A little while back I started to prepare braces for the soundboard. Most of the bracewood I had came cut already in about 1/2" quartersawn stock from split billets, ready to saw up, while some came in bigger sizes and not very well quartered at all. Even though the 1/2" stock probably was too thin to justify splitting I had to try it to satisfy my own curiosity and I'm glad I did.
I started by cutting an about 1/2" piece of the stock Just to see what would happen. I used a 1" chisel and a rubber mallet. Once the wood started to split I turned the chisel on it's side and wiggled it under downward pressure to continue the split through the rest of the piece. My 1/2" stock proved to have a remarkably straight grain whereas the thicker stuff were very much a hit and miss.
The split faces were then planed flat and the other three sides trued. Last I ran the trued stock though the bandsaw to produce slightly oversized rough sawn braces ready for final dimensioning.
I started by cutting an about 1/2" piece of the stock Just to see what would happen. I used a 1" chisel and a rubber mallet. Once the wood started to split I turned the chisel on it's side and wiggled it under downward pressure to continue the split through the rest of the piece. My 1/2" stock proved to have a remarkably straight grain whereas the thicker stuff were very much a hit and miss.
The split faces were then planed flat and the other three sides trued. Last I ran the trued stock though the bandsaw to produce slightly oversized rough sawn braces ready for final dimensioning.
SPLITTING THE STOCK
SPLITTING THE STOCK
PLANING THE SPLIT FACE
THE TRUED BRACE
ROUGH CUT BRACES
