krazyderek Posted August 25, 2003 Report Share Posted August 25, 2003 Well..... bored once again due to unemployment and an "active" social life... i've come up with another crazy gutar design. The design requires extensive/completely carving the top and back of the guitar body, kinda like that guy that carves the dragons into guitar bodys... umm.. someoneposted it here a week or 2 ago, (not just like a regualr carved top guitar) anyways, i'm just woundering what would be the best wood to use for this? I did some experimentaion on some lacewood i had left over and i was getting some.. chipping and teadr out if i was going either completely with the grain or completely perpendicular to it (because of the design i can't really carve the in the correct direction all the time). I kinda want to use mahogany for the tone, but does the open grain tend to tear alot if ur not carving with the grain? (i'm going to be using hand carving chisels to do all the work) and I'm thinking a dense closed grain wood would be the best... but what would u guys sujest? The best thing i've worked with to date seems to be bloodwood, but that stuff seems heavy for a body, and i've read that it's "highly toxic" so would i have to wear a resperator if i was doing hand carving with chisels? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted August 25, 2003 Report Share Posted August 25, 2003 basswood is extremely easy to carve and is close grained for no tear out.the bottom end is similar to mahogany but without the shrill mids.anyway that's my only thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted August 25, 2003 Report Share Posted August 25, 2003 My thoughts are it really depends on the tools your going to use to do it. I have a high speed carver that does 450,000 RPM for intricate inlays and such (yup even sounds like a dentist drill). Then of course you have various Dremel tools and on a larger scale routers which can range from 1/3hp up to 3hp for handheld. Then the old fashioned carve with wood working blades.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted August 25, 2003 Report Share Posted August 25, 2003 Quartersawn Spruce gets my vote. Or some sweet Figured Koa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted August 25, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2003 i'd loveto use my router or dremel but there's going to be continualy changing depths... so even if i did take the time to make the template for it or routed it very carefully by hand, i'd have to fingure out someway to control depth acurately on the fly i guess i could fig up a different set of shims for each carving but... that sounds kinda tricky basswood...hmm really? i figured it would be among the worst for tearing cause it's so soft, but i'lll give it a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AlexVDL Posted August 25, 2003 Report Share Posted August 25, 2003 Just sharpen your chisels every 10 minutes, then any wood will do as long as there are no weird patterns in the grain like quilt or flame etc. I'd suggest a soft wood, because that carves easier than for instance hard maple. As long as you keep sharpening your chisels it doesn't matter if the wood is soft (open grain) or hard (closed grain). And don't try to use a hammer with the chisel to cut big deep parts of wood, because that will cause the wood to chip and tear. Just little flakes at a time. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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