I'm feeling much happier today.....

After thinking that I had ruined the guitar top, I decided to ask on the OLF for their opinions and advice as to what to do. I posted a picture of what I had, and explained exactly why I was thinking that I had flipped a plate. I explained how the end grain was not bookmatched and of course the color changing in different lighting conditions. Well, it was the consensus of the group that I in fact had not flipped a plate, rather that this was run-out and very common. I know that this happens from time to time, I guess I just got worried over nothing. I guess since many highly coveted old pre-war Martins were built like this, it is good enough for me! Heck, a couple of people posted that if I didn't want the top, they would take it to use!

So, the build continues, and more importantly I don't have to trash a perfectly good bearclaw top! I spent some time rough shaping the braces. I am going with parabolic braces again as I really like the tone I got out of my OOO. This time I traced all of the braces on my plans so I have the shape for the next time. I am keeping fairly detailed notes so I can have a record of what works and what doesn't. This will make repeatability easier in the future. I did have one small mishap while sanding the X braces. I use my drill press with a sanding drum on it to do this rough shaping. I was sanding one of the X braces and got it too close to the end of the brace. The brace caught and flipped it out of my hand. When I picked it up and looked at it, I noticed that it cracked at the intersection notch. Not a big deal, I just had to cut a new brace. I have plenty of brace wood so it only took a few minutes to do. Next up will be some more shaping of the braces, cutting the bridge plate, and gluing the braces down. If I get my nerve up, I will try my hand at using hot hide glue for this. I purchased some, but I just haven't had the guts to give it a try. I guess this is as good a time as any to give it a try. My goal is to switch over to using hide glue for braces, the bridge, and the neck joint. I want to use hide glue on all of the joints that a repair person in the future might need to open up.

This is the tone bar shape I want to use. Note that the highest part of the parabolic shape is closer to the X brace.

A finger brace.

This is the mishap I had with the sander. No big problem, I just cut another one and was back in business in a short amount of time.

The top with the braces shaped in one direction.

I then sanded the braces to thin the tops. Again, these are very rough shaped.