Gluing the X-Braces a.k.a. X-Rated

I finally glued the X- braces. Its a big deal since they are the main braces on the sound board and all of the other braces butt up against them. I could really mess this guitar up if I had glued these in the wrong spot. But I didn't. I took my time, cut the lap joint, sanded it and filed it until it was perfect and check the fit about eleven and a half times. The lap joint is a type of joint that you can make while the wood is on your lap because its so easy. OK...actually its a joint made by cutting a slot in each piece of wood that will accept the other piece. Neither piece is cut fully through. They are only cut half way. They overlap and I think maybe that's where the name comes from. What do I know? I never used a chisel before I started this project! Although...I did watch my grandfather use one many times. Anywho, the lap joint is a little tough to get right, but if you take your time and slowly remove wood a little at a time, you can get it right. I know because I did it. Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures of my awesome lap joint apart, I only took the shots you see here. Your loss. It was truly a thing of beauty. Well, here you see me gluing the braces one at a time. Then you see the braces all glued on. The braces have an arch cut into them on the side that is glued down. The top of the guitar is arched by the braces. The radius of the arch is 40 feet. That's a big circle!! The arch is visible, but its not severe as you can imagine. It is there to give strength to the top of the instrument. Similar to how an egg is, well...egg shaped, the two domes of an egg give it the ability to not crack under the crushing weight of a mama chicken's ass, the dome of the guitar top gives it strength to withstand the pulling of 200lbs of force the strings exert on it. Coincidentally, the guitar top can also stand up to the crushing weight of a mama chicken's ass. Which I will try to take a picture of if a chicken(hopefully a mama chicken) takes up residence in my new guitar. Most likely that picture will go untaken for many a year. Unless I am forced to move to a farm. Then it might happen sooner.
If you were wondering about the white and blue X's under the top while I am gluing it, I will explain. I may have mentioned this before, but I am too lazy to go check my other blog entries. In order to make my work board, which is totally flat, conform to the curved shape of the guitar, I can do one of two things:
1)Buy an expensive "radius dish" from one of the companies that sells them for like $100. Or,
2)Stack index cards under the braces to match the radius. If you fan out a deck of cards on a table, you will get the idea. They actually form a perfect curve, and if you slide them one by one under an existing arch, you can get them to hold up that arch. All I had to do was tape them to keep them from coming apart and viola!! I spent about 4 bucks instead of $200 since I would have had to buy a 40 foot dish and a 15 foot dish for the top and back respectively. I like KMG's method better.