allstellar Posted May 19, 2005 Report Share Posted May 19, 2005 Could you use maple from home depot? To build a 3 piece laminate neck? Or to learn how to buils one to be more exact..... Kinda....... maybe a good way to start expreimenting?????/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Churchyard Posted May 19, 2005 Report Share Posted May 19, 2005 Don't know how the maple from home depot is, but I guess it is simply not dry enough. Dry enough to build a table, but not for a guitar... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allstellar Posted May 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2005 Don't know how the maple from home depot is, but I guess it is simply not dry enough. Dry enough to build a table, but not for a guitar... ← but perhaps one could get ahold of a few chunks that have been there for a year or so? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Headen Posted May 19, 2005 Report Share Posted May 19, 2005 If they have maple it's fine, but you can get it much cheaper other places. I don't have a Home Depot near me, but I know Lowes doesn't carry maple. You should really look for a hardwood place near you. Or even a furniture shop for the small amoumt you'd need. The furniture place would probably glue stuff up for you for a small fee, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allstellar Posted May 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2005 If they have maple it's fine, but you can get it much cheaper other places. I don't have a Home Depot near me, but I know Lowes doesn't carry maple. You should really look for a hardwood place near you. Or even a furniture shop for the small amoumt you'd need. The furniture place would probably glue stuff up for you for a small fee, too. ← I guess I've been looking for a local source for awhile and have not seen one.... I was just buying some other stuff for home and saw some nice figured wooden planks.... and behold it it was maple.... NOW the big question... Is it the correct kind of maple? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted May 19, 2005 Report Share Posted May 19, 2005 Every time I go into Home Depot I take a quick look through the maple stock, and I always find a piece or two that has some flame; occasionally the whole board. Devon's right, you can get it cheaper at a lot of hardwood dealers (especially if you buy a good-sized board). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ooten2 Posted May 19, 2005 Report Share Posted May 19, 2005 What Home Depot's do all of you go to?? I have never seen maple at a Home Depot, not around here in Houston anyway. Lots of oak, poplar, pine, and cedar, but no maple. But it's been a year or so since I've been to HD, I have a Lowe's very close that serves that purpose. Maybe I need to check out HD again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedoctor Posted May 19, 2005 Report Share Posted May 19, 2005 HD keeps hard white or rock white maple for chopping block projects and trim work. If you can get some with no knot indicators it is the PERFECT size for laminating necks but it ain't no bargain. Look in the Yellow Pages (remember them) under custom cabinets and see if one of the local craftsman will sell you some stuff to start out with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted May 19, 2005 Report Share Posted May 19, 2005 Internet? Ebay? HD can be sooo expensive for stuff like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis P Posted May 20, 2005 Report Share Posted May 20, 2005 that home depot maple seem to work great for my Jem neck Whole Album Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allstellar Posted May 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2005 yes, I's not the affoardability.. it's the availability I was kinda' thinking about... not to mention.. you get to pick out the stock..... did the jem get finished? how does it play? is the neck wood "stable" thanks :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis P Posted May 20, 2005 Report Share Posted May 20, 2005 not finished yet, but the neck has been laminated together since, well, there was snow on the ground, and i just finished shaping it and sanding it, and its still straight as an arrow, so its not warped for sure I think i payed like 25 bucks canadian for 2 peices of maple, so i have some scraps, but not enough for another neck Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egdeltar Posted May 20, 2005 Report Share Posted May 20, 2005 not finished yet, but the neck has been laminated together since, well, there was snow on the ground, and i just finished shaping it and sanding it, and its still straight as an arrow, so its not warped for sure I think i payed like 25 bucks canadian for 2 peices of maple, so i have some scraps, but not enough for another neck Curtis ← I checked both Home Depot and Lowes near me and neither had anything. And If they did I can gaurantee it would be soooooo wet still. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis P Posted May 20, 2005 Report Share Posted May 20, 2005 try your local saw mill, you can make a neck out of different woods other then maple, and they probaly wont mind sellin you some maple pretty cheap, try and get it 2X larger then needed, then when you get it back to your place, plane all 4 edges just enough to expose new wood, then let it sit in a room with a constant tempreture for like 2 or 3 weeks (maybe more?) i can almost gaurentee it will warp a little bit, now that its done warping, you can plane it out and make your neck, or 2 necks if you got enough wood Hope this helps Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Headen Posted May 20, 2005 Report Share Posted May 20, 2005 If you get a piece of wood 2 times the dimensions you need for a neck, you'd have to wait a LOT longer than 3 weeks for it to dry. Stuff from the mill is usually dripping green. You should also leave it rough sawn until you're about to use the wood, then plane it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted May 20, 2005 Report Share Posted May 20, 2005 Yeah, availability can be an issue. I'm headed off to a trip to Anchorage in a couple of months, and thought "well, I should check into bringing some Sitka spruce back cheap". I went to Woodfinder and they list only 3 hardwood dealers in all of Alaska...the closest one being Fairbanks, still 250 miles from Anchorage! I'm not done doing my homework, there must be some lumber yards around....but yeah....I'm never surprised to hear people say that there are no good hardwood dealers near them. Their geograhy is really hit or miss. Especially for places that carry instrument-grade wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddler68 Posted May 20, 2005 Report Share Posted May 20, 2005 Every time I go into Home Depot I take a quick look through the maple stock, and I always find a piece or two that has some flame; occasionally the whole board. Devon's right, you can get it cheaper at a lot of hardwood dealers (especially if you buy a good-sized board). ← You too? I thought I was the only one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allstellar Posted May 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2005 Seems that they have poplar as well... anyway, there is a hardwood seller near me /// anyone ever hear of gutchess lumber?? www dot gutchess dot com I am going to call and see if they'll sell to the public... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedoctor Posted May 20, 2005 Report Share Posted May 20, 2005 Honestly, people, if you go to your local cabinet shop you will find some WONDERFUL maple that they use as trim or edging. It is usually 1" x 2" and varies from clear to curly. They will sell you those "three-foot scraps" for nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted May 20, 2005 Report Share Posted May 20, 2005 i would imagine Home Depot will be kinda expensive. You should look around as others are suggesting. Cabnet shops should be an option. If you can get it local you will save yourself shipping charges and that is a nice savings. If you just can't find a "good supplier" close to you, don't buy wood that you are unsure of or looks sketchy. If you have to buy pieces with a lot of waste or bad sections because it is the only thing you can find, don't buy it. I have plenty of good material for laminates, and I can offer you a fair price (***try to find a good local supplier***, you will do better if you can hand select good stock and avoid shipping). Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted July 19, 2005 Report Share Posted July 19, 2005 Hey guys I just wanted to add to this. I have looked for maple once before at home depot and couldn't find any, but today when I went I found a great stock of it. I was amazed honestly. I have a good, almost great hardwood dealer semi local, it about 40 minute drive. You would have been surprised to see that amount of figured pieces in there. I would say about 60% had some figure, and out of that about 40% had good figure throughout. Mostly a great flamed figure, with a piece or two with of some minor birdseye in there. None of the boards were thick enough for a one piece neck, but I would only do a laminate with them anyways. I think I might pick up a couple nice pieces and let them dry for another 8 months to a year and see how they turn out. If I can I will get a pick for you guys to see, it honestly looks like a whole section of figured maple. And as for price it's actually not that bad, my wood shop that I use charges quite a bit for some nice flamed maple and the better it is the more they charge. With this stuff it is the same price throughout and some pieces are 3-5A in my opinion. Like I said you would be surprised. I have seen some super nice quilted stock 12/4 maple but it was way too pricey for me. I don't think my place carries 12/4 very often, but they do have a nice selection of sizes below that. Anyways I just wanted to throw that out there. Again if I get back down there anytime soon, I will get a good pic of the section, and you will see mostly figured wood out of the stock. Overall I was impressed with the quality, not many knots or anything. But I must say this is the first time I have ever seen wood of this quality at home depot, actually it's hard for me to buy it because I have a great dealer near buy and I buy from fryovanni who has some killer pieces always. Also I have never found any instrument quality wood at home depot, but I must say I'm considering buying a few boards just to see, I'm sure they will need to be dried quite a bit more. When I can I will also do a full on price comparison, between my dealer and the home depot board, including the quality of the figure which will be subjective, but I will also try to get pics so you can decide for yourself. Later guys. Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. pierce Posted July 20, 2005 Report Share Posted July 20, 2005 (edited) I've bought maple there before for a three-piece laminate neck. They haven't had any maple since. The pieces I got seemed dry and straight enough to me, but I didn't know about those things back then, though, and you can't really tell those things just by looking. But the guitar never had any warpage issues during the build. It was one of those pieces that sat around for months at a time during various stages in the process though. Pricewise I seem to remember it wasn't too bad compared to the local hardwood dealer, but things are a bit pricey in my neck of the woods. The guitar sounded great. Looked like ass, though. (First build, I still haven't mastered the art of finishing.) Edited July 20, 2005 by j. pierce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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