Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi all,

Building the LMI OM kit, and I am at the point of getting ready to cut the braces for the back. It came with a mahogany billet and 2 spruce billets - the 2 spruce billets look like more than enough for the whole thing, top and back. Also, the plans call for spruce braces on both top and back.

Is this a preference thing? Or is the mahogany billet for some other purpose?

please weigh in!

adam

_________________
"Everyone wants to BE something, but nobody wants to BECOME something" - William Cumpiano

I remember that they had mahogany as the back brace material on the Kit Wizard when I bought mine and I switched it to spruce. They also had spruce kerfing and I switched it to mahogany... I think it does boil down to preference, and I haven't seen any traditional steel strings with mahogany back braces.

_________________
Don't confront me with my failures--I have not forgotten them.

I think the mahogany billet is to make the neck, (unless you also ordered a pre-made neck?)


Joe

Oh, yeah, its a brace billet, its labelled as such and a bit too small for a neck blank.

I looked in my Martin OM and its spruce, so guess I'll go wtih that until I have a reason to change it in future builds. Thanks!

_________________
"Everyone wants to BE something, but nobody wants to BECOME something" - William Cumpiano

If you don't use it for back braces, several guys I know use it for the UTB -- reasoning that it is heavier and stiffer than spruce in an area that needs the extra structure.

Mahogany is a traditional bracing material... Maybe not for Martins, but many old guitars have Mahogany top bracing as well as back bracing.

Either way, it will work out fine.

Good luck

John

Gibson guitars had mahogany back braces.Martin uses spruce. I've made them either way.

I have a 1953 Gibson SJ and a 1956 Gibson J-50 and they both have spruce back braces. I've owned 2003, 2004 and 2008 Gibson J-45, J-50, and AJ and they all had spruce back braces. It is likely with all the mis-mash of woods that Gibson has used over the years, especially the 40's during war-time shortages, that Gibson has used some mahogany braces. But I suspect that it is rare and that the vast vast majority of Gibson back braces have been spruce.

Ed