From The Beginning

[orgmorg]

This is going to be one of those long term progress threads.

Materials so far:

I thought it might be fun to document the stages of production that most people don't get to see.

Obviously, there is enough wood here for many guitars, and hopefully many will indeed be made from it, but after we get through the sawing and drying processes, I will focus on one instrument for this thread. I haven't decided on any particular design yet, but there is plenty of time for that.

This log is hard maple, 16" diameter on the small end, 12' long. It was scaled at 10' because of some possible defect in the butt end. There are no knots, but plenty of sapsucker holes, and what appear to be healed over woodpecker holes, so it's hard to say what we might find inside. My guess is there will be some streaks of dead wood, possibly with some spalting. This could make for some interesting looking wood, if it hasn't rotted in those areas. If so, I may use those parts for a bookmatched top, provided they are sound enough.

There will also be plenty of nice clear straight grained boards that will make for good neck stock.

I dont expect to find much figure, though. Probably a few scattered ripples and blister figure.

Pretty close growth rings, too. I counted about 80 on the small end, almost 100 at the base.

Well, I'm off to get gas for the sawmill, and breakfast for the sawyer (me)

Then we'll get to slicing 'er up!

[biliousfrog]

great idea for a thread...this is going to be a loooong project that's for sure

[jer7440]

I can't wait to see how you saw up a log like that, and how you decide how to cut up a log. Should be very interesting

[orgmorg]

Here we go

This is a couple slices into the first face of the log.

When sawing up a log you first have to visually divide it up into four "faces" based on various factors.

Usually, when sawing grade hardwoods, you try and find one face that is the clearest, and start from there. Other factors are the shape of the log ( oval, round, squarish, etc ) and it's sweep, which is the way the log bends, if it does. You try and keep the sweep all in one plane, and keep the shape symmetrical, if possible.

In this case, the log was free of knots, so that was not a factor. It was oval, but had a slight twist, so the two ovals of the ends were not aligned the same way. The only sweep was at the base of the log, where it was probably growing on a slight slope.

With the log positioned so that the sweep was to the side, the next step was to level it.

Here is the log on the mill. The thing in the background that looks like a big bandsaw on its side is, well, it's a big bandsaw on it's side. The log is clamped in place, and the saw moves along a track through the log. The ends of the log can be raised independently to account for one end being bigger than the other.

Normally the idea is to keep the heart of the log centered, so it is the same height above the bed at both ends. In this case, I decided to saw with the taper of the log, and set it so the top face was level.

The reason for this is that the sapwood ( lighter colored, outer part) of maples is the stuff you want, and with this approach, you not only get the most of it, but you minimise the grain runout in the boards.

I should probably also mention here that I am cutting flatsawn boards, not quartersawn. If the log were bigger, I might have quartersawed it, but there really wasn't enough good sapwood to get decent quartersawn boards from it without a lot of waste.

Anyhoo, the first trouble came with the first cut. The blade started diving downward in the cut, not good.

There is what is called a debarker on this mill, which is a small, thick circular saw that runs in front of the band blade and cuts a trench in the bark, also removing mud, rocks, etc. Well, mine had apparently gotten out of alignment, and the blade must have gone thru some of that junk, and started cutting downward.

So, after adjusting the debarker, and changing the blade

I lowered the saw 1/4" andtook another pass, to make sure all was well.

Here you see where the previous cut went downward.

All seemed ok, so I dropped down another 1/4" and made another pass to clear up the mess.

Then a couple 1 1/4" slices off the top, and we are at the picture above.

[orgmorg]

Next, it was time to turn the log. This is done with the help of a big arm that comes up from underneath, with a big chain that moves around sprockets on the arm, and turns the log against the posts on the other side.

Gotta love hydraulics!

I flipped it over 180 deg, and levelled the top face again.

A few more slices, and we are starting to get into heartwood

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/orgmorg/maplelog3.jpg

Now we turn it 90 deg, re-level, and start sawing again.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/orgmorg/maplelog2.jpg

[Jon]

That's really cool, I've never seen that done before.

[Xanthus]

This is going to be the coolest thread ever I should go out and plant a tree right now, and see what it's progress is by the time that tree makes it into guitar form, hahaha.

[toddler68]

It IS a very cool thing to see. My neighbor let me have a big cherry trunk from his backyard and I had it sawn up last month. Hard to pass up free wood.

[orgmorg]

I should go out and plant a tree right now, and see what it's progress is by the time that tree makes it into guitar form, hahaha.

Ya, that really would be from the beginning. Your grandkids would be the ones building the guitar, though.

After flipping the cant over once more and taking a couple more cuts, we are now down to a more reasonable size of 8x8:

This also shows one of the "posts" or backstops I mentioned earlier. It's covered in sawdust, but you can see the roller at the end of it. They swing up and down, and the idea is to not hit them.

Here, it is about 1/3 of the way up. When they are all the way up, the rollers at the top help the log move when you are turning it.

I got one more board of mostly sapwood, and I sawed the remainder into 2" planks. Parts of these might make interesting bookmatched tops. I also make various types of furniture, etc. so what is unsuitable for instruments, will be used for that.

Here's what came out of the middle (on the left) :

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/org.../maplelog12.jpg

and from the outside:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/orgmorg/maplelog9.jpg

Then it was time to take the first several wide slices I cut and trim the edges.

Here I stood them up on their edges, and raised the narrow ends up:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/org.../maplelog11.jpg

This is the most annoying part. It involves trimming one edge of the widest board, flipping it over, dropping down a bit to trim the other edge, and maybe one of the other ones, removing the first one, flipping the other, or dropping down again if I didn't get enough of it. etc, etc.

The way I did these results in tapered boards, which I don't mind, since I mostly cut them up into shorter pieces anyway. This wastes less wood, but still puts a straight edge on the board, and gets the bark gone. Bark tends to attract bugs, and bugs make holes, so off to the burnpile with it.

[prs man]

just awesome

I worked for 4 years at a lumber yard on a planer working with hard woods like maple walnut mahogany what ever needed.

I never seen this done thanks for showing all of us.

I look forward to seeing more progress

[Xanthus]

I should go out and plant a tree right now, and see what it's progress is by the time that tree makes it into guitar form, hahaha.

Ya, that really would be from the beginning. Your grandkids would be the ones building the guitar, though.

I was referring to how long your tree is going to sit in the kiln for haha

Speaking of which, how long do you put a log that size in for (though it's getting cut shorter and shorter as we "speak")?

[orgmorg]

I worked for 4 years at a lumber yard on a planer working with hard woods like maple walnut mahogany what ever needed.

4 years running a industrial planer?

I said.. FOUR YEARS RUNNING AN INDUSTRIAL PLANER??!!!

What do you mean you hardly know her?

Oh never mind

Anyhoo. here's the last pics for a while, unless I come across a log for other parts of the guitar.

Here's the maple added to the stash:

It is the top four layers. Below that is a 24" beech log, and a couple big cucumbertree logs, yes, cucumber. It is a member of the magnolia family, much like yellow (tulip) poplar. I may use some of this and/or the beech in this project if I don't run into something else.

I was referring to how long your tree is going to sit in the kiln for haha

Speaking of which, how long do you put a log that size in for (though it's getting cut shorter and shorter as we "speak")?

Well, that's the kiln right there, for now. It will sit like that for about a year, or until it gets down to about 16% moisture content, then it will get brought inside, and as I need certain pieces, I will cut them out, oversize, and bring them into a room I can keep at 45% humidity, for a few weeks or until they reach 6-8% moisture content.

Well, thanks for looking. I'm glad folks are enjoying it, and look forward to continuing.

Edited May 3, 2007 by orgmorg

[orgmorg]

Well, time to get back at this again!

This lumber reached 16-18% moisture content after about 5 months.

That's really about as dry as it will get sitting outside here in middle Tennessee.

Since I was not ready to process it further at the time, I stacked it in a shed with no stickers, so it would not be outside where the moisture content would likely go up and down too many times.

I have spent the last few days cutting it all up into smaller pieces that will be stacked and stickered again, this time inside my shop, where, with the help of a dehumidifier, I will take it down to 6-8% moisture content.

Here is one of the boards, pictured on both sides. I have drawn lines where I have selected a 30" length of straight, clear stock, hard to see in the pics, but in the right hand pic, the piece is between the two small knots:

After I cut that piece out, I find the center, based on the peaks of the rings and draw a line there:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/orgmorg/maple8.jpg

Then, I cut 2" either side of that line to make a 4"x30" neck blank with the grain centered:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/orgmorg/maple9.jpg

The pieces on either side will be marked as a matching pair, and used in laminated neck stock.

[anderekel]

Cool, I didn't see this thread before, I'm excited to see more of it. My grandfather was a big woodworker (where I got it from) and he often cut down trees and had the local Amish woodmill cut it down for him, so it's cool to see how it's all done.

[orgmorg]

Here is where the blanks get dried the rest of the way, with the ends coated with endgrain sealer:

This is also the outfeed table for my tablesaw, which also gets used as a worktable quite often.

It's 4' wide, 8' long, and about 3' high.

Both ends are blocked off with plywood, with a hole in one end that a dehumidifier exhausts into.

The blanks are stacked and stickered along the sides, with an alleyway down the middle.

This way, the air from the dehumidifier blows down the middle, and exits through the stacks.

I will let it sit for a while before I turn on the DH, however.

The moisture content will likely start dropping again just from being stickered in a drier location.

Once it stops dropping noticably, or if it doesn't drop noticably, the DH will get turned on, but not real high.

[orgmorg]

OK, so nearly three years later...

It's time to figure out what to make.

Hmm..Whadda we got so far? Hard maple neck blank.

Ummm.. Telecaster?

Maybe a Bass?

Corvu... *ack*

Well, let's see what else we can find, first.

Need something else that has been drying for a while, so let's head down the road a bit and see what we come upon.

Ahh... Here we go! Everyone up to date on their tetanus shots?

[Ricky Anderson]

creepy

[avengers63]

It's time to figure out what to make.

Ummm.. Telecaster?

Maybe a Bass?

Corvu... *ack*

The wonder that is the Corvus certainly merits more than salvaged wood from a derelict shed.

[orgmorg]

Well, I didn't find anything I wanted to use in that barn, but I have here four sections of quartersawn poplar 2x4 rafter.

When I use a hard wood like maple for a neck, I like to use a soft body wood, and all I found in that barn was oak and beech.

This poplar is something I found a while back, and has been sitting up in the loft of my finishing room

[supplebanana]

It's time to figure out what to make.

Ummm.. Telecaster?

Maybe a Bass?

Corvu... *ack*

The wonder that is the Corvus certainly merits more than salvaged wood from a derelict shed.

if anyone was planning to make a corvus from any type of wood I would rather take a flamethrower to it!!! even MDF is too good for a corvus

[ScottR]

Sooooo, does this mean you are going to create something with a maple neck and weathered poplar body.....or are you teasing us some more?

SR

[orgmorg]

Here now, let us not speak disparagingly of the Corvus.

In fact, it would be best we not speak of it at all...

No, this is not a tease, though I understand why it might seem so.

Indeed, I am making a body out of old yellow poplar.

Here are the pieces cut to size and edges jointed

Then trued up on sandpaper on a granite surface plate

And glued and clamped.

[orgmorg]

And here 'tis all glued together and all....

This side will end up being the back, and left pretty much as is, and the front gets sanded down flat...

Then bandsawn to shape and the edges sanded...

[Bmth Builder]

This thread is great!

[pauliemc]

I realy like Poplar for bolt on builds. It gets unfairly slated sometimes, But screw it. I like it, im right & everybody else is wrong

Like the shape of this thing. Has a groovy kinda flow from the main bout of the body into the horns.