My WRC Experience

[Hippety Hop]

I've just bent a pair of zebrawood concert uke sides, and thought I'd try a WRC top.

Well I sanded my piece of cedar down to 1.6mm and gave it a tap and a flex. It was so light and fluffy I quickly realised it wouldn't take much to break it - or sand through it. Then I drew the centreline and outline, and noticed how easily the pencil point dug into it.

I cut about 1/4" around the outline with the scoll saw, only to find when I turned it over that the chip-out from the saw was so severe at the ends that some chips had extended past my outline. Damn, I can't sand them out, they look like about 1/2mm deep. And that's supposed to be the outside. The pencil line grooves on the other side are perhaps 1/4mm deep. OK. Don't get excited. The chip out will be cool when I rout the edges.

This stuff is so delicate. Like a salada biscuit.

Thought about X bracing it, but by that time I'd already glued the soundhole patch...
(A mate of mine has a vintage Gibson soprano with an X-braced spruce top.)

I splashed a good dollop of shellac in the channel before I did the rosette. Didn't deter the superglue from shooting down the grain. Sanded off OK, but I'll be sealing/pore filling the whole thing with CA anyway.

Used a new bit to cut the hole, then bound the hole with black/white purfling to be on the safe side.

I'll try a little bit of extra bracing, and seal inside the top with shellac.

That zebrawood's been playing mind games with me too.

Anyway, I don't think I'll be in a hurry to buy any more of those silly imported woods.

Cheers Hip.

[Lillian]

Yup, the stuff is delicate. Dents if you look at it too hard. I have a couple of tops that I'll get around to using one day. Not in a hurry to embrace the frustration, which is why I'm cutting my teeth on spruce. I still have to watch where I put things and what not, but I'm not afraid to breath on it.

[Rick Turner]

1.6 before you finish sand is just too thin for most WRC.

Did you happen to weigh the top before, during, and after? What are you going for? A concept of thickness or actual stiffness/deflection?

Building by the numbers...thickness numbers... doesn't really work when you're building at the edge for maximum performance. You have to build to the timber that's in your hands. Building to dimensions is building by the book...and that's not high performance lutherie.

[Allen]

My first WRC uke was 1.9 mm and really stiff with the gain, and medium across. Got good results from it, so pushed the envelope a little and am using the next slice off of the same board at 1.8 mm. This is as light as I would dare to go on this board, and I've not had any other WRC in my hands that would be better than this piece.

It sure does make a fantastic sounding uke though, so even with the difficulties in working with it, I still love using it.

And if Greg Smallman can make his guitars with WRC tops at 1 mm thick, then you could try some lattice bracing on this uke and see how you go.

[Mark McLean]

I know what you are talking about Hip. My first built guitar has a WRC top. In the last couple of weeks I have had it back in the workshop doing some neck adjustment. While I had the neck off I got a bit carried away and thought I might refinish the top because I have never been happy with how my attempt at french polishing worked out. After a year or two of playing it also had a few dings. I sanded the shellac finish back and started with a new Tru-Oil finish. But the stuff dents and marks even with normal block sanding or rubbing with steel wool. Trying to sand around the bridge (with it still attached) I have put more new marks into the top than I have removed. I have given up on trying to get a good smooth surface since this is a prototype guitar for me anyway. But I am not going to build a cedar top again any time soon.
Mark

[Hesh1956]

1.6 mm caught my eye too - that's roughly .070" which is pretty thin. Guitar builders will often use WRC at .125 - .130 if they are not as Rick said shooting for a specific deflection number.

I've only built with WRC once and not only is it beautiful it makes a very nice sounding guitar - perhaps better suited for finger style IMHO.

The one thing that I didn't like about WRC was that it dents if you look at it wrong... I ended up chasing dents frequently during the building process and I am fairly religious about being careful with the outward side of a top while building. Some of the dents had me wondering how the hell they even happened...

[Kim]

I am fairly religious about being careful with the outward side of a top while building. Some of the dents had me wondering how the hell they even happened...

That would be dent fairies at work Hesh, you obviously have an infestation and these can be very destructive and elusive critters. Best control is via a sledge hammer, problem is you need to be able to see them first and that requires taking dent fairy revealing pills and I have not seen them around since the late seventies early eighties. Good luck, glad i got rid of mine when i did, just wish i had cleaned up those pesky tool shifting elves while i was at it.

Cheers

Kim