Rebracing a ladder braced guitar: X bracing THROUGH the Soundhole?

[Kerry Krishna]

 How is it even beginning to be possible? Does someone here have a photoessay or link to how this is done?  After 19 years in the biz, I had no clue this was even possible, yet there are several Luthiers doing this work....

 

[Donald A. Fortune]

Hi Kerry-- Id be interested in information on this method my self -- so if you get some info please post it  --

Peace, Donald

[Kerry Krishna]

 I just contacted a guy fro Halifax who's shop employee (if I understood him properly) does this exact job. He said that there IS a full photoessay, BUT there is no descriptions at all of accompanying pictures. He says he will do somthing with the photoessay and get back to me.

[Frank Ford]

And, what exactly IS the question?  If it's "scalloping braces working through the sound hole," then there are lots of us who have done it, and particularly in the period up to about 1977, it was a fairly common operation.

If it's replacing the braces through the sound hole, we, that seems possible, but not without some nasty compromise, like working with two-piece assemblies, and the potential for more problems than taking the body apart.

If it's X-bracing that extends through the sound hole, well, that sounds truly wacky. . .

[Andrew]

I don't understand the question either :P

[Ned Knepp]

Kerry, 

 I don't think I'd want to try. 

 I've rebraced a couple of ladder braced guitars with X braces and wouldn't have tried it without removing the back. Getting into the box can be a pain but  I'm willing to bet that doing it all, properly, through the sound hole,  would  take two, three or even four times longer than doing it in open body AND replacing the back. With the back off, you can glue in most of the new bracing on a Go Bar deck. That alone would probably pay for the disassembly/reassembly time for the back.  

[Kerry Krishna]

 Ned, that is why I am so  by it.

[Frank Ford]

Thanks for adding "retracing" to the title.

I agree - while it may be more work to take the back (or if you're resetting the  neck, the top) off it would pay dividends.  A large number of old ladder braced guitars have really long and nasty spruce bridge plates that should get replaced with something more appropriate when x-bracing.  Lately I've been more inclined to remove tops than backs because the final result can be all that much neater, and damage control can be easier, despite the presence of purling, etc.