Am I Just Being Stupid Here?

[djhollowman]

Hi all,

I recently bought some 3/8" bookmatched AAA flamed maple top from a supplier here in the UK.

When it arrived and I looked at it, the first thing that struck me was that the grain pattern goes ALONG the centre join.

I haven't worked with flamed maple before - is this normal?? I expected the grain to go ACROSS the two halves.

So, am I just being stupid?

I later noticed that although the grain goes ALONG the join, you can see some light figuring going ACROSS the wood when you look at in certain lighting conditions.

I've done nothing to the wood yet, in case I need to return it. Does the figuring become more obvious with sanding?

What I need to know is - is it normal for the GRAIN to go ALONG the join, with the FIGURING going ACROSS the wood?

Or should the grian and figuring go in the same direction?

Is what I've got going to be useable for making a guitar top where the figuring goes across the body, not along the centrejoin?

Will the figuring improve with sanding etc??

I've included a photo here to try to illustrate what I mean!

You can clearly see the join line running vertically, and also the figuring (esp.on the righthand side) going horizontally.

(The figuring looks like undulations in the wood surface but it is actually really flat)

Would be very grateful for any helpful comments guys!

Sorry if this seems a bit dumb......

Edited September 2, 2007 by djhollowman

[thegarehanman]

That's completely normal. You'll never find a piece of flamed maple where the figuring and grain go in the same direction. Also, a joint where the grain goes across the joint and not parrallel to it would be an end grain to end grain joint, which would be very weak.

[djhollowman]

That's completely normal. You'll never find a piece of flamed maple where the figuring and grain go in the same direction. Also, a joint where the grain goes across the joint and not parrallel to it would be an end grain to end grain joint, which would be very weak.

Phew!

Excellent, thanks for that man!

DJ

[ToddW]

Howdy,

It's normal for the figuring to be perpendicular to the grain. http://www.bassemporium.com/images_product...ulus060290f.jpg

If you want to see the figuring better, ie, to get a sense of how it will look after you finish the guitar, rub some mineral spirits on it. It won't hurt the wood.

There are ways to get the figure even more defined when you finish the guitar by using dye, but make sure you like the figure before you try that. This site has a tutorial on using dye to show off figure.

Todd

Wow, two replies between my read and response

Edited September 2, 2007 by ToddW

[djhollowman]

Howdy,

It's normal for the figuring to be perpendicular to the grain. http://www.bassemporium.com/images_product...ulus060290f.jpg

If you want to see the figuring better, ie, to get a sense of how it will look after you finish the guitar, rub some mineral spirits on it. It won't hurt the wood.

There are ways to get the figure even more defined when you finish the guitar by using dye, but make sure you like the figure before you try that. This site has a tutorial on using dye to show off figure.

Todd

Wow, two replies between my read and response

Thank you Todd!