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My Torres plan shows sides of 1mm to 1.4mm. My sides will be 2mm. With this side thickness do I need to use side supports the way Torres has?

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A higher purpose for wood.
Rich Smith
Issaquah, WA

I think most don't go down to 1 - 1.4mm for sides these days. You should be fine, but a couple of stops somewhere to stop a crack couldn't hurt. I just put tall caps at the end of my braces. They cross over the center of the side, so there is no clear path for a crack to follow. You could do the bias tape thingy's. That might be a simple insurance.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Yes 1mm is d*** scary. The thinnest I made so far was about 1.6 (0.06") after all leveling and sanding, and that only in places, with the thicker parts being 1.8.
Would not hurt to a few stops or overlapping brace blocks anyway.

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Build log

True, 19th century makers did use rather thin sides (Martin for one) but as far as Torres is concerned, I've often wondered whether many of the measurements taken from his existing guitars are suspect due to the fact that guitars of that age have often been heavily sanded and refinished at some point.
I always use around 2mm for sides as it gives me a little margin to correct any slight warpage by sanding that might occur in bending. The point at which this should be done is just prior to cutting the binding and purfling channels. Correcting" will improve the accuracy and consistancy of the channels.

If Torres did this as well, his thin sides would have gotten even thinner in spots.

From what I have read from many different sources, 1mm thick is not uncommon for a Torres guitar.

Many, if not most of his guitars still in existence have been re-finished, often more than once. Aggessive sanding in these operations may be a cause of this extreme thinness, as mention in the recent article on flamenco guitars in GAL.

Other causes may be that Torres had limited access to decent wood, and may have had to work with thinner boards, or was trying to save by resawing to the extreme. Remember also that concert pitch was lower in those days, so string tension was less than today with higher tension strings, which in turn may have influenced Torres in his decision for side thickness.

I guess if you are trying to make a perfect copy of the original, then you should follow the plan. This of course, would also mean using gut strings and using a lower concert pitch.

If however you want to make a more modern guitar with a specific Torres as an influence, then maybe you should make your sides a little thicker (1.6 to 2.8mm perhaps?). It will certainly help the instrument maintain its shape and condition over the long run.

This is a compromise that only you can decide on. Just remember that you should claim that it is a perfect copy of a Torres guitar if it reallly is made to its precise specifications, or that it is a Torres inspired instrument if you take some liberties. I personnally find it a bit deceiving when one claims to have made a copy when in fact it isn't. Then again, maybe I am just a little too tight around the collar...

Good luck,

Pat

On my last post, I meant to say 1.6 to 1.8 mm instead of 2.8.

Pat

Another decision in making a "copy" or "replica" (whatever you wish to call it) of a Torres is whether to build the guitar as it was originally, or, as it exists today.

Most Torres guitars were built originally with wooden tuning pegs and had various types of machine heads added at a later date. FE 04 ("La Leona"), FE 09 (the Llobet guitar), SE 107 as well as many others have been modified in this and other ways.
Thus the question is to build for functionality or try to capture the essence of the original which is, of course, never entirely possible.
One can however get a glimpse of these instruments by replicating them accurately and perhaps a bit of insight into Torres working methods and approach.














however

Its was clearly said to me by Daryl Perry, who is well steeped in the Torres tradition and method, that using the thin sides is an important element in achieving the Torres sound. "More open" is the way that he described it. He did not believe that the thin sides were a result of the fairing process or of restoration, but that it was intentional.

Obviously just one of many factors, but if you're going to embark upon the pursuit then you have to get all of the factors.

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