OM Plans

[Kary Karahadian]

After 8 years of making classicals, it's time to try a SS. Any recommendations on the best set of OM plans? Thanks

[Wayne Brown]

Here's where you can get a set of OM plans for free. Download your plans from www.grellier.fr , put it on a flashdrive and take it to your local Kinkos/etc.

[Matthew Lau]

I'm favorably impressed with the MIMF plans here.

While the Stewmac and LMII plans are fine, the MIMF plans have excellent clarity and better paper quality.

Those grellier plans look nice too. Parlez vous francez?

[Kary Karahadian]

I'm showing my ignorance here. where do we have plans for sale on MIMF?

[Charlie Schultz]

I'm going to put a link at the top, but for now: http://www.mimf.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1465

[Doug Shaker]

Which plan is for an OM? None actually say "OM" in the title.

[Kary Karahadian]

I'm guessing the OM is the one that says it is off the C&N book. Wonder if that applies to the bracing dimensions as well. the book did get me started with all this madness many years ago, but i found the bracing dimensions to be much too robust, leading to a significantly overbuilt guitar (classical).

[Tim Allen]

I have the MIMF plans from the Cumpiano book. They do depict an OM, and it is braced like a factory guitar--rather heavily by the standards of most on this forum, I'd guess. I used this plan as a reference for my first two guitars, though the shape and bracing of my guitars was different. Even with the differences, I really got a lot from these plans and I recommend them. If you want to brace your guitar more lightly, as most hand builders do, you're going to have to deviate from any plans that I'm aware of.

I have the Grellier plans, though I have not yet used them. The French is not a problem, since you can see what the words refer to even if you don't speak French, but the dimensions are metric so that might take some adaptation for most of us Americans. Grellier does show advanced X-braces and scalloping, so it's closer to a vintage or new handmade guitar in that way.

[Wayne Brown]

You can select the English version on the Grellier web site. Click on the British flag (if I remember correctly). The dimensions are still in metric.

[Kary Karahadian]

Thanks.
too bad there isn't a SS version of Courtnal's book where he gives measurements off a number of actual instruments.

[Tim Allen]

For measurements taken from steel string guitars there are a number of sources. A good place to start is the bracing forums at the Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum. You go through a lot of pages of pictures of bracing, which are moderately interesting, but lack specifics of interest to builders. As you go through the pages you'll find pay dirt here and there in terms of very specific drawings and measurements.

Another interesting place, with some specifics, is http://www.vintagemartin.com/xbraces.html

[Kary Karahadian]

Thanks for the link Tim.