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A Little Help On This Piece Of Wood


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It seems I'm getting lucky lately. Just a couple of days after finishing my first build, a friend of mine donated this piece of walnut. According to him, it's a slice near the center portion of the log (there's still bark on both it's sides) and has been cut before 15 years. Approximate dimensions are 2.2m X 40cm X 10cm (86 X 16 X 4 inches). It's full of holes that seem to go as much as 5mm (0.2 inches) deep.

He said i can use the whole board but i insisted i should keep just a portion for one guitar body and return the rest.

What in your opinion is the best way to get a nice blank out of it? And how much of a problem are those (worm?) bites?

Thanks in advance and excuse my poor English (not my native language)

https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/Public/walnut1.jpg?w=fd45ba0c

https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/Public/walnut2.jpg?w=b6ff39ba

https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/Public/walnut3.jpg?w=c9004344

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The answer sort of depends on what type of equipment you have access to...but you did ask what was the "best" way, so here goes one opinion anyway.

Pick the clearest section of the plank and cut an 18" to 22" section out of it depending on the size of the body you want. Cut the long sides parallel to each other and then plane the four sides true. You now have a blank thick enough for two 1 piece bodies. You'll need to cut that 4" thickness into two 2" thick planks. That takes a pretty big saw so another option is to rip the 16" width (or whatever width it has now become) into two 8" wide planks. These can now be bookmatched into two bodies. The worm holes shouldn't cause any structural harm. I'd just consider them a visual feature which can be finished as is or filled in any number of ways for visual effect.

And your English is pretty darn good!

Good luck and show us how this comes out.

SR

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Scott, once again thanks for taking the time to answer my noobish questions :D

My biggest concern was whether i should slice/plane the top and bottom of the blank to get rid of the holes. I wouldn't mind filling them if they cause no harm and i guess most of them will disappear anyway after shaping and routing the various cavities. Well, that will leave the total thickness as it is so, as you said, i can get 2 bodies out of a single plank. I only have access to a table saw so i'm thinking of ripping the piece in half from one side, flip it over to do the other side and finish with a handsaw.

Time for some planning this weekend before i get to work with it. Thanks for the help man :D

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