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I'm gearing up to build a large acoustic baritone guitar, and I'd like it to have a wide lower bout (17"-18"). I'd also like to use torrefied Sitka Spruce, but I'm having trouble finding sets that are larger than 8 1/2" wide. I'd like to have at least an extra half inch on each board, so I'm looking for cuts of torrefied spruce that are a minimum of 9" wide, ideally 9.5"+. Does anybody know where I could find a top set of this size?

Alaska Specialty woods.....

Brent at Alaska Specialty advertises some torrified tops at 8.5” minimum. If you called or emailed him, he might consent to picking out some for you above the minimum. That said, taking the cutoffs from the upper bout and carefully matching the grain and runout and moving them down to the wings on the lower bout would make the joints there undetectable. I’ve done where I knew it was a 4 piece top but wondered later if it was.

Welcome to the OLF Alex. Sounds like a great project you have.

Yet another recommendation for Alaska Specialty here. Contact Brent and let him know your dimensional requirements. If the plates will be wider than conventional they will likely be longer than conventional too. The last oversized tops I got from him were intended for harp guitars, but worked well for my ABGs. Oh, and if it is possible to reconsider the torrified requirement, there may be more options available to you.

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R.M. Mottola
LiutaioMottola.com

Author of the books Building the Steel String Acoustic Guitar, Practical Design of the Acoustic Guitar and Similar Instruments, and Mottola's Cyclopedic Dictionary of Lutherie Terms.

I don't check in here very often. If you need to contact me the best bet is via email through the contact page on my site.