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I am starting on a larger and deeper bodied guitar and have been considering doing a pliage to reduce the depth in the area of the body people sometimes do an arm bevel. I have done them on mandolins, and I'm thinking the pliage may be a little easier and might look better. The asymmetrical look to the top an arm bevel creates doesn't appeal to me.
I'm wondering if anyone has done something like that and how it worked out for them?

What's that?

New username, same Pat Mac

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Pat

I've done it on mandolins and Selmer guitars too. Going across the grain on a diagonal might be different, I don't know? Otherwise it could be pretty cool. NOt sure what it would do to the top in terms of vibration response though. Would you just end the lower X-Brace at the pliage?

Not sure what that is. This, maybe?

http://www.doolinguitars.com/articles/armbevel/

Interesting timing. I have just been scheming to do a similar thing on a wide bodied guitar that I am building. I thought I might have had an original idea - but it seems that there are no such things in luthiery. Everything has been tried before by someone, often that crafty Doolin character! Thanks for that link Ed.

But a pliage (french, pleat or fold) is a bit different. It is a more distinct crease in the soundboard, rather than a gentle curve. Most famous in the Selmer Maccaferri guitars, but used by many gypsy-jazz guitar makers, and originating before that in the mandolin world. Some make it by scoring the soundboard along the grain to facilitate making a sharp crease of about 6 degrees. Good discussion of it at these pages by Peter Davies:
http://www.pluckandsqueeze.com/Mac%20project/Pliage.htm

I think I will pinch the Doolin method, and maybe combine it with a magnetic arm rest like some classical makers offer, to keep the player's arm from lying on the soundboard and damping it.

Clay, let us know what design you come up with..

Thanks for the link Ed.
Sometimes it pays to ask questions. That is a nice tutorial Mike Doolin has put up and one I will probably use. I may make the bent area a little larger, as I am building a steel string and the playing position is different from a classical. That looks like a good method to create the bend. A "rounded" bend as he has done might give a stronger top than a pliage, but a pliage might give a "crisper" look. Something to think about.

" Would you just end the lower X-Brace at the pliage?"
The bracing system I have used on the past several guitars has been an "X" and Fan combination so the X brace would still end near the side of the guitar.

I dug that up cause interestingly enough, I have to do that both top and back for one of the next few guitars I've got going on. I think it may be possible to use an iron to bend the bindings around the curve instead of cutting the curve into wide bindings. We'll see...

wray guitars uses that a lot too...

That will be interesting to hear if that works. What kind of wood are you going to try that with? Is the guitar going to be x-braced? If so, what are you going to with the bass side lower x-brace arm?

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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

Maple. Yes, x braced. I'll likely trim the x before the bend...