Bridge cap materials

[Ron Nossaman]

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>
>                     Ron
>                      If flat sawn material is exceptable then what about=
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> the multi-lam. flat sawn Maple supply house blocks. I don't have any and=
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> am curious as to what thickness the lams. are.

Too thick for grand bridge capping, I'd say, though I've used both this and=
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Delignit for replacing bass bridges in verticals. It's also 90=B0 cross=20
plied, and as hard to notch as Delignit.


>        I would think using this material would be labor saver and an=20
> economical alternative even if not as optimal as the quarter sawn variety=
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> you currently are manufacturing.

I'm not specifically using quarter sawn material for the laminations. I'm=20
not sure that there's any quantifiable difference in this use, so I'm using=
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more easily gotten pot luck sawn. Even if I thought it was important, I=20
wouldn't see any benefit to using quarter sawn anywhere but the top=20
lamination. Delignit is used as capping material, and it's rotary cut. I=20
think it's the lamination thickness that makes this work.


>Also with stock that thin (2mm) it tends to split up in the planer when it=
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>hits grain that's running out towards the surface. Do you find this?

Yes, and just under 2mm seems to be the limit with my setup. This isn't=20
hardly possible with a standard planer setup with the blades sharpened for=
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softwoods. I had my blades sharpened with a small (about a mm) back bevel=20
on the front side, making the effective cutting angle only about 5=B0 from=
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perpendicular to the bed. It's some noisier, and you can't take as deep a=20
cut, but the chip out is GREATLY reduced. You have to touch up the edges a=
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little more often too, because they dull quicker, but you don't trash=20
nearly as much maple in the planing. More of life's little trade-offs.


>         Tonally speaking do you find any observable aural (though=20
> probably subjective) enhancement or deficit? I'm only looking for an=20
> opinion here. Certainly the lack of false beats and the hardness around=20
> the top of the pin should contribute to a very effiecent energy=20
> transmission resulting in a solid tone. Oh yes and of course bridge=20
> integrity and longevity a big plus in my book.
>             Dale Erwin

No tonal difference that I can tell for sure, but I haven't tried a half=20
and half to test them side by side either. They're sure a clean and solid=20
termination though.

One more point that I'm sure you've considered. Setting bearing by planing=
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down an extra thick solid cap isn't something that works so pretty good=20
with laminated caps if you want a continuous layer on top. They're a=20
natural for vertical hitch pins, but otherwise you'll have to pay closer=20
attention to plate height and aliquot thickness - or plane through layers.

Ron N

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