Thread: Using non traditional brace wood

Originally Posted by Allen McFarlen

I was wondering if anyone has experimented with using non traditional wood for top and back braces. I'm living in Cairns and its quite easy to source local woods but getting spruce for brace stock can only be done by mail order with the accompanying cost and hoping that the wood received is of good quality.

I've got some Kauri pine and mahogany along with some spruce that I've sized identically (sized for the X-braces) and did some deflection tests on them. The mahogany came out the stiffest, then the Kauri and finally the spruce. I was leaning towards using the Kauri Pine as it is lighter than the mahogany.

Comments and suggestions anyone?

i can imagine that something would need to be springy, so finding something most similar would work the best. the stiffer ones should produce the higher notes more where the others will produce the lows. my thought proceess is that an acoustic is an electric with many different parts. the soundhole and hollow section are just complications but the braces shouldnt effect that too much.

im sure someone else who actually knows what they are talking about will help soon enough.

Its not uncommon to see Mahogany for back struts and Kauri pine might work ok for the top.
I would suggest looking for some nice old, tight grained Oregon. Its possible to come across old pieces that are so lightwieght and close grained they are hard to pick from sitka.

Originally Posted by Allen McFarlen

The mahogany came out the stiffest, then the Kauri and finally the spruce. I was leaning towards using the Kauri Pine as it is lighter than the mahogany.

Comments and suggestions anyone?

I try and build light and stiff...mahogany and kauri are stiff but not as light as spruce. I use mainly Sitka spruce for my acoustic bracing.

Originally Posted by black_labb

i my thought proceess is that an acoustic is an electric with many different parts. the soundhole and hollow section are just complications but the braces shouldnt effect that too much.

An acoustic is an electric with many different parts? Mmmm.... its a bit more complex than that. Brace design can effect sound of an acoustic quite markedly.

Originally Posted by kiwigeo

An acoustic is an electric with many different parts? Mmmm.... its a bit more complex than that. Brace design can effect sound of an acoustic quite markedly.

i was thinking of it that the elements of the acoustic body all add up to create the sound of it, in the same way things add up in an electric to define the sound, and that the different elements are just parts of the equasion. i think my statement was a bit odd and didnt really get my point across very well.

Kauri's probably a good bet, worth a go anyways. Also Bunya pine, Hoop pine and Qld blackwood, some of the normal side/back woods like Qld Maple or walnut could work depending on the sound you want. Also balsa with carbon fibre inserts works really well. Western red cedar or King Billy pine owuld alos work well but bracing doesnt have to be a softwood ;-) Mountain Ash is used for fiddles, light, strong and resonant, worth a try.

Bunya is stronger than spruce and really resonant used for tops by some suppliers, i have seen Kiwi guitars with kauri but have not heard of aussie kauri being used.

I'd say Bunya (aracuria bidwili) is the best bet, easily available in Qld from old growth to plantation supplies. In fact there probably quite a few of them growing round Cairns. check these sites in the spruce vs bunya debate http://www.coleclarkguitars.com/timbers.asp

Bunya vs. Spruce Bunya is almost as light in weight as Spruce, is generally a little stronger, is more even in growth and possesses a similar janka (crush, or hardness when subjected to impact). The sound of Bunya reflects these characteristics. Soundboard timbers yellow with age and Bunya typically features more colour variation than Spruce, including darker areas. It is worth noting that soft timbers are generally chosen for soundboards, for reasons of top end roll-off or response. If you are considering a mellow sounding instrument, wider grain may be the considered choice and colour or defect may well be irrelevant. In many instances where customers have not already been brainwashed by the standard Spruce marketing, they will choose Bunya on tone and appearance.

http://www.guitarseminars.com/ubb/Fo...ML/007578.html

I would advise against anything other than softwoods such as spruce, or stiff oregon or WR cedar for the top. Back is a little less important, but while your at it, you might as well continue on the same thread. Aim for as light and stiff as possible, hardwoods will make that hard to do. Keep anything you use well quatersawn, and watch for runout, as this can ruin any timber you use.

Run out wont "ruin" a piece of tonewood. Most tonewood except master grade wood has some runout in it. It's not a big problem as long as youre aware of it and make allowances when working the top down to final thickness.

Good points Kiwigeo, theres no harm in doing a bit of experimentation with differing woods, i have played Martin mahogany guitars that sound great, also ones with blackwood tops, theres a guy in Melbourne uses blackwood bracing.

I agree with ColeClarks rave that people tend to get a little brainwashed with traditional wood types. Scott Wise the WA luthier uses all kinds of aussie woods and has some info on his site about their different properties..

Theres also a few US luthiers who make the same design guitar but offer various combinations of woods, like 5 different top options or 10 different back/side combinations.

In Qld Rupert at Woodworld on the gold coast usually has stocks of sitka spruce from Alaska. Gerard Gilet also always has it in stock.

If considering Aussie tonewoods then check out Tim Spittles wares at Australian Tonewoods. I source most of my local woods from Tim and his service cant be faulted.

Originally Posted by kiwigeo

Run out wont "ruin" a piece of tonewood. Most tonewood except master grade wood has some runout in it. It's not a big problem as long as youre aware of it and make allowances when working the top down to final thickness.

Sorry, i didnt mean to say that if there is runout use it as fire wood, but just to consider it when cutting the wood. Its easy enough to avoid for the most part, and the results are worth it.