Pine Braces?

I have designed my own frame and consulted local timber framers about my design (spans, beam dimension, etc...). The only thing I failed to discus was braces. I may have taken this for granted. My frame is white pine (32x40), posts are 8x10, I won't get into the rest. I like the looks of a curved brace (not sure what this style is called) and I sized my braces to be 3x8 so I could do this. This middle section would be 5" or 6", which ever is more appealing to me. The problem is, and I didn't realize until I had milled out most of them, that normally when a 3x8 or 3x6 brace is used it is oak. My braces are going to be 2 3/4" x 7 3/4" when planed (pine). I'd like some opinions of whether or not this will be sufficient? Can I use these or should I start over using 4x8 braces (of couse milling them to 4 1/4" x 8 this time)? If I can use them can I use a 1 1/2" tenons or stay with a 2" tenon? I planned to house all brace tenons on the outer perimeter of the frame. None of the frame has been cut yet. Keep in mind that I don't really want to mill out more braces, however, I also don't want to skimp and end up with a poor looking frame. Please advise... thanks!

J.:
You can/could use the timbers you have milled to create your braces. Many a frame has been put up with pine braces. And as you have already milled the stock you can/could continue.
You can use them with a 1 1/2" tenon and a 1 1/4" shoulder. But you may want to take a look at the proportions. What I mean with an 8x10 post a 2 3/4" x 8" curved brace might look to small. It's your house and you're call. It may look fine. Most timber frames are engineered to not take braces into consideration, in regard to supporting the upper horizontal member. They are usually considered to be used in compression and in that regard they should be strong enough.
To visualize the results of using these braces you could take a sample post and cut a brace pocket in it and then create a brace and put them together, raise it up and stand back and take a look at it. This may help you to decide if it looks to "skimpy" or not.
Good luck with your project.
Jim Rogers