Material Preparations

 I did a lot of material preparation works for top, side, and back. I did back joint work and thinning work to 2.4mm thickness. This is not the final thickness. However, it is very close to the final number. I also thinned the top material. Now, the sound board thickness is approximately 2.7-2.8mm depending on locations. After assemble it to the body, I will sand a little bit more. Both back and top are 220-grid sanded. Both of them are ready for bracing installation. Side material is also thinned to 2mm. It requires a little more thinning to 1.5mm. Side material will be Epoxy laminated with an 1mm thickness Yellow Cedar. So far, everything looks good.

Brazilian MD project start

      I started a Brazilian RW MD model built. Back and sides are Brazilian RW. Top is a Carpathian spruce. Bracing wood is Sitka spruce. Side material needs re-sawing from approximately 1" bullet. I cut side materials using a 10" band saw. Using 10" band saw for re-sawing is a little bit challenging attempt. I have use maximum cut high to yield 120mm side width. I used a 1/2" carbide re-saw blade. I set-up my bad-saw very carefully, because I do not loose expensive Brazilian RW. Fortunately, I was able to yield five side materials with two extra pieces for head plate and bridge plate.

     This side material has small worm holes and clacks. Cracking is a common problem for the Brazilian RW. I will fix those defects using small piece of Brazilian RW and CA glue. Also, I use Epoxy laminated side with Yellow cedar. There is very nice support for the repaired clacking portion. Back material is not show chocolate color. However, once the material is sanded, this back material shows chocolate color. Sides are freshly cut, and it shows nice chocolate color.

     I already installed the Brazilian RW rosette and original ornamentals. This is a pretty nice Carpathian top.