Australian Wood

[alysum]

G'day to all aussies here, I think there are a couple here :-)

Anyway for my second guitar, I'd like to build it all with Aussie wood. I went to the timber place in Marrickville called Anagots and got to see what stuff they have. They seem to have a decent selection of wood, however they are not specialised in guitar making wood so I thought I'd try gather some suggestions here.

I liked the Silver Ash a simple pale wood, not too pored and fairly easy to work with I think. It's a bit like poplar and it should look good with blue dye which I plan to use. There was also silky oak that has a darker color but you have to be lucky to find a big plank with the silky texture, still the brown looks nice and perhaps I could use this for the neck ?

They also had this maple from queensland but it's not real maple, looks like some kind of pink rosewood. Is this anygood for neck or fingerboard ?

Would be difficult finding an aussie grown hardwood for fingerboard I think because ebony, plumb and rosewood are all imported unless I'm wrong?

Other woods from the timber place include Coachwood, white beech, blackwood, Jarrah, queensland walnut etc... I don't know anything about those woods.

The guy from Anagots also suggested I take a look at the wood stock at Gillets guitar maker at Botany as they apparently get some good selected wood from Anagots.

Any suggestions appreciated !

[Phil Mailloux]

Check out this thread in the Musical Section of this Aussie woodworker's forum

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/sh...ead.php?t=56113

[RGman]

Definitely check out that thread, should be a great resource once completed.

[CrazyManAndy]

I don't know if you've seen this thread:

http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...0&hl=tradie

Great build. Aussie timbers or not, one of the best looking builds around.

CMA

[black_labb]

ive been going to annangotes for my builds a fair bit. havent been getting a hige amount of aussie timber though, but ive planned on it though. ive picked up some queensland maple for a build, as well as a number of other things. silky oak is another good option, nice grain too if you get the right piece. Qld Maple has been compared with mahogany tonally, and silky oak has been compared to alder (i can imagine the grain making it similar to swamp ash as well) they have some new guinea rosewood which has been used sucessfully for acoustic necks by a few builders, and is nicely priced. ive picked some up to make a body for a neck through bass from. not a bad looking wood either. I have also heard that tasmanian myrtle is a great wood for guitars, no experience though.

what i would do is bring the sheet with what they have in stock and the prices home and have a look through that and have a bit of a search on the net to see what people say about the wood.

and the forums above are great, i use it a fair bit.

[metalwarrior]

At the moment I'm building a guitar out of Qld Maple. It's not the easiest wood to work with. The neck is made out of coachwood which works well and smells really nice. I got a 90x90 block of blackwood which I have sliced up to make a fingerboard. It's not finished yet but so far I like it.

[alysum]

thanks to all for the replies, it's great there is so much information on the net.

I didn't know QLD maple was suitable for solid body because "normal" maple is said to be too heavy for a full body. Does this mean the QLD maple is lighter ? A bit like Mahogany ?

It looks pretty so I'll keep that in mind for body/neck

[RGman]

Queensland Maple isn't actually Maple, different tree (Acer is American Maple, Flindersia is Queensland maple, but it's still heavy)

[rhoads56]

thanks to all for the replies, it's great there is so much information on the net.

Just a thought...

Without pointing the finger at anyone on this forum, of the one someone else linked to, i just want people to understand not EVERYONE on the net knows what they are doing, nor do they have the experience to suggest timbers based on knowledge. They could very well be suggesting a timber simply because that is what was available to them at the time, or it suited their budget. On the other hand, they may have built ten guitars all identical except for the timber, and therefore can make a comment based on actual research. You need to assess which one the poster is.

I would suggest you look to one of the many (50+) professional luthiers in Australia (or even luthier's suppliers, not just random wood shops), to see what they are using for their standard models (not customs built to client specs, afterall the clients do choose the woods). Chances are, if they are using it, they are using it for a reason, and their reputation relies on their ability to produce a certain tone, etc.

[metalwarrior]

Come to think of it, the body blank I got was not Qld maple. It was a very similar species, also a Flindersia but slightly denser. The seller said it is often referred to as Qld Maple as well though. It is definately heavy. But since I am making a 540p style body a lot of it will get carved off. Routing mistakes also make it lighter.