Chuck_Chill-Out Posted June 14, 2018 Report Share Posted June 14, 2018 I have started my second build, a 5-string fanned fret bass. Neck-through maple and walnut Wings are 200 year old hemlock. Passive pickups I cut a section of the hemlock for the wings because the hemlock beam happened to be on the bench. Quick question to the wood experts here. I looked at the edge where I cut the hemlock and noticed cracks on the surface, but they do not go deep into the wood. Now, the wood is 3 inches thick and I will be reducing it to 1.75 inches. Should the cracks be something to be concerned with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted June 14, 2018 Report Share Posted June 14, 2018 WHOA WHOA WHOA! Be ultra careful with that Hemlock dust, Socrates! Whilst not the worst, it's an irritant at best and potentially carcinogenic at worst. Keep that stuff under good dust management control. The cracks are simple surface checking from the wood having weathered for so many decades. The surface has oxidised and many of the constituents of the material have degraded, shrinking it. These shouldn't cause any structural issues unless the shrinkage has pulled the material into a warp and induced other stress-related defects. This doesn't look like the case here by a long way. The Hemlock has had plenty of time to do what it does, and is unlikely to do anything else movement-wise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck_Chill-Out Posted June 14, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2018 But Pros, I heard the dust makes my tea taste better! Joking, of course. I have my respirator on when I am working with it and will be diligent in cleaning up. Hmm...maybe that's why they were giving it away? Thanks for the info on the checking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted June 14, 2018 Report Share Posted June 14, 2018 I don't think that Hemlock is too problematic, however anything that has potential for issues is best handled wisely. I don't like working with Beech for example. Only if it is extracted very very well or is producing coarse chips and shavings. Dust, definitely not. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck_Chill-Out Posted July 30, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2018 Well, my daughter's swim meets are over, so I think I will have a few hours a week to work. I went to my friend's wood shop to plane down the hemlock, and Pros, I am being safe. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted July 30, 2018 Report Share Posted July 30, 2018 looks pretty cool. that wood looks really cool. design suits it well. looking fwd to it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted July 30, 2018 Report Share Posted July 30, 2018 I did a bit of digging for second opinions on Hemlock and it seems that it is less problematic when dry, but still try not to kick up too much dust. Of course, don't think about maturing whisky in it or making any sort of herbal tea concoction! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck_Chill-Out Posted August 3, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2018 I had a little time this evening in the shop, so I used my father's small band saw to rough cut the wings. Rough. Cut. Very rough, lol! I think I need to invest in a spindle sander, or turn my arms into Popeye's... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted August 3, 2018 Report Share Posted August 3, 2018 The more you remove with the bandsaw, the less you have to sand away. I'm sure you could save yourself hours by nipping a bit more away 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted August 3, 2018 Report Share Posted August 3, 2018 I've never knowingly seen hemlock. Quite a dramatic grain pattern! I like the spec. What scale ranges are you aiming for ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted August 11, 2018 Report Share Posted August 11, 2018 Run a magnet over the stained areas and make sure there aren't any iron fragments broken off in there. Those quickly ruin your day and your tools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck_Chill-Out Posted September 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2018 Okay, been away for a while, but now am back. My family took a trip to Niagara Falls, Canada and enjoyed it. That's my daughter in front of the falls. Now that we are back and trying to get some semblance of normalcy, I am able to get back to work. I have a little more shaping to do, but I have a question. Prostheta, I believe a long while ago, you had a post about routing the proper direction on edges to reduce tearout? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck_Chill-Out Posted September 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2018 Oh, an Poutine is very tasty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck_Chill-Out Posted September 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2018 (edited) On a serious note, Pros I did run a magnet over the pieces...found a small sliver of a nail in one. Thanks for the reminder...I thought I caught all of them earlier. Edited September 9, 2018 by Chuck_Chill-Out stupid check Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted September 9, 2018 Report Share Posted September 9, 2018 5 hours ago, Chuck_Chill-Out said: Now that we are back and trying to get some semblance of normalcy, I am able to get back to work. I have a little more shaping to do, but I have a question. Prostheta, I believe a long while ago, you had a post about routing the proper direction on edges to reduce tearout? I'm not trying to make this difficult, but maybe shed a bit of application to this rather than just providing an answer without any opportunity for taking the reasoning onboard.... Look at the orthodox cuts first, and where they would best start from and where they transition into cutting against unsupported grain. To get you started using hand routing as the method (reverse the direction methodology for table routing), consider the piece on the right. Start at the outermost part at the bottom right (near the table edge) and move anti-clockwise through the waist until a little before the next outermost part. You can see that this bit has short distances from edge to edge through the grain (short grain) which is most liable to fracture and blow out. You do all of these cuts first, and the rest can be climb cut (if you're only the smallest most manageable cuts). Try drawing it out with start and end points. It helps. I usually draw onto my workpieces. Final tip, when you bring your router into an orthodox cut, have it moving in that direction as you move it towards the wood itself. If you bring it in parallel, it will likely grab and blow out the edge. I know that most of this will be more or less known to you, but a lot of people ask these same questions or read threads looking for people with the same issue as themselves. Really glad that you recovered the nail splinter from the wood. Those can ruin your day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck_Chill-Out Posted September 10, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2018 17 hours ago, Prostheta said: I'm not trying to make this difficult, but maybe shed a bit of application to this rather than just providing an answer without any opportunity for taking the reasoning onboard.... Look at the orthodox cuts first, and where they would best start from and where they transition into cutting against unsupported grain. To get you started using hand routing as the method (reverse the direction methodology for table routing), consider the piece on the right. Start at the outermost part at the bottom right (near the table edge) and move anti-clockwise through the waist until a little before the next outermost part. You can see that this bit has short distances from edge to edge through the grain (short grain) which is most liable to fracture and blow out. You do all of these cuts first, and the rest can be climb cut (if you're only the smallest most manageable cuts). Try drawing it out with start and end points. It helps. I usually draw onto my workpieces. Final tip, when you bring your router into an orthodox cut, have it moving in that direction as you move it towards the wood itself. If you bring it in parallel, it will likely grab and blow out the edge. I know that most of this will be more or less known to you, but a lot of people ask these same questions or read threads looking for people with the same issue as themselves. Really glad that you recovered the nail splinter from the wood. Those can ruin your day. Prostheta, I think I understand. I will mark out what I think I am understanding, then post on here. On the part on the left, I need to be careful of the point on the lower half, due to the tight grain, correct? Needless to say, I will be testing out on scrap wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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