Official Luthiers Forum!

So one thing I struggle with is getting the x brace angle exact.
I end up with way too much slip in the joint MOST OF THE TIME, and end up cutting new x braces until I get it right.
How do you guys get that angle just right and tight? Mitre box?
Jig of some sort? Or are you just a LOT better at it than I am haha
Thanks for any advise
B


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40$ dado set on the tablesaw, a block for each model to set the angle of the mitre gauge, a stick with lump on the end to keep them aligned if you need to cut slightly deeper...

I bet if you put 'stick with lump' in the OLF search box you'd probably find a thread I put up a long time ago about it...

I just lay the braces out on the poster board brace layouts I have for all models. Mark, cut undersize and finish with a file. I then glue the x together on the marked poster board in the go bar deck. Don't forget the plastic wrap!

Similar to Danny, I position the braces on the plan for the guitar, mark the cuts, cut slightly under size with a pull saw, and in my case make any final adjustments with a chisel.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

Lance posted a tutorial a decade ago, and it's the method I use to this day. Lay out your angle with a protractor, then use a straight piece of lumber as a fence. I use a 1/4" wide X, so I use a 1/4" downcut bit in my router. Route the slot using your "fence" as a guide. If you have a router table, use the miter jig for an easier cut. Look up Lance's tutorial for pics. It will be clearer.



I use another method to cut my lattice joints. I have a block cut at the appropriate angle that I use as a guide. I use one of Stew-Mac's nut seating files to file the slot, using the guide to keep my slot at the correct angle and square. It's quick, and the location of those slots needs to be incredibly precise or the braces that make the lattice won't fit together.

I too used the Lance method for a batch, then was planning to move to the dado because it seems more straight forward. Great idea with the blocks Med! Now James has mentioned the Rtable miter, That sound even better yet. Hmm....

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Pat

A bit of an expanded version, except now I use the dado blade.

Interestingly enough, since I got my Laguna SUV, I use it for pretty much all my straight cuts. The tablesaw now permanently holds the dado blades, which is also the correct cut for truss rod slots.

So all I need to do now is adjust the height when switching between cutting an x lap or cutting the t rod slot...

I use a quarter inch bit with a guide bushing with this jig. The braces are clamped underneath with sacrificial strips by the bolts.


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Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement.

That's basically what I do too but I uses a protractor gauge to lay out the line.

I can have the whole thing fitted in less time than I can set up a router or table saw. If I were doing several at once, that would be a different story.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

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

I use a router jig with an appropriate bit. One trick is to thickness the brace just a little thick before routing. Say .030 for a .025 cut. Then sand the sides of the braces with a flat hard block until you get a squeek fit. Would work for a table saw cut as well and for getting a tight fit for back braces in the center strip slots.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

I'm just a one at a time guy, so it's pencil lines on a bench hook type thing-a-me-jig for the angles, and an fine Exacto pull saw to the half way through line marked with a Veritas wheel gauge. Cut a bit shy, if anything, on the width and finesse with file.
Chisel out the waste in a nut and saddle vice.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Where's the Big Red Check commodium?
Didn't even use a Veritas. Just marked each side and freelanced it, filed it to fit...
Chiseled out in a vise set close to depth.