Wood Grain Direction In Body

[westhemann]

The fretboard is flamed maple.It is painted translucent cherry red with a couple of glaze coats of translucent yellow

[bentwood999]

All i have to say is absolutely gorgeous wes

[WezV]

I know most of you have seen this before but another picture wont hurt

the grain is nowhere near parallel with the string path - but it is on the swamp ash core!!

I dont think you need to worry about it so much on tops, infact it can add a lot of interest - but i would never have the grain going the wrong way on a body blank

[fryovanni]

The reasons for running the grain with the strings is a factor, but not a MUST at least on a solid body. In terms of structure and stability it will be a much better choice. Keeping in mind an electric is WAY over engineered in terms of structure. On an acoustic, a soundboard running cross grain to the strings would lead to failure for sure, but an acoustic is designed very close to structural limits. Even how a body will vibrate may or may not even be notable because a solid body is so darn thick to begin with and the body is not the producer of sound(that would be the strings and electronics). How a body and neck react to the strings will alter how the strings vibrate because that is what the strings are anchored to. It would be impossible to predict tonal changes with accuracy. So don't over think it too much, just be aware of the differences and use your best judgement. Burled, spalted woods are added as tops all the time(not a huge issue because like I said, solid bodies are way over engineered structurally). I would not recommend you try making a ripe burly spalted maple neck though .

It is good to understand the materials you are using(wood has certain charictoristics that are relatively predictable). That will help you choose how best to make your instruments perform well and last. I would hope that people do not walk away from this thread thinking your guitar will fail if you capped it with burl, or angling the wood a few degrees to help you get the shape of a V to fit your body blank will radically change the sound of your guitar or cause failure. That is just not the case. I also hope everyone reading this does take a look at the wood handbook to get a little more insight. It covers all sorts of topics from adhesives, finishing, structure, mechanical properties, drying and humidity, warping and distortion in woods, and on and on(good source for a solid basic understanding).

Peace,

Rich

P.S. Tapping a body blank will tell you very little about what part of it rings better or worse. How you hold the body blank in relation to tapping will change the sound drastically(tapping an unshaped thick body blank is not very informative to begin with). Look at the grain and you will know structurally what is best. If you opt. to take the grain out of optimal alignment for looks(which is done all the time), just be aware of what you are doing and use your best judgement on the compramise .

Oh, and Jason is right. Figure or curl in wood does not always orient 90 degrees to the grain. Although the strongest curly figure usually appears in quartersaw wood, and quilted figure in flatsawn so there is some relation to structure depending on the type of figure.