Need help carving bracing.

mrhandy

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So I am nearing the end of my 3rd build and I have been trying to figure out a better way to carve the bracing on future builds... I have not seen it done so if anyone knows of some good videos that show bracing being carved that would be great.

My first 2 builds I didn't carve the bracing, I shaped it prior to installing it, this made it difficult to install. My third build I installed it, then carved it. I used a shoulder plane and chisel for this task. The uke is cherry, and so is the lining and bracing. I used reasonably quarter sawn wood for the bracing, but not perfectly so.

What I found was while carving with the grain running down hill I was able to do relatively well in sculpting the ends, however the other end with the grain running up hill was quite difficult to shape cleanly and nicely.

My best guess is I am missing, 1- the correct tools, 2- the correct wood for bracing, 3- just need to see it done.

Any help would be appreciated.

ooh I posted this before... I build furniture, and Ukes are my first step into instruments. here is a link to my site if you want to see my furniture. www.gibsonwoodworking.com
 
The bracing wood should be of high quality spruce with no run out and perfectly quarter sawn. Bracing wood should be strong, light and stiff. You will find it is easy to carve. While Cherry is good for some things, I would not use it for bracing stock.
 
You pretty well answered your own question. I shape my braces to about 80% before installing, but I use a go bar deck and a radius dish, so the installation is easy. To complete the shaping after installation, fingerplanes and small chisels work well. And again, most of the plans you see assume the braces are spruce and are sized for that, other materials need different dimensions. If you need some plans for fingerplanes, send me a PM with your email address and I'll send you some.

Brad
 
I buy large dimension spruce to begin with and split it with an axe before running it through the bandsaw and sander. With no run out it carves pretty easily. Like Brad, 80% of my bracing is is roughed out before glued into place. Further carving and sanding is done when I'm doing the final tuning of the top.
 
Same with me. Bracing is mostly shaped prior to glueing in. All gluing done in a Go-Bar deck. The only thing left is to do some final feathering out of the fan braces to tune the top, rounding over the tops of the transverse braces and sanding everything nice and smooth.
 
I glue braces in then shape afterwards. I just use a sharp chisel then sandpaper. I use spruce or western red cedar.

BTW most reports I've seen about grain direction in brace stock indicate that vertical grain is generally not any stiffer than any other grain orientation. I can see how splitting along the grain could be an issue towards the carved-down brace's end on a flat sawn brace.
 
Thanks for all the help guys, looks like I am going to need to invest in some spruce for my bracing needs... I was thinking rived pieces would be best for the propose, much like a chair maker uses.
 
I used to use a spoon gouge to shape the brace ends, not a chisel.
 
Its always hard to use a chisel up-hill on the grain. The blade digs into the grain and splits it instead of cutting across. Fortunately you can always carve the braces from either direction so I'm not sure where you're having trouble. Just spin the top around and carve from the other direction.
Even classy brace wood from luthier supply places can have funny grain to deal with. Its wood after all....none of it is perfect
 
Good advice, ksquine. I use quartered red spruce for my top braces (and usually back braces), and the stuff can be quite gnarly without showing it. Just take a small test cut from the ends to see if it cuts or splits. If it splits, finish from the other direction. To be honest, I do about 95% of the brace shaping on the belt sander.
 
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