Cedar Question

[sexybeast]

I have some nice Cherry for my back and sides and I'm looking for a good top. I hear Cedar's good and I have a garage full of wood for my deck. If I pick through this and find some nice pieces, would they work as a top? I can't see why not, but I'm looking for some advice.

BTW, I'm building a classical, if that makes a difference.

[fryovanni]

I have some nice Cherry for my back and sides and I'm looking for a good top. I hear Cedar's good and I have a garage full of wood for my deck. If I pick through this and find some nice pieces, would they work as a top? I can't see why not, but I'm looking for some advice.

BTW, I'm building a classical, if that makes a difference.

I am not sure what kind of wood you have( a lot of the time they use generic names for decking wood). There are many woods used for acoustic tops so there are no set rules. Western Red Cedar is not actually Cedar(just what they call it), but is one of the more popular choices. You are going to be looking for extreamly well quartersawn wood with minimal runnout. You should take a look and see if anything in your stack meets that criteria(it is pretty rare to find good pieces in most piles of "lumber", but you never know). Next you want to re-saw and surface it down to slightly over 1/8" thick bookmatched pieces. Check it for stiffness(you want good stiff yet light wood). Be careful to look for pitch. Some wood is prone to weeping pitch and you may not want to fight with that. Bear in mind that a pretty nice western red cedar(lets say good "student grade" which is likely to have better charictoristics than the lumber you have) can be had cut, dried and pretty much ready to go for around $10. I am also pretty partial to Redwood which might be an option. So don't fight using the wood you have it you are not feeling it is just what you want to use.

Peace,Rich

[GoodWood]

I picked through and found some quarter sawn cedar pieces at Lowes. Its for mold wood, but i was seriously considering building a first guitar with it to work out the kinks. Id say about 5% of any given woodpile *at lowes, is quarter sawn. Wether its acceptable building wood is another question, for a serious guitar. Id just like to see what its capable of. It has good tap tone! If your doing a throw away guitar, then go for it, if its a 'real' guitar, then spend 20 bucks for a top...IMO...

Had it for over 2 months, and its still shrinking, but the first month was the worst. Strait as a board though!

Edited February 17, 2007 by GoodWood

[fryovanni]

Of the woods that get called "Cedar" few are actually Cedar.

Cedar may refer to:

A number of trees and their wood

In a strict botanical sense the name refers to coniferous trees of the genus Cedrus in the Pine family, found in the Mediterranean and the Himalayas.

Lebanon Cedar and Atlas Cedar (Cedrus libani)

Deodar (Cedrus deodara)

The name cedar has also been applied to a number of trees in the Cypress family:

Western Redcedar (Thuja plicata) of the Pacific northwest forests

Bermuda cedar, Juniperus bermudiana

Eastern redcedar or Eastern Juniper (Juniperus viginiana) of eastern North America

Prickly cedar, Juniperus oxycedrus

Eastern whitecedar or Eastern Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis) of eastern North America

Atlantic whitecedar or Atlantic White Cypress (Chamaecyparis thyoides)

Yellowcedar or Alaska yellow cedar or Nootka cypress (Callitropsis nootkatensis)

Incense-cedar of the genus Calocedrus found in western North America, China and Taiwan.

Port Orford Cedar or Lawson's Cypress (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana)

Japanese Cedar in the genus Cryptomeria (Cryptomeria japonica)

To other gymnosperms:

Stinking cedar, Torreya taxifolia

And also to a number of hardwood trees found in Asia, Australia and North America, related to the mahoganies.

Spanish-cedar or Cigar-box cedar and other trees in the genus Cedrela

Australian Red Cedar from Australia in the genus Toona

Saltcedar or Tamarix

Running cedar, the clubmoss Diphasiastrum digitatum (syn. Lycopodium digitatum) and closely related species

The woods that generally make for good soundboards,

Western Red Cedar

Yellow Cedar or Cypress

Port Orford Cedar

Spanish Cedar is commonly used for necks, but with the more common use of Mahogany on soundboards it may be an option in that range of tops.

If you are at Lowes they may have Western Red Cedar or Douglas Fir. Both of which carry good potential. Just bear in mind what you are looking for in the wood(wood is wood, you just want the right cut). If parts of 1 in a couple hundred 8' boards meet the criteria for low grade soundboards you are doing well. Maybe parts 1 in a thousand(if that) meet the requirements for a med. high grade. It is not really the fault of the wood, it is just the by product of not purposeful milling. Then you will have to remember that although these trees grow at many locations. The trees that tend to exhibit the best charictoristics tend to grow under certain climates(generally relating to elevation and geographical factors). So of the boards that you find with the right cut, some may grow to exhibit the best of the best charictoristics giving them that higher grading potential. You never know where you will find that jem of a top, but keep in mind how truely rare they are. I slice up a lot of soundboards, and have tapped my way through piles of dealers soundboards. I may look through 30-40 soundboards before I find what appeals to me(sometimes that is "student grade" sometimes it is "master grade"). It really comes down to building experience, and personal preference. No two tops are identical(even sequentially cut from the same billet). Have fun with your searching(I personally get a huge kick out of doing it), and don't hesitate to buy "student" grade if you like the way it sounds that is all that counts.

P.S. If you are looking for good stiff bracing stock. Doug Fir is amazing IMO(my two personal favorites are DF and Sitka Spruce).

Peace,Rich

Also; Remember to tap well dried soundboards. A great soundboard will sound lame if it is not well dried.