Official Luthiers Forum!

People make two piece backs, but I never see two piece fronts?

The ultimate compliment to someone's excellent joinery?........

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Brad Tucker

PNJ (he said, gently) they're almost all two- piece. Unless you order the vest.

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Dan
http://www.acme-archtops.com

Are you talking about 3 or 4-piece fronts? As far as I know, almost all fronts are 2-pieced... As for 4-pieced fronts, I've actually seen a few of those before... I would imagine the reason most people avoid it is because most of us have no reason to. Unless you're dealing with a rare wood or a type of wood that comes from a very thin tree, there shouldn't be much problems finding 2 pieces that are large enough to make a front or back. of course, the more joins you do, there's more work and also the more chance for something to go wrong too, so yeah.. I'd imagine that's another reason.

oh..

after looking at my guitar, I see it IS two pieces..

thanks!

Okay, how come no one ever makes one piece fronts?

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"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

Its been done too and I am trying to remember who did it and posted a pic........

'Cause, generally, it doesn't seem like a good idea to have tight grain on one edge, gradually getting wider across the guitar.

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Carlton Macksam
Muskegon, Michigan

I would imagine another reason for using 2-piece tops instead of 1-piece would be to preserve symmetry both in looks and structure.

What REALLY bugs me is the use of one piece fronts on Ukuleles. Especially with Koa. With that strong grained material, they would look much better in two pieces. (I know, not all do that, but a good number do)

Mike

I actually really like the look of a one piece top on a uke. It's harder to do actually I think. No center seam makes for a harder time locating the bridge.

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

One of the few species out there I have ever seen with pieces wide enough for a one piece jumbo top is sitka .. a local guy I know had some, but wanted so much for it over a good 2 pc top set I ... why bother I said to him ????

another reason is that its tough to resaw 16.5-17 inch wide boards - not every one has a saw that can handle it.

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

I guess for my mind's eye, it has to do with symmetry.

Mike

I like the symmetry too. I even book match my head plates when I use a figured wood.

I built this one piece topper... one of, if not the, best sounding uke I've ever made.

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

One piece backs are not uncommon in the world of fine violins, nor mandolins. Here's a blonde beauty from Andrew Mowry.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Martin has a new rather limited edition with a FOUR piece Red Spruce top.........perhaps the wave of the future for hard to obtain top wood.

Most uke makers have one piece tops and one piece backs. Martin included. It is much more noticeable in a wood such as koa or cherry than mahogany.

What really appeals to me is that the back is "stack" matched to the front, i.e. the next cut slice of wood is used for the back, and in the same orientation. Its as if you can look right through the instrument and see the matching grain on the back as if it is one piece of wood.

Actually one of the "problems" of flamed wood such as koa (or maple), is that if it is two pieces then the localised runout in the "curl", when opened out as a book match, results in a dark curl adjacent to a light curl at the joint. Yes, this violin back is perfectly bookmatched.



A one-piece front and back overcomes that. (No, I didn't make this uke of mine, I wish I was that good. It is gorgeous).



Note that Martin has done a "stack" match. (Its kinda hard to get your brain around it at first. Imagine the right hand picture - the back, turned around so that it fits behind the uke front).

Here's an even better piece of koa on a uke as a one piece back. A bookmatch would have spoiled the continuity of the flame.



Rod

The one piece examples provided above are very good examples of how to do it right. I will look for pics of one piece Uke tops that I do not like. I think it has a lot to do with grain orientation.

That violin back is amazing! Perfectly book matched? I still can not visualize how that happens.

Mike

That is a violin that was made for me by Victor Unsworth here in the UK. He is superb.

Now... on that bookmatched piece, the reason for the flame "mismatch" is that the curl of the wood (look at one place) on one side of the joint is rising out of the flat surface, and on the other side of the bookmatch, where the wood has been turned over and opened out, the equivalent curl is dipping down into the surface.

Rod

at the GAL convention David Freeman had a guitar he made with a one piece top of doug fir, he also donated a piece big enough for a top to the auction... Jody

Ok, I get it. It is a grain AND figure orientation thing. When you stop and think about it, figure will never cooperate.

Mike