JPK Posted February 14, 2007 Report Share Posted February 14, 2007 Hey guys wonder if you cant point me in a few directions, i live in wigan and area in the northwest of england for those who dont know, and have looked around for wood that good value for money and good quality, so far to no avail, i'm also finding quilted maple extremely hard to find. It needs to be relatively cheap, where as my new project has no real budget i do have other things to pay for and buy, so i gotta keep as much money as i can. I've read a few threads on here where come people have bought good pieces of wood for under £20, that i can handle. Well i hope you can give me a few directions guys JP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernova9 Posted February 14, 2007 Report Share Posted February 14, 2007 (edited) Hey guys wonder if you cant point me in a few directions, i live in wigan and area in the northwest of england for those who dont know, and have looked around for wood that good value for money and good quality, so far to no avail, i'm also finding quilted maple extremely hard to find. It needs to be relatively cheap, where as my new project has no real budget i do have other things to pay for and buy, so i gotta keep as much money as i can. I've read a few threads on here where come people have bought good pieces of wood for under £20, that i can handle. Well i hope you can give me a few directions guys JP You will be incredibly hard pressed to find any decent wood for under £20. Your best bet is to go to lumber yards and ask for cheap offcuts. Then it'll need to dry, up to 1 year per inch of thickness. You will definitely not find quilt maple for less than £20. Edited February 14, 2007 by Supernova9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The royal consort Posted February 15, 2007 Report Share Posted February 15, 2007 Quilted maple is expencive... BUT... there are some good bits on EBAY. Now thanks to the dodgy state of the dollar right now it actually works out cheaper to by it from the US or Canada an have it shipped to the uk. I got 2 sets of 1/2" maple for about £60-70 (including P&P) and its good stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batfink Posted February 15, 2007 Report Share Posted February 15, 2007 looked around for wood that good value for money and good quality Two totally different things (like all things in life) unless you buy it green and in bulk (and i mean serious bd/ft) and dry it yourself. You can be lucky but wood is like anything else - cheap is cheap and good is not cheap. Saying this a good clean properly dried 2pc body blank from Dyke's for example in say Basswood or Alder could only run you £35-40 and i re-iterate that the wood (unless your looking at graded figured or exotics) is a small fraction of the total guitar's cost. If you are that tight i suggest looking around a few reclaim yards, you can be lucky and pick up odd bits of bar top's or the like in Mahogany quite reasonably priced although chances are you'll spend more money in fuel running around looking for a suitable candidate than if you just bit the bullet and shoved your hand in your pocket a bit deeper. Jem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToneMonkey Posted February 15, 2007 Report Share Posted February 15, 2007 Buxton isn't a million miles from Wigan. Have a hunt around craft supplies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted February 15, 2007 Report Share Posted February 15, 2007 Buxton isn't a million miles from Wigan. Have a hunt around craft supplies. They are in bradwell now rather than buxton (millers dale). Craft supplies have a lot of different body woods starting at around £22. I have had nice figured 2 peice imbuya body blanks from them for around £25. The maples can be very expensive though and its definately worth importing. This eBay shop is worth checking out for the odd bargain. fine woods remember that postage on wood blanks is not always cheap, even so they still work out cheaper than buying from the UK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPK Posted February 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2007 I know Maple wont be cheap, i know that, but i want a good finish n the look of quitled maple i love so thats why i am willing to go that extra mile for that. Believe me i want to dig deep, i would spend like hell on wood if it was sum great stuff, but i have a car to buy and a drivin test to pay for, bills to pay flights to pay for also...all with what the boss requires adequite for me. In other words he's near enough paying me Jack, i'm only just surviving on it. My first job so i should of expected much. Thanks for all your help though its appreciated. I have Yet to go to my local timber Yard there just around the corner, and they are the opposite of cheap, but if i can get off cuts, doubt they will need them so they might be kind to me cheers JP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammy Posted February 15, 2007 Report Share Posted February 15, 2007 Call up David Dyke. He's a nice chap and will be able to provide prices for just about anything. I buy most of my wood from him, as he's the best in the UK. PS: Nice to see a local lad! I'm from Rainford, near St Helens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernova9 Posted February 15, 2007 Report Share Posted February 15, 2007 I know Maple wont be cheap, i know that, but i want a good finish n the look of quitled maple i love so thats why i am willing to go that extra mile for that. Believe me i want to dig deep, i would spend like hell on wood if it was sum great stuff, but i have a car to buy and a drivin test to pay for, bills to pay flights to pay for also...all with what the boss requires adequite for me. In other words he's near enough paying me Jack, i'm only just surviving on it. My first job so i should of expected much. Thanks for all your help though its appreciated. I have Yet to go to my local timber Yard there just around the corner, and they are the opposite of cheap, but if i can get off cuts, doubt they will need them so they might be kind to me cheers JP Hows about this - tell us what you're looking to build (e.g. type of wood/sound you're looking for, type of pickups you want to use, fretboard choice, neck choice), and we can better point you in the right direction. Just as an indicator for you - my first project (not including tools purchased), cost around £200 in parts. That's a tele-style with a 4A Flame Maple top (1/4" thick), ash body and maple neck/flame maple board, and standard tele electronics. That doesn't include tools or anything like that, which would be easily double to triple that amount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToneMonkey Posted February 15, 2007 Report Share Posted February 15, 2007 They are in bradwell now rather than buxton (millers dale). Cool, even nastier roads to spank down. Going to be that way in a few weeks actually (girlfriends wedding dress fitting) so I may check out the new shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPK Posted February 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2007 well the guitar its self is a custom design, its not a tele-style or strat style, its something i just came Up with. Its going to be a neck through, hollow guitar. Just want something with decent sustain, and a neck through i've never tried before so i decided on that method. quilted maple i want only for the top, body wise maybe mahogany, same for the neck to maybe, and oak fingerboard perhaps. I'm going to have to go to the timber Yard and see what they do have, those are the woods i'm after, but if push comes to shove i'll just take what i can get. Pickups i want humbuckers, not sure which ones, theres going to be 2 switches for each pickup, and on/off and and an out of phase (these will be slide switches rather than toggles) 1 volume n tone for each pickup to. so not a great deal of modification needed for the electronics. I'm also thinking of doing a custom tremolo system, using a roller bridge rather than a locking system. Still thinking about whether to tackle that though. JP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted February 16, 2007 Report Share Posted February 16, 2007 They are in bradwell now rather than buxton (millers dale). Cool, even nastier roads to spank down. Going to be that way in a few weeks actually (girlfriends wedding dress fitting) so I may check out the new shop. Its actually a big warehouse with a little corner set aside for the soundwood section, i prefered the smelly little farm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biliousfrog Posted February 16, 2007 Report Share Posted February 16, 2007 well the guitar its self is a custom design, its not a tele-style or strat style, its something i just came Up with. Its going to be a neck through, hollow guitar. Just want something with decent sustain, and a neck through i've never tried before so i decided on that method. quilted maple i want only for the top, body wise maybe mahogany, same for the neck to maybe, and oak fingerboard perhaps. I'm going to have to go to the timber Yard and see what they do have, those are the woods i'm after, but if push comes to shove i'll just take what i can get. Pickups i want humbuckers, not sure which ones, theres going to be 2 switches for each pickup, and on/off and and an out of phase (these will be slide switches rather than toggles) 1 volume n tone for each pickup to. so not a great deal of modification needed for the electronics. I'm also thinking of doing a custom tremolo system, using a roller bridge rather than a locking system. Still thinking about whether to tackle that though. JP haha....so you're making a red special with humbuckers then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToneMonkey Posted February 16, 2007 Report Share Posted February 16, 2007 They are in bradwell now rather than buxton (millers dale). Cool, even nastier roads to spank down. Going to be that way in a few weeks actually (girlfriends wedding dress fitting) so I may check out the new shop. Its actually a big warehouse with a little corner set aside for the soundwood section, i prefered the smelly little farm. I liked the smelly farm too. For some reson, it wont be the same getting wood without cow crap on my shoes (there's a dirty joke in there somewhere). BTW Wez, is it Burton or Swadlincote that you're in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted February 16, 2007 Report Share Posted February 16, 2007 I, Wez Venables, am in Burton. My cousin, Nathan Peach, who does my spraying and is now doing some of the building lives in Measham, near swad. He's getting quite good now. The guitars are all built in my spare bedroom in Burton and sprayed at Naths house in Measham - kinda like Fenders california/mexico approach to building Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToneMonkey Posted February 16, 2007 Report Share Posted February 16, 2007 I, Wez Venables, am in Burton. My cousin, Nathan Peach, who does my spraying and is now doing some of the building lives in Measham, near swad. He's getting quite good now. The guitars are all built in my spare bedroom in Burton and sprayed at Naths house in Measham - kinda like Fenders california/mexico approach to building Ah, I know Measham, been to the car auctions their a few times. Doesn't matter then. The missus has an interview in Swadlincote, was after a bit of local info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPK Posted February 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2007 (edited) Well my guitar hero is Brian May and being a big queen fan, he influenced me to both build and play guitar (although i'm really singer) The redspecial is not a through neck construction, and it is made of blockboard with mahogany veneer and has a solid oak core. I intend on building a Red Special replica at some point aswel. JP Edited February 16, 2007 by JPK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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