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Hi ,looking for opinions on how wide this should be ,the reason i'm asking is i'm thinking of getting an electric brand made, at the moment i make mine 5/8 inch wide i think that may be a little thin for the brand. I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who uses a brand .Thanks Roby

3/4-7/8"

What Hans said and I'll add that you can make the BJR any width that you like within reason of course. At least one present day manufacturer does not even use them but I would recommend using a BJR since I've had to reglue split backs when no BJR was present.

I've also seen turn of the century instruments, two turns back 1890's etc. where the BJR was only 3/8th" wide and it looked rather eloquent and certainly still provided the intended functionality.

Seems to me since you want to use a branding iron that the iron is going to dictate width to at least some degree.

Like Hans I made mine 3/4" and feathered the edges away to nothing to assist with the transition of my label being stuck to the back.

The tail strip graft is more important then just decorative. It helps prevent cracks through the tail block. I also put a vertical strip on the inside to give a three layer sandwich. I use the 3/4" and 7/8" dimensions also and that insures that a jack can be installed and still have structural integrity.
Tom

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

What is a BJR? Are you talking about the end graft or the cross grain strip that helps keep the book matched back together on the inside? I always did 5/8th on that.

Looks like I did not have my coffee when I posted for this one..................Carry on folks and forget what I said..!!
Tom

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

OK, I always used a branding iron, and 3/4" just fit, and 7/8" let you round it off a bit. 1/8-1/4" won't make a whit of difference in the scheme of things. You have to get the branding iron first, then work from that. As I recall, they can only squeeze so much in size wise...

BJR = back joint reinforcement

So it's the inside reinforcement, the cross gain strip.

My Lee Valley branding iron is 1/2". I make the BJR 3/4'-7/8".

Bob

You could make a bigger patch for a bigger brand. Take a cut-off from the top (spruce) and make a nice oval shape for the brand. Just make the patch so the grain runs across the joint. Glue that on the joint under the sound hole area and glue on the regular width BJR above and below it. Sort of a wooden label.
You can even brand it before gluing...in case you don't get a clean looking brand on the first try.

Kevin, that is a cool idea!

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

The Martin BJR is 3/4" wide by 3/32" thick spruce. I do the same.....rounding it after gluing it on. Most of the time, I cut it off the end of the top that goes on the same guitar.

That is what I do.

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John