bscur Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 Hi, I am starting my first build and I am curious if there are problems starting with bloodwood for an OM model. What is considered the easiest tonewood to learn on? I've built electrics, but the acoustic thing is new to me and I understand that the first one will be a learning experience and not a masterpiece. Any advice would be great regarding the wood selection. Thanks, Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 Hi, I am starting my first build and I am curious if there are problems starting with bloodwood for an OM model. What is considered the easiest tonewood to learn on? I've built electrics, but the acoustic thing is new to me and I understand that the first one will be a learning experience and not a masterpiece. Any advice would be great regarding the wood selection. Thanks, Brad would use black walnut for the sides and back, spruce for the top, and mahogany for the neck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted December 8, 2011 Report Share Posted December 8, 2011 Despite never having built an acoustic yet, Mahoganys have always seemed to figure highly as easy woods for back and sides. Reason? Is it the cross linked grain or general "softness"? The same with Walnut? I'm interested in why. If I recall, Oak is rated highly despite being uncommon in ready made sets and builds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted December 8, 2011 Report Share Posted December 8, 2011 Use walnut. Stay the hell away from bloodwood. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted December 8, 2011 Report Share Posted December 8, 2011 Hahahah. I just re-read the OP and only just noticed Bloodwood. I have to clean my monitor now. Is it true that they pre-load Bloodwood with springs and volatile explosives? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel at Cariou Guitars Posted January 21, 2012 Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 The more tone woods usually are the easiest to work with, Like the others said Mahogany is a great choice. As is any of its cousins. Be careful when working with rosewood it tends to tear out and use low tack tape if taping anything directly to your project or you will have some serious grain lifting going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 1) Spruce for the top. Less dent-y than Cedar. 2) Mahogany for the neck. Classic, easy to carve, easy to work. 3) Indian rosewood or Walnut for back/sides because it should bend like butter. Avoid mahogany, as not all of it is that easy to bend. Some is, some isn't, and the African varieties (Sipo, Khaya, Sapele) are one and all a little more likely to put up a fight than 'true' mahoganies - applies to all aspects, and I prefer 'real' mahogany for carving but mostly use African varieties due to availability and because the finished product is just as nice. Indian rosewood and black walnut are available at reasonable cost, so pick the one you like better in terms of looks and/or sound. Rosewood will be more 'shimmery', Walnut a little more dry, both will sound great, look great, and be pretty easy to work with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted January 28, 2012 Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 Is it true that they pre-load Bloodwood with springs and volatile explosives? Yes it is. I'm doing two blodwood guitars right now and I have already scrapped one set of nice sides in the process. The second set worked OK with a bit of cracking. The cracking isnt bad enought to have me trash the set, just tiny cracks along the tight cut away area. I have glued them down and sanded everything smooth. Next set is up for bending soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 28, 2012 Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 I have an awful imagination on how that Bloodwood must be feeling right now....specifically the scene in Das Boot where U-96 was taken down to a depth below the operating limit of the sub with all the creaks, groans and rivets popping off everywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyonsdream Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 worry less about 'what's easiest" and focus more on taking your time, thinking out your processes and ensuring proper attention to details and you might find that your first acoustic is a masterpiece... spoken like a true wood-shop teacher (of which I am not...) Spruce top, mahogany neck and rosewood sides... yields a classic and well proven acoustic guitar tone that any novice or experienced builder should appreciate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juntunen Guitars Posted April 10, 2012 Report Share Posted April 10, 2012 worry less about 'what's easiest" and focus more on taking your time, thinking out your processes and ensuring proper attention to details and you might find that your first acoustic is a masterpiece... spoken like a true wood-shop teacher (of which I am not...) Spruce top, mahogany neck and rosewood sides... yields a classic and well proven acoustic guitar tone that any novice or experienced builder should appreciate. Agreed, I just finished doing the woodworking part on my first acoustic and am onto finishing now. I used Padauk for my first, it bent like butter and sanded really easily just be sure to clean the sandpaper before it clogs since padauk is a little oily. I built mine along with about 16-20 others. There were sides made of mahogany, rosewood, padauk, black walnut, myrtle wood, koa, some wood called ovangkol and a few others. Most of us had never built an acoustic before and we only had one side break out of everyone (indian rosewood) and it broke because the guy bending them went to fast on the upper bout. The first side I ever bent was white oak and I bent it on a pipe and the side cracked a few times on the cutaway but for my padauk one I used a bending jig and heating blanket like what LMI sells and had no problems so how you bend them will be an issue too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyonsdream Posted June 4, 2012 Report Share Posted June 4, 2012 we are using a lot of ovangkol at Martin now. It looks awesome with a finish on it. Has lot of golden brown and light green streaking... smells like cow dung when sanding it through. Pretty much the same as zebrawood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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