree.

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We Bend the Wood, So You Can Bend the Strings