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Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Back braces and back

I made the back braces from some old spruce wood, salvaged from a loom. Planing in the nut and saddle vise from Stewmac, a great vise for this but I have to watch out so I don’t hit the jaws with the plane iron. 



Then I notch the kerfed lining to accept the braces. I use a Japanese modeller’s saw with very fine teeth. 



And I clamp them with my tiny Japanese brass clamps. 



The whole assembly goes into the radius dish, but of course the braces were roughly shaped before glueing. 



The back seam is reinforced with a strip of cedar, glued across the joint. Really fiddly to keep the strip straight, I ended up paring it straight[er] after the glue had dried. I want a chamfer anyway and I have really sharp chisels. 



The back is prepped with small guide blocks and the cross banding strip is notched for the braces. 



And it is glued in place with screw clamps, a caul, strips of wood and a few go-bars. Not much left now!




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