Official Luthiers Forum!

Hey. I just got a package in the mail from Tracy Leveque & Co. (luthier suppliers). I got one of those brace shaping jigs and a couple of the radius guages.

THESE THINGS ARE SWEET!!!! Extremely well made and I am sure they will be very useful..

I know I know.. you are probably thinking "he is just pimping for advertisers...." but trust me, I am not. I am very impressed. Thanks again Tracy.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

I use the brace shaper in my guitar building classes. This thing saves my students a bunch of time!

Well, I'm just not sold on that thing.
I don't believe it could really work.
Now, I know that everyone I've talked to who has one swears it's a great jig and well worth the money, but I just don't know how that could be the case.
Perhaps if Tracy were to send one to me (just to prove me wrong, of course), then I could test it out and let y'all know if I think it's all that good or not. And then I would send it back to him. Honest!...

Don Williams38911.6694097222

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Something else comes to mind here now that you remind me Don, I don't see how that old board you found laying around in that old garage could have possibly been good BRW after all these years. I think you should send a set out here so I can see if it'll make a guitar or not.

Nice jig Tracy!John How38911.6834953704

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

Yes, well I just might do that. You never know!

Which of the seven old boards were you talking about, anyway?

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Your just a big tease Don

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

Hah!! Just for that...watch your mail!

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

I also received the brace shaping jig a few weeks ago and am very impressed. I've only been able to make one "practice" brace so far. It is very easy to use and accurate.

I can't wait to use it on my second guitar (wish I had known of it for my first!!)

Great job Tracy!

Thanks Brock!! I guess that extra $200 for advertising really paid off!(just kidding). I always like to hear what people have to say about this jig. The only comments I get from people are that they love it. I have received a few comments on how to improve on it, but they were only minor changes that really don't effect how this jig works. I'm glad to offer this jig, and that it has been so well received by the guitar building community. Thanks again all for your support(except Don ). Don, we can always make a trade for some of that BRW
Don, in all seriousness, I would be willing to trade you a nice adi top for one.

I'll also have a new centerline finder jig coming out very soon. It is unlike anything you've ever seen, and under $50!

Tracy

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Tracy
http://www.luthiersuppliers.com

Oddly, I was about to order one of the brace jigs from Tracy on THE DAY of the swap meet. I had no idea it would be included as one of his offerings...so the OLF Swap Meet saved me $10 bucks immediately...which I then turned around and gave, and more, to Don Williams. You know I might need to think this through again. It all sounded better before I started typing...

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Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

Yay for Tracy's brace shaper! I actually ENJOY doing braces now!

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http://www.presnallguitars.com

Thanks Larry and Bill, and all others! Glad these jigs are getting used, and they are making your lives easier. I'm with you Larry...I did my first and 2nd guitar by doing the braces by hand. It took forever, and my knuckles were all chewed up from the radius dishe sandpaper. It took me 2 hours on my first guitar. Now I'm done in 5 minutes!
Tracy

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Tracy
http://www.luthiersuppliers.com

Ive used mine on my last 2 guitars and I agree, its a well made jig..... Love it!

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Okay, I thought it was a clever idea when I first saw a photo, but now, after hearing from you guys, I'm convinced. After shaping braces for six tops, I'm ready for a bit of relief from the grind before I start shaping the braces for the six backs.

But I got just one question: is it possible to get this nice little tool in a 25/16 size?

Best,

Michael

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Live to Play, Play to Live

The radius guages are pretty slick too. They are concave on one side, convex on the other.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Tracy. after all the gushing I went over to your site to check out the jig. Looks sweet, but I'm a bit confused. You shape a brace on a 15/25 jig, but you check the brace against a 28 gauge. Why? Was I not supposed to notice that the pictures where from seperate photo shoots and the continuity guy wasn't paying attention or is there another reason? And like Michael, I'd like to know if other radii are an option.
Thanks.

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Aoibeann

Good catch Lillian! That will teach them to pay attention!


Actually, they show both a 28' and a 25' in action.Don Williams38912.5482523148

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Yep, I'll chime in for the contour gauges, too. They're nicely made of substantial material. Tracy even made one for me with a non-standard radius at a price much better than I could have gotten elswhere. He also kept me well informed of my order's status via e-mail. Good folks with which to deal!

Michael--Yes, we can do any radius you want! It is just a small program running on a CNC machine, so we can change this to anything you want for the brace maker. It may delay your order several days, but that's all. Also, on another note, this jig will probably not help you that much for Classical guitars because the small fan braces are usually not radiused, and if they are, you need to leave the brace much taller than it is. Your brace will need to be a minimum of 5/8" tall for a 15' radius, and about 1/2" tall for a 25' radius. The reason is because you need to have some brace stock exposed so you can cut the exposed brace stock flat. Not sure I'm explaining it well enough, so maybe some of the users here can chime in. Let me know if you have any questions.

Lillian--Good catch! Your are correct, the photo's are not in sequence. I had done seperate shots using 2 different brace makers. This was in the prototype phase, and I had to test multiple radii. But the way it really works, is that you make your cut/sand/joint, then check it against whatever radius you are using. This was to just show that you can use the gauges to check your cuts after using the brace maker. It also good for checking your dishes! And yes, you can get any radius' you want for the brace maker jig. The contour gauges come standard at 12', 15', 16', 20', 25', 28', 30', and 42' and for custom radii it is normally a $5 charge extra. But during this sale, until 7/21, I'll waive the $5 charge for the custom radius. Name your radius and we'll make it!

Thanks Carlton for the great comments!
Don, I'll still offer you that trade for some BRW
TracyLuthierSupplier38912.663125

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Tracy
http://www.luthiersuppliers.com

I ordered a couple of Tracy's radius dishes a few weeks ago and can second what Carlton said about Tracy keeping me informed. He also jumped through a couple of hoops and got them out a couple of days earlier than we first thought he would.

Great stuff and excellent vendor/friend!

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

More Praise
I have the following from Tracey
Brace Shaper
2 dishes
Small dome for sanding bottom of bridges

All are great

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Andy Z.
http://www.lazydogguitars.com

I bought one of Tracy's brace jigs when he first introduced them. I can't believe it to you folks so long! I also have his waterproof radius dishes and they are wonderful and will probably last a lifetime. As everyone else has commented, Tracy provides great customer service. Do continue to support our sponsors here at the OLF.

Tracy, more tools and jigs please.

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Don Atwood
Arlington, VA

[QUOTE=LuthierSupplier]
Don, I'll still offer you that trade for some BRW
Tracy[/QUOTE]

I'm not allowed to tease anyone with BRW anymore or Hesh will do terrible things with my face in Photoshop...

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Craft Supplies in the UK are fantastically quick and their wood is exquisite.