strangegrey Posted July 24, 2006 Report Share Posted July 24, 2006 Hey folks, I'm brand new here...but I've been lurking for a few weeks. I'm in the middle of starting a strat build...and I'm wondering what you guys feel about sources of maple for the neck. I can certainly order a blank from one of the various retailers...but is there any reason why I can't simply pickup some straight 1X4 maple stock at lowes or home depot? Thanks, Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted July 24, 2006 Report Share Posted July 24, 2006 Hey folks, I'm brand new here...but I've been lurking for a few weeks. I'm in the middle of starting a strat build...and I'm wondering what you guys feel about sources of maple for the neck. I can certainly order a blank from one of the various retailers...but is there any reason why I can't simply pickup some straight 1X4 maple stock at lowes or home depot? Thanks, Frank Sure if you have a local HD or Lowes that carries maple? Usually they only carry Pine, Redoak, Poplar and sometimes Birch. Watch for the correct grain whn making your selection. MK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inisheer Posted July 24, 2006 Report Share Posted July 24, 2006 Can you find maple like that at home depot? At my local stores they don't have maple at all. If you do happen to get some you'd have to make sure it is dry enough to use for a guitar, it's probably not kiln dried. EDIT: I had bad timing writing this and MiKro beat me to it. What he said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strangegrey Posted July 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2006 Sure if you have a local HD or Lowes that carries maple? Usually they only carry Pine, Redoak, Poplar and sometimes Birch. Watch for the correct grain whn making your selection. MK Come to think of it, my local home depot does not carry maple, but my Lowes sure does. I built my son's Train Table with 1" thick maple boards...if I remember correctly 3 or 4 inches wide...but I know I can get 1X4 stock there... With respect for grain, refresh my memory, as this is my first dive at building a neck...what exactly am I looking for again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mammoth guitars Posted July 24, 2006 Report Share Posted July 24, 2006 Make sure that Lowes maple is hard maple and not soft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strangegrey Posted July 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2006 Make sure that Lowes maple is hard maple and not soft. I can see the guy at lowes, who probably couldn't make the difference between maple and mahogany go "Soft Maple? what's that?" lol I'll have to figure that one out by myself... -F Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scab Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 The difference between soft maple and hard is huge.. It's all about tone baby.. To tell yo the truth you can get any maple you want to build whatever you want.. You will have crappy tone if you have a soft maple which comes from a Red Maple (Acer rubrum)... You would be Okay to go with some hard maple out of a Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum), But your best bet is the silver maple.... Thats the maple tree you get most of your flame maple woods out of... (Like for the necks and stuff).. To tell you the truth I wouldn't buy wood for a guitar from lowes or home depot... Because those guys don't know crap about wood... Personally I've never built a guitar myself, but I know my Maple wood.. If you were to buy maple wood for your project I would go to a woodworking shop or if you don't have one of those around, go on Ebay.. I've bought tons of flame maple off of their for a resonable price... Note: If you ever see flame maple wood you know your getting the right kind.. Flame maple is always from a hard maple tree.. Maybe someday I'll post pictures of my trees.. (I'm not a tree hugger, when the trees get big enough I'm going to cut them down.. Tree huggers try to preserve trees) Hope this helps a little.. Scab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
araz Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 Actually, my local Rona store (similar to Home Depot) up here in Canada does carry maple and I recently saw a beautiful flamed maple about 1"x4"x8', if I remember correctly. I was pleasantly surprized to see that I will be able to buy flamed maple from Rona, albeit the flamed variety was probably 1 in 1000... Araz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strangegrey Posted July 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 Hey guys, I think I'm going to stick with Birdseye maple for the time being... I have a place here on LI that stocks the stuff, so I'm going hunting on friday... -Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 The difference between soft maple and hard is huge.. It's all about tone baby.. To tell yo the truth you can get any maple you want to build whatever you want.. You will have crappy tone if you have a soft maple which comes from a Red Maple (Acer rubrum)... You would be Okay to go with some hard maple out of a Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum), But your best bet is the silver maple.... Thats the maple tree you get most of your flame maple woods out of... (Like for the necks and stuff).. To tell you the truth I wouldn't buy wood for a guitar from lowes or home depot... Because those guys don't know crap about wood... Personally I've never built a guitar myself, but I know my Maple wood.. If you were to buy maple wood for your project I would go to a woodworking shop or if you don't have one of those around, go on Ebay.. I've bought tons of flame maple off of their for a resonable price... Note: If you ever see flame maple wood you know your getting the right kind.. Flame maple is always from a hard maple tree.. Maybe someday I'll post pictures of my trees.. (I'm not a tree hugger, when the trees get big enough I'm going to cut them down.. Tree huggers try to preserve trees) Hope this helps a little.. Scab I'm sorry dude , but that is a hunk of bad info you just dished out. Yes,There is a big difference between hard and soft Maples. To say soft Maple is bad tonally is dead wrong. Softer English and Big Leaf is sought out for arch top plates (hard Maple is poorly suited for Archtop plates). Softer maples are also prefered for violins,back and sides for acoustics and archtops. Hard Maple is best suited for electric necks, and certain laminate tops. Hard Maple is significantly heavier than softer Maples. It is much harder, and stiffer. Soft Maple is frequently used for acoustic necks, violin necks, Mandolin necks and so on. Big Leaf (soft) Maple exibits the strongest figure Quilt and Flame. If you see Flame Maple it could very well be soft Maple as figure is much more common and stronger in soft maple. If you see quilted Maple it is (99.9%) most likely soft Maple. The figure in hard Maple is typically not as strong or full as soft maple. As far as E-bay. There are some very good dealers (Chuck at Durawoods comes to mind). There are also a LOT of people that don't have a clue that sell on Ebay. So you best do your homework before you believe anything you readin an advert on Ebay. Oh, and if you notice that every piece of wood an Ebayer is selling is "Kiln dried 3-6%" moisture ask them what moisture meter they use and ask for a money back garantee that the wood will read no more than 2% higher when it is when delivered. Any dealer that actually tests the wood would take no issue with that. Peace,Rich P.S. There is nothing wrong with wood purchased at Lowes or any other store. Wood that you can hand select and test for moisture or get info on how it was dried is as good as any. Actually is better than anything you buy sight-un-seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuy Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 You can make a neck out of any wood you want.......pine guitar anyone . Btw the pine neck from the 2x4 build is still playing strong. (Yeah I had to toot my own horn) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scab Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 Big Leaf (soft) Maple exibits the strongest figure Quilt and Flame. If you see Flame Maple it could very well be soft Maple as figure is much more common and stronger in soft maple. If you see quilted Maple it is (99.9%) most likely soft Maple. The figure in hard Maple is typically not as strong or full as soft maple. But when I went to a woodworking shop the guy there told me that the Flame is more commonly found in hard maple (mostly silver maple). But I have heard of this Big Leaf maple... Is that a group of trees or is that what a particular tree is called.. Also I agree with you on the kiln dryness... But I also heard that the better grade of maple is instrument quality (which also means the grains are closer, and the tree it came from is also older). Here is a site that has some info...(NOTE: I know this site has nothing to do with musical instruments, but it serves its purpose) http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/...ces/DD6286.html If you look down at the silver maple it is referred to as a SOFT maple but the wood isn't in fact soft.. It is hard.. And also if you look under the red maple it is referred to as a soft maple and it is indeed also heavy and weak... As for buying wood from lowes or hope depot, do what you want... Just because you can hand select your wood doesn't mean their wood is the best quality.. I was just saying if you want the better quality go to a woodworking shop or ebay, and spend a little more and get the better stuff.. And yes, if you buy off of Ebay, even if the wood isn't kiln dried very well, I still think the quality is better than Lowes or HD. B/c I doubt they kiln dry their wood.. Also I'm not looking for an argument and I'm glad you corrected me on some things, but if you knew so much about maples and which is good and which isn't then you could've posted before me... This post has been open for over 2 days, and I was trying to help him out by trying to point him in the right direction. The right direction not being Home Depot, and Lowes.. What ever kind of tree Flame Maple came from, wheather it be Hard (what I said) or Soft (what fryovanni said) that is what you want for your neck.. MOST of it is instrument quality and it looks very beautiful... Scab P.S. I only work on solid body guitars.. (No hollowed out or acoustics.. At least for now) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 Scab- Don't get me wrong. I am only trying to point a couple things out. "But when I went to a woodworking shop the guy there told me that the Flame is more commonly found in hard maple (mostly silver maple). "--The guy at the shop is not correct that flame is more commonly found in hard Maple. It is found in some hard Maples, but generally you will find the strongest flamed figure in softer Maples. I wanted to point that out because you might assume it is only found in hard Maple.--"Note: If you ever see flame maple wood you know your getting the right kind.. Flame maple is always from a hard maple tree..". Kinda FYI "But I have heard of this Big Leaf maple... Is that a group of trees or is that what a particular tree is called.." Big Leaf is a Maple tree that grows in the Northwest (very common in the Oregon coastal Range). Sometimes it is also called Western Maple. The Quilted Maple figure and strong flamed figure is found in Big Leaf. It is much lighter and softer than Harder Maples. "Also I agree with you on the kiln dryness"-? " And yes, if you buy off of Ebay, even if the wood isn't kiln dried very well, I still think the quality is better than Lowes or HD. B/c I doubt they kiln dry their wood." Ok- Kiln Dried, I am going to say Kiln dried is not better than Air dried. Kiln drying is a faster way to dry wood (this is why most commercial hardwoods are kiln dried). When you buy a hardwood from Lowes I would say you have a very high chance that you will get kiln dried. Now a couple things about Kiln dried Maple. If the dryer tries to go too fast you get staining and discoloration (very common damage done to light colored hardwoods during the drying process). You can also get case hardening if the process is done too quickly. By that I mean the outer surfaces ability to wick moisture is stopped by the outer surface being sealed so to say by rapid drying. Air drying which is easyier on the wood can have downsides such as mold staining. The main point here is not so much how it is dried, but how close to being stablized to it's environment. By stabalized I mean it has stopped releasing it's moisture. Most cabnet grade wood is dried to about 10-12% and will dry a bit more after you buy it. That isn't bad it just needs a bit of time to finish drying (hopefully in your shop). " But I also heard that the better grade of maple is instrument quality (which also means the grains are closer, and the tree it came from is also older)"- Well that sounds fair enough. The only catch is that "instrument quality" wood is subject to the dealers standard (there are no set guidelines). Older trees(larger trees), higher ring count are good. The big thing about larger trees and Flamed Maple is that the Flamed figure is strongest in closely quartersawn wood. In order to get wide pieces of quartersawn wood you need a fair sized tree (older trees tend to be larger). Straight, vertical grain, well quartersawn wood, no mineral streaking or staining, stable, Strong figure- That would be the best of the best (musical grade? Master grade. 5A, or whatever they decide to call it). "As for buying wood from lowes or hope depot, do what you want... Just because you can hand select your wood doesn't mean their wood is the best quality.. I was just saying if you want the better quality go to a woodworking shop or ebay, and spend a little more and get the better stuff.. "- If I hand select wood. It will be good quality. I know what to look for in a good piece of wood. I don't care where I buy it. I have seen plenty of wood I would not buy at lumber dealers (Gilmer,Goby, NW Timber and so forth), Woodworking shops (Woodcraft, Woodcrafters, Rockler etc...). The larger dealers that have open yards are best because you have a large selection, but that does not mean you can not find a good piece at a Lowes. As far as Ebay. I am just trying to point out that if I can't see the whole board, feel the weight, hear it when tapped. I am not really able to select that wood as well as if I had it in front of me. Thus you have to trust the sellers knowledge. "Also I'm not looking for an argument and I'm glad you corrected me on some things, but if you knew so much about maples and which is good and which isn't then you could've posted before me... This post has been open for over 2 days, and I was trying to help him out by trying to point him in the right direction. The right direction not being Home Depot, and Lowes.. " I am definately not looking to argue. I post a lot, but I can't catch everyone. I know a fair bit about wood, but then a lot of guys on the board know as much or more. I hope you take this as me trying to share what I know. I read through the page you linked. Here is a link from another thread on the forum. It may be interesting to you - Clicky Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scab Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 thank you I'll look at the link thanks for the info.. I will use this to my knowledge now instead of what the old guy at the shop told me.. But can you answer one question.. Is a silver maple tree good for the quality of wood used in electric guitars?? What will I be able to look forward to when I cut it down?? Thanks again.. Scab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 thank you I'll look at the link thanks for the info.. I will use this to my knowledge now instead of what the old guy at the shop told me.. But can you answer one question.. Is a silver maple tree good for the quality of wood used in electric guitars?? What will I be able to look forward to when I cut it down?? Thanks again.. Scab I think you will find it to be very similar to western (big leaf). If you had a piece of each in hand. You would think the weight and so forth is very close. It is much much lighter, softer, and not as stiff as Hard (sugar) Maple. I think Silver Maple has very good potential to make nice instrumnet wood. It is suitable for necks, but is nothing like Hard Maple in that sense. Don't take that as bad. Mahogany is nothing like hard maple and it is an awsome neck wood. The other thing to remember is that no two pieces of wood are the same even though they are the same variety. All the "specs" are general not the rule. When you cut the tree. Dry it properly and make good choices on your cuts (nice quartersawn wood is a big plus). If you get lucky and it has flamed figure. The quartersawn cut will show it off best. Try to prevent discoloration (mold- assuming you are air drying). Be sure to remove the bark quickly and seal the end grain well. Peace, Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exafro Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 Hey guys, I think I'm going to stick with Birdseye maple for the time being... I have a place here on LI that stocks the stuff, so I'm going hunting on friday... -Frank LI as in Long Island? What is the name of the store that carries it? I found a place in Huntington that carries wide board 8/4 mahogany but no one with any good maple. Whereabouts are you? I'm from Lindenhurst. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scab Posted July 28, 2006 Report Share Posted July 28, 2006 Quarter cut??? Does that mean cut the tree in 4 (quarter pieces)?? and what do you seal the end with??? When you take the bark off do you seal that wood too?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted July 28, 2006 Report Share Posted July 28, 2006 Quarter cut??? Does that mean cut the tree in 4 (quarter pieces)?? and what do you seal the end with??? When you take the bark off do you seal that wood too?? Quarter sawn- Do a search. Seal with Wax or suitable end grain sealer If you do not know why you would not seal the wood below the bark. You best do a web search on drying wood. There is plenty of good info out there. I hope you are just kidding with me... Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strangegrey Posted July 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2006 Hey guys, I think I'm going to stick with Birdseye maple for the time being... I have a place here on LI that stocks the stuff, so I'm going hunting on friday... -Frank LI as in Long Island? What is the name of the store that carries it? I found a place in Huntington that carries wide board 8/4 mahogany but no one with any good maple. Whereabouts are you? I'm from Lindenhurst. exafro, The place I'm refering to is Woodply lumber in Freeport. They stock a good deal of this stuff...curly maple, quilt, mahogany, birdseye maple...I just got about 3 bodies worth of basswood there...going back for some alder soon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exafro Posted July 28, 2006 Report Share Posted July 28, 2006 exafro, The place I'm refering to is Woodply lumber in Freeport. They stock a good deal of this stuff...curly maple, quilt, mahogany, birdseye maple...I just got about 3 bodies worth of basswood there...going back for some alder soon... Cool, sounds like I'm gonna have to make a trip to check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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