Digideus Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 I have recenly been offered some wood but im not sure about the species and its use in guitar making. Perhaps someone here can offer some advice. Pearwood - 25mm square by 3ft long. Elm - 30mm square by 3ft long ive never heard of these being used in guitars. I suppose that either of these could be suitable as necks, fingerboards or part of a laminate providing they are suitable tonewoods. Anyone? I also came across a Yew tree for sale! Yes the whole tree. The guy who owns it reckons that sculptors pay a forune for this stuff. Would it be worth investing in this with some frinds and paying a timberyard to cut and dry it for us? the tree trunk is like 89 inches round at waist height. I havent had too much experience of exotic woods and the lesser used species, so if anyone has any pointers, id be greatful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdog Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 (edited) Pearwood is very dense and strong.....Many 'a bar rail have been made out of pearwood.....It is sometimes used as a substitute for ebony....after a little black dye, of course......If it is properly dried, it should be a faily stable wood. Elm....forget it for guitars unless it is burl.....Not a very dense wood and has a very open cell structure.....not very strong......All my experience is with American Elm, there are other varieties and may possess much different characteristics.....It can be pretty squirrelly, though. I have an elm tree on my property and after every storm, some major branch is broken.....I think I'm going to take the chainsaw to it before something else breaks off and hits my truck. Yew is a softwood......sculptors may love it because of its carvability(is that a word?!!!), but I doubt luthiers would, unless it has the qualities for acoustic instruments. Edited March 8, 2005 by tdog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javacody Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 I believe that some classical violin makers used pearwood on occasion (stradivari certainly did on occasion), I'm not sure what parts pearwood were used for, but it was used. I know nothing about using elm. Yew was used for Bows (i.e. Bows and Arrows) in medieval times. Apparently, yew is very bendable and very strong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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