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Flamed oak


Guest Litchfield Custom Gutars

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Guest Litchfield Custom Gutars

I have some 4/4 flamed red oak. Enough for about 4 tops. I also have sone quartersawn white oak that would make good necks. Would it sound good? I did a drop top and 3/16" isnt enough to effect the tone. I know lacewood is a type of oak. What do you think?

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Guest Litchfield Custom Gutars

Good points Daddyray. Dot know tho. I guess we'll have to try and see.

I did discover That white oak is the stronger, and I might try it. But the red oak is IN. if & when I get some more cash to build. (And to think I do this for money!) Bah. I need a job, cuz this didnt take off as soon as I wanted it to. Drat.

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Good points Daddyray. Dot know tho. I guess we'll have to try and see.

I did discover That white oak is the stronger, and I might try it. But the red oak is IN. if & when I get some more cash to build. (And to think I do this for money!) Bah. I need a job, cuz this didnt take off as soon as I wanted it to. Drat.

if in doubt add carbon fiber stiffener rods

i did a les paul neck recently that was quite flexy before the carbon fiber

afterwards a set of .012/.052's w/wound 3rd only pulled about .015 relief into the neck when tuned to pitch before i added any truss rod

i now add them to anything i have the fingerboard off of

i'm that sold on em

it's a slow take-off doing something like this...that's why i still have a day job

kids all need new shoes

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Go for it,I've made a few bodies out of oak and they sounded pretty cool.Lacewood is beautiful,but 4/4 flamed oak?Man I'd love to see that when you're done!Please post pics.

The only thing is some oak can be thirsty when it comes to the finish.

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I remember reading on the MIMF about oak as a tonewood. One of the Sys ops had made a oak mandolin or some other smaller instrument and thought it worked fine. I have always avoided it because nobody else seems to use it and the pores can be a bitch to fill. As to lacewood being a member of the oak family, I don't think it is. I have heard it called sinky oak, but think that is just a common name, not a scientifically valid one. I have made a tele with a lacewood top and tonally it seems more like cherry or a cross between maple and mahogany, leaning more towards mahogany.

Back to the real oak....I doubt there are any real strength issues of note, give it a try and tell us how it sounds.

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Guest Litchfield Custom Gutars

Much thanx for the feedback. Canuck, you rock! I never knew Gibson would use oak, but I couldnt find it on the linked page. The CF rods are a good idea. Will let you know ho it all goes.

Did see this tho.

korinaoak68combo.jpg

Looks kinda like what I got. Except for that terrible bookmatch!

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I bet most of us would be suprised to find out that alot of big guitar manufactures probably use alternative wood like this at one time on another. Especially Fender.. lol.. They use any wood they could get their hands on. Also, a friend of mine is building a guitar neck out of Hackberry wood, he's using 2 carbon fiber rods and a heavy duty truss. I'll let you guys know how it holds up, since it's an experiment. We also have alot of Hickory, but I'm not sure that would work great. I personally think there is alot of wood you could use, but some weigh too much, and some are not stable enough for a neck. Basswood is a good wood to use for necks, it's common where I live, and I know for a fact that Ibanez uses Basswood for body and some necks. I currently use Swamp Ash for bodies since it's lightweight and is really easy to find here. I'm gonna be trying alot of different woods out to see if there are other local woods that could be used with good results, but I don't see me selling guitars with uncommon wood used on it. Although someone might find a wood that works great and is a breakthrough that could give them a distinct trademark for their guitar company. I can see it now...

Guitar for sale

Pecan Neck

Hickory body

lol

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Oak is good stuff. If you want to check out really cool looking stuff, try quartersawn white oak. It looks alot like bleached lacewood. Neal made a neck out of it a year ago. It sat in the shop with no temperature or humidity control and is still solid and straight as a arrow. Great stuff and really looks nice.

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