Glue n' Braces

Here's a couple shots of my acoustic top with the lower face braces and bridge plate gluing in. The top sits on a metal dish carved to a 30 foot radius while the braced are glued to it. Once all the braces are glued in, the top and back of the acoustic retain their radiused shapes. All the braces are radius sanded on the side that are glued down to ensure a tight fit between the skeletal brace structure and the soundboard (or top). This process strengthens the guitar and actually puts stress on the top. The top, probably the most important factor in the sound of an acoustic, is stressed this way to help in sound projection. The sides and back basically serve as rigid walls to the top, akin to a drum.

Those blue, white and orange sticks are 'go bars': basically flexible kite rods that exert pressure on the top while the braces are being glued in.