Bookmatching — Lutherie Encyclopedia

BookmatchingType: techniqueA method of matching two halves of a split board to create a symmetrical, mirror-image grain pattern for instrument tops and backs.## Overview Bookmatching is one of the most fundamental techniques in lutherie, used to create visually striking and structurally balanced instrument tops and backs. The process involves taking a single piece of wood, resawing it down the middle, and opening the two halves like the pages of a book. When the two pieces are edge-glued together, the grain pattern mirrors itself across the center seam, producing a symmetrical appearance. ## Process The process begins with selecting a suitable billet of tonewood—typically spruce for tops or rosewood, maple, or mahogany for backs. The billet should be thick enough to yield two halves of adequate thickness after resawing. Using a bandsaw with a sharp, properly tensioned blade, the luthier resaws the billet through its width. Once split, the two halves are arranged so that what were the interior faces become the gluing surfaces, and the exterior faces become the show faces. The edges to be joined must be carefully prepared on a jointer or with a hand plane. The goal is a perfectly straight, square edge that allows the two halves to meet with no gaps. A common technique is to joint both halves simultaneously by clamping them face-to-face and planing the edges together. This ensures that any slight deviation from square is mirrored and cancels out when the pieces are opened. The halves are then glued using a strong wood glue (typically PVA or hide glue) and clamped with even pressure across the joint. After the glue dries, the resulti…