Official Luthiers Forum!

Thought that I might give laminated braces a try on the next build, so wanted to ask a few questions for those that use carbon fiber laminated braces. How thick do you cut the spruce laminations and how thick is the carbon fiber? What glue do you use for laminating the braces. Oh, and where do you get your carbon fiber?

CF at Los Alamos Composites: http://www.jameswattsguitars.com/LAC.htm

Glue up with Epoxy

Thickness...that's going to depend on your bracing architecture and the tone/volume you expect from your instruments. Theorectically, the CF laminate should allow for a thinner brace without loosing strength, but you end up with a smaller gluing face on the brace and this may ultimately compromise the glue joint on the guitar top.

I'd suggest you take some of your "normal" braces and do weight/deflection tests to establish a base. Then you can experiment with the CF lay up to find what combination of CF, height and width of brace stock comes close to what you are using. Then it's a matter of "pushing the envelope", if you wish, to make even lighter braces...up to the failure point if you wish. It's all a learning experience and depends strongly on your build style. Do keep records of the tests so you can refer to them in the future.

Remember, too, that CF will dull tools quickly and if you do any abrasive activities (sanding the braces) wear a good respirator and clean up judiciously. You don't want any CF in your lungs!

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Hank Mauel

Alan: Hank Has given you some great tips. As I understand the main reason to use CF is to take advantage of it's memory capability more so than trying to make your braces a large amount stiffer. If you can touch base with Mario Proulx aka Grumpy you will be talking to someone who has had great success with this process.Good luck with your project.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!