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I know that bookmatched tops have runout moving in opposite directions depending on which side you're looking at (or working).
I am wondering if top plate sets from luthier supply houses come as a bookmatched set, or if the lumber is simply resawed to yield the most useable product, regardless of bookmatch?
The reason I ask is that I am new to acousic building, and I'm having a difficult time seeing runout, so I'm not sure how to be certain. And it's pretty important to know the direction of runout before I take a plane to the wood, I would think. I know I could probably just look at both faces of each plate and choose the sides that look closest to a mirror image of each other, but is that all there is to it?
Would appreciate some insight, please.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Mike,

Every set you buy from any instrument wood retailer will be bookmatched. If you stick with the sponsors on this site or other suppliers you read about here, you'll be okay. The same goes for your concern about runout. The reason you can't see it very well by eye is because our suppliers do such a good job of avoiding it - at least as much as possible. They split their billets and then work off of those split faces.

I don't think you need to worry about learning to use your hand plane and tearing out a big chunk. Just make sure your blade is sharp and start by taking very light passes - and remember to practice on the side that will be hidden inside the box.

Phil

All luthier suppliers I know of sell bookmatched sets, unless otherwise marked. And yes, runout is reversed at the centerline, and yes, it is a pain to plane by hand. I typically join the plate first, then scrape the show face smooth, and then plane to thickness from the back. Most of the time there's plenty of thickness to spare, so you can just go at it and see which way the plane snags to identify the runout... then write it down somewhere to remember for when you're peeling up binding tape later on (of course being aware that the safe direction is reversed on the other side of the plate)

If you got your plates mixed up to where you can't tell what goes with what, you can usually fit them back together by looking at the end grain. Also they often have little V marks on the edges of the plates in black marker or whatever, drawn before slicing them up to keep track of the original orientation.

Hey Mike,

All tops from any good luthier supply houses (SM, LMI, Allied etc..) are bookmatched. If you take a piece of wood, saw it down the middle and lay it on your bench with the cut sides facing up than you have a bookmatched top set. You are probably aware of that already, but that means the fact that it is bookmatched does not mean that it does or does not have a lot of run out.

Most of the suppliers will give information on how they grade the tops somewhere on their site. The highest grade will be well quartered, with straight tight even grain and minimal runout. As you work your way down into lower grades the tops become more off quarter, wider grain, more runout etc.

I have bought tops from LMI and Allied over the years and always been very happy (I'm sure SM has good tops as well). If you are having trouble seeing what direction the grain is going then set you plane to take a light cut and test it out on part of the top plate outside the outline of the guitar. You should be able to tell pretty quick if it is going to plane easier in one direction.

I hope I understood your question correctly and that this answer was helpful.

(I started writing this before the other guys responded. Their points are right on, and I'd also agree that working from the back when thickening plates is a good practice)

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Josh House

Canadian Luthier Supply
http://www.canadianluthiersupply.com
https://www.facebook.com/canadianluthiersupply?ref=hl
House Guitars - Custom Built Acoustic Instruments.
http://www.houseguitars.com

Thanks, Phil and Dennis. Much appreciated.
As for using a hand plane, I've got good experience with that, as I build mostly with hand tools, a good plane being one of those. But I build electrics. The thinnest piece of wood I would use a plane on for that is planing a fretboard to thickness. Hitting that .120" thick, soft sitka top with a plane scares the crud out of me, lol.
I'll just do like I always do, take the thinnest shaving I can get, and hope the pucker factor subsides after a few strokes.
Dennis, the top I got (SM AA grade) had the markings on the edges like you mention. I thought that's what they were. Thanks for the confirmation.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Josh, thanks.
I do most of my wood shopping from LMI. But StewMac's AA tops for under $20 are really hard to beat. LMI offers 2nd grade in that price range, but their A grade is around $7-$10 more. The SM tops are a no brainer.
I also like SM for indian rosewood fretboards, as theirs are straight whereas LMI's are tapered.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

You are right that it is hard to beat $20 a top, especially when you are starting out. I wrecked my share of tops when I was starting out, and a lot of them cost more than $20. The nice thing I have found with LMI and Allied (I'm sure the same applies for SM) is that there grading is very consistent. If I order a AAA or Master grade top from LMI I know exactly what I will get. There are some good deals if you look around, but it is also pretty easy to get burned when buying wood. The best situation is when you can visit your supplier and hand pick your wood. The next best thing is having a network of high quality suppliers who you can count on.

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Josh House

Canadian Luthier Supply
http://www.canadianluthiersupply.com
https://www.facebook.com/canadianluthiersupply?ref=hl
House Guitars - Custom Built Acoustic Instruments.
http://www.houseguitars.com

Make your plane sharp, and set to a fine cut, and all is good. Spruce is usually an absolute joy to plane. I sand backs and sides to thickness, but I often at least partially plane my tops.

Thanks, Mattia. That's the plan!

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

One way to avoid tearout is to align the plane so that the cutting edge is parallel with the grain. Don't push the plane straight across the grain....push it at a 45 degree angle.
I use a Stanley 102 block plane or 101 toy block plane to graduate my tops from the back side.

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John

Thanks, John, and everyone else. All of this is great advice, and I'll put it to use hopefully this Saturday. I joined the top yesterday evening, but Saturday will be the earliest chance i'll get to work on it again.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.