Restoration of French bass

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Dave Whitla

Thanks for your input guys.
I think the present thicknesses are very thin. As you can see from the 'before' picture above, there were dozens of cross grain cleats, straps, etc. keeping it together (and presumably restricting it from vibrating).

I had one modern bass that was quite thin all around but well graduated. The type of Pine used for the Top was very hard and dense strong wood. It seemed ok for the graduations vs. the density of the wood. So, softer or weaker wood needs to be thicker as well in comparison. Older basses might be the correct thicknesses or might have been overly thinned and need corrections. The life experience of the bass shows you what it likes and doesn't as does its tone as well in combination with its condition.