Question about braces

[Matthew Tucker]

Well, it's a neat way to get it done, and I like the idea of bending the break straight onto the ribs just as i like bending the ribs straight onto the mold. It doesn't allow for over-bending the break though - as you know, sometimes its nice to overbend and allow the wood to spring back to correct shape. And unless they fill the crack somehow it leaves a very thin bit of wood at the break. I don't know how strong that would be after 50 years of drying out - no weaker than rib stock I guess - and I suppose supported by a brace it's fine.

Kai-Thomas Roth in the Strad show how he puts a break in an "arched" back to reduce rib depth; he ends up with a compound curve which will be inherently strong and stiff. Then he fills the crack with glue and sawdust and finishes with a linen strip.

I prefer my method of filling the saw kerf with solid timber.