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Just curious what others on the forum are doing! I've only used cedar in the past.-Alex

I've tried WR Cedar but don't like it because it splits so easily coming around curves.
Spruce is my favorite.
I've tried Alaskan Yellow Cedar and it makes the bends well by I don't care for its'
odor.

I use solid linings that match the back and top. Usually a two tiered approach, one deeper about 5/16", one shallow about 3/16". They end up 3/16" - 1/4" wide when complete. I use off cuts from the top and/or sides then bent in the side bender.

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Triangle
Spanish cedar
Spruce

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Pat

Solid linings... I bend them along with the bindings so they're no more trouble than kerfed linings. I use Spanish cedar because it smells nice.

James do you use more than one per side and 'stack' them? What I love about the solid linings is that the rim is very stiff outside the mold and will hold its shape very well.

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Solid laminated, usually 3 at 5/16"x1/16" and 2 at 3/16"x1/16", bent on the bender right after the sides along with the binding.
I've used oak and poplar, and I'll probably try basswood. I like oak because it bends easily and is readily available, and I think the extra mass on the edges of the plates might be a good thing. I'm not at all sure about that, trying the basswood should give me some insight.

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5 ply linings? Pretty ambitious but imagine a very nice look and stability. I've used mostly Mahogany with Mahogany back/sides and Walnut with Walnut back/sides.

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Yes, 5 ply, sometimes 6 if the purfling is very wide. I've had better results using more plys of less thickness, it's easier to get them to conform to shape without gaps between the plys. They may be closer to 0.05" than 1/16", I don't usually measure that closely, especially on non-critical dimensions.

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Yes, two strips stacked. The linings end up being about 3/16" wide and make a very stiff rim. I build on a solera without a mold... stiff, stable sides are a big part of making that work for me.

I like willow, either for solid bent liners or reverse kerfed. you can bend air dried willow up to about 5mm thick. Its hard to find on the market, but easy to come by: just call your local tree guy. The big problem then is they'll want to drop it off by the truckload. I also use 'Spanish cedar' and mahogany.

I've used Ash and it worked well for a 3 ply "solid" binding. Cut strips off a flatsawn board and you have perfectly quartersawn strips for the bender.

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Basswood reverse kerfed linings. Bends easily and looks nice on dark woods.

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PMoMC

Like most everything else its a matter of opinion but I like the idea of basswood because it is so acoustically dead. It seems to me that it would keep some vibration on the top rather than taking it to and through the sides.

WRC, Eastern RC, willow , bass, white oak , spruce mahog, being a contrarian I don/tlike the smell of Sp cedar in my ramirez. walnut, local pearwood, kerfed, laminated 5ply makes vy stiff especially if sides, are laminated and tentellones for uke and CL tops the tentellones are in line with the sides on edge IMHO makes a stronger joint long grain glued to long grain with WRC, easy to sand or plane. I prefer laminated lnings for the back , and narrow spaced kerfs for tight uke backs easier to bend, prefer basswood or willow.

Another opinion - I'm not sure I want anything acoustically 'dead' on my guitars.

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Two linings from the Charles Fox class. Tried them out on ukes. The kerfed version has a rabbet in the kerfs and is capped, described in detail on the frets.com site. The second is newer, no kerfing, closed cell aircraft foam in between 2 thinned sides. Incredibly stiff and acoustically dead, this instrument is not strung up yet.

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I like the Fox style double lining for the top (basswood) but use reverse kerf mahog for the back.

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Robert: Thanks for posting pics. I get the first one but not the second. Wonder if you could fill us in. Alex: I use reverse kerf lining generally Mahogany because I find I can do a much better job of inletting braces without blowouts and that results in a neater finished look.
Tom

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Links to the frets.com site. First link, a better pic, second link has the tour with a few pics of these linings and the process, third is the other tour of the C Fox shop, lots of cool stuff there.
Rob

http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Feature ... fox010.jpg
http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Feature ... fox01.html
http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/FieldTr ... cfox1.html

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Robert: Thanks for additional pictures. I get it now, looked different then Charles' linings. I am a bit slow on the up take.
Tom

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For a while I liked using the same material I would use for the back and sides. I was building with Imbuia and Walnut a lot. I started using spruce and that gives a real nice contrast and it's very light too. I like mahogany too. No favourite for me really and I tend to use solid more now.