Graduation

I completed adjusting the graduation of the top. The process was less than ideal. For starters, the kit came with the top carved thinner the center (and other places) than what Siminoff recommends. The best I could do was try to even it out rather than shoot for specific thickness. I did spend some time on the recurve and I'm fairly satisfied with that part. In addition to taking some point measurements, I also put it up close to a strong light and tried to get an even "color" through the light. This may not be a very scientific way to go, but it gives an overall picture of relative thickness. The hardest part was using scrapers inside the top piece. What would have been a more straight-forward operation, wound up to be awkward because the sides are attached. There is very little room to move around with scrapers. Also, holding down the top assembly was challenging. Here is a photo of one way I was using to secure the top to the work area. I still need to do final sanding and smoothing of the inside, prepping for the braces, before I cut the hole... The hole deserves a posting of it's own