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I want to build a short scale (24.9") 12 fret L-00. I don't have a plan for this spec, but I do for a 14 fret. So, I'm looking for guidance or assurance that I'm on the right tract. I have re-drawn the shape (I already have the bending form and mold.). I have measured out where the saddle will fall and moved everything down by 1 1/4". By everything, I mean the bracing and the sound hole. I think that perhaps the tone bar locations might need to be adjusted and the upper transverse brace looks like it may also need re-positioning... Am I on the right track? ...x-braces and sound hole moved down 1 1/4"? Hopefully, you can see the brace positions in my drawing...

Any constructive comments are welcome.
Thanks,
Steve

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

Here's how I dealt with the area under the fret board extension. Two transverse braces and thin, cross grain, reinforcement strips to prevent cracks by the fret board.

Thanks James. I assume you also started with a 14 fret plan and modified it for 12 fret...

I guess another approach would be to simply measure the distance between the 12th and 14th fret on the fingerboard and use that distance to shift everything (?). I do plan to use 24.9" scale because I have a slotting template for that scale length. I realize that the gibson scale length is 24.75", but there is a very small difference and I don't have the template for 24.75". I will make sure that I use appropriate compensation. I've done this before with no problem.

I just want make sure I have the bracing and sound hole in the right position. In my drawing the sound hole looks kinda low, though it might be just fine. Any other comments?

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

Well, you have a lot of control over that depending on the outcome you want. Are you building the 12 fret in order to get that slight bass edge you get?

Here's a shot of our 12 fret 000 and 14 fret OM.

Note the difference in space between the X intersection and where the bridge falls between the two models. I can't guarantee how accurate these plans might be to original models, but you can see the 12 fret has nearly double the distance from the X interaction as the 14 fret.

Something to consider, as you can place your bracing however you like.

I've read mention of folks who use a 12-fret neck on a 1-fret body shorten the fingerboard to 19 frets in order to allow the soundhole to be closer to where it would be when a 14-fret neck is used. What happens to the 'x' brace, I have no idea.

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Peter Havriluk

Mine was patterned after an early 30's L-1 that I had in my shop. The back had been removed for restoration and I used the measurements from the top. Your sound hole location is restricted somewhat by where the end of the fret board extension falls. The scale and the number of total frets have something to do with that.

Here is the front view of another 1931 L-1 to give you an idea of the sound hole placement relative to the fret board extension.

Thanks guys. This is all great information...

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

I've built 2 L-00's from the Grellier plans: One 13 fret & one 14 fret.

On the 13 fret I didn't adjust the shape, just moved the sound hole down and the X with it.

One other thing I did on the 13 fret was to open the X up a little, my thought being that shifting it down would reduce the area under the X so I tried to regain some of it.

Unfortunately I didn't record how much I opened it - I'm bad with documenting. All I have it this pic.

The 13 fret does have a deeper voice but the scale lengths are different too, 24.9 on the 14 & 25.4 on the 13 so don't know how much help all of this is other than giving you more to think about.

Kevin Looker

edit:
Now that I look at your post with the print, it looks like I moved the hole down but didn't move the X-brace that much. I do remember moving the brace down a little though. I think...

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

My intent is to make a guitar for a child that is easy to hold and easy to play. I figure that a short scale 12 fret L-00 would be just the thing...

Kevin and Ed, How far did you decide to move the X-brace down?

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com