by Eddie McRae » Sat May 05, 2012 8:22 am
Thanks Mark. Actually the upper braces aren't scalloped so maybe the picture is misleading. They're just tapered down 2.5" from the outer edge to a thickness of 1/8". So I think the only non-typical thing I did here was leaving the center peaks in the scallops. And my reasons for that were actually 2-fold. First, the obvious, a little more structural integrity and added strength. But secondly, I wasn't sure about adding a great increase in bass response to this guitar.....especially considering how happy I am with the tone of the guitar that this one is modelled after. Not quite sure what kind of differences it'll actually make but I guess I'll find out! LOL As for my carving....funny you brought that up. I actually strayed from my norm on this one and went old school and did all the carving with chisels. I normally pre-shape using the rounded end of my benchtop belt sander and then, once the braces are glued, do most of the final shaping and scalloping with a grinder/36 grit disc, using a very light touch. I'm alot quicker that way and get just as good results. Carving this one the old-fashioned way took me a good bit longer but I'd just gotten a new honing guide and wanted to try out some newly sharpened chisels. You know how it is......gotta play with the new toys!