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Hi
Should the bridge plate float free of the x braces or butt up to them?
Thanks

I butt mine right up to the X-brace legs but never, never, never tuck it or inlet it under the X legs as some plans show.... Reason being that bridge plates may need to be serviced (or moved it you put it in the wrong place for the scale length). Not a problem before the top is installed and WAY harder to do but not at all impossible after the box is closed.

I beveled all bridge plate edges as well.

I'll add since most here only deal with newly built instruments: A very common thing that can happen to bridge plates is they start to wear where the string balls bear on the pin hole edges. This is much more likely because of the advent and proliferation of cheap, plastic, molded pins. The cheap or plastic part is not the issue, the slots are which can encourage the string ball to migrate up the pin holes.

As the bridge plate wears in the area of the pin holes material loses it's integrity and as such the plate can start to crease using the worn pin holes as a guide. This makes the bridge patch no longer level and encourages the bridge to lift too. The bridge is actually one of the most important braces on a guitar so when it lifts the top loses a lot of it's strength.

Anyway when all of this happens, and it does.... it's time to remove and replace the bridge plate. Inlet or tuck your bridge plate and the job is harder and you will be called lots of very colorful names more than likely by whom ever has to do it. That's what I do anyway....

I butt mine up to the X for increased stiffness. And only bevel the edges that don't meet.

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Pat

That's what I do too.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I do not recall an in-depth discussion of the bridge plate on the OLF, could this be it?

I am beginning to believe the bridge plate should be, at most, a place for the string balls to sit, and nothing more.

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https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008907949110

I do mine in the same manner as Pat and Steve.

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George :-)

Lol

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Pat

I do believe I recall at least one thread, mainly about the types of wood used, use of laminations, size, grain orientation

I'm not so sure about the .
Otherwise a 1/2" or so strip of hardwood for the bridge pin holes would suffice. (I believe this has been done, perhaps with a spruce bridge plate)

The bridge plate (normally) extends front and back of the bridge footprint so can/does resist bridge rotation, also reducing reducing the stress risers front and back of the bridge.
It adds to lateral stiffness of the top.
I have also seen discussions here of different bridge plate woods contributing to the character of the tone/sound of a guitar.

David, I do agree that perhaps this particular topic could be worth a "current opinion" poll, but think perhaps it warrants a thread of its own, rather than hijacking a tread with a simple query like

P.S. for the bridge plate, I do the same as Hesh, untucked, beveled all sides.
I orient the grain lines so they do not run along the same axis as the bridge pin holes. (same with the bridge itself) Feel that is quite important.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

I subscribe to Don Teeter's advice (same as Hesh) which points to the fact that a tucked/trapped BP can result in a long term maintenance problem. I believe the bridge plate and bridge combine to make the most massive brace on the sound board. I doubt there are any sonic or structural pluses or minuses keeping the ends clear of the X legs or butting.

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

I actually try to position the bridge plate about 1/32" - 1/16" away from the X brace. My rational is to allow a little bit of room for the plate to swell or move without it pressing sideways on the braces. I really don't know if this is necessary or not.
Pat

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There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.

It would seem that the sound board would be expanding and contracting in a proportional manner?

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

I concure but I butt the plate against the X because it looks neater ( not that too many folks will be looking) and helps to provide spot on location as per my lay out lines. Again another one of those things that may or may not float your boat.

T o m
h l a
e d m

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

I think you've got a typo in there, old mam

I do a lot of different styles with braces running over the bridge plate, tucking everywhere, and so on. I'll write more about it in the other thread. But for traditional X bracing, bevel all around and butt to the X.

I tuck it. Guess I'm weird.