Our Souls inc. Posted November 22, 2011 Report Share Posted November 22, 2011 A friend of mine was recently remodeling her house after inheriting it. She found 3 doors in the attic which were original to the house ( 1876 ) , but she was going to THROW THEM AWAY !!!!!! So I took em off of her hands wth the intent to re-purpose them into something. Well, I think it'll be guitars n basses !! The bottom panels of the doors had thin cutaways that I was able to rescue and I'll be making 'chambered' electrics out of them, possibly a cool slide guitar. The glass panes will be made into picture frames, two of which will be returned to the wood donor for hanging in the house that the doors came from. The *perfectly* quatersawn 1.5" thick pieces ( three of them ) will be neck blanks. The wood has been seasoning for 135 years, so I don't expect too much settling. Pics later, possibly some progress , depends on the weather today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juntunen Guitars Posted November 22, 2011 Report Share Posted November 22, 2011 Sounds like it will be a cool project. What kind of wood are they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted November 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2011 why they're DOOR wood, of course ! I honestly couldn't tell just from cutting it ( ie; the smell or color ) I suspect some of it is pine. I'm sure, given the year , that it's all local timber, either Oak, Hickory, Pine,or Cherry but it could be Birch, Maple, Walnut, etc. too . I'll strip the finish on the pieces I'll be using and really dig into it better than what I have so far, which was slice n stack. The grain on some of the pieces is tight tight and I'm stoked to get one of the boxy- ones going. I'm feelin a real boxcar-hobo vibe comin on for those. I scored a killer lookin Ash mirror frame from the same attic thats gettin the re-birth treatment too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted November 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2011 Here's some pics of the mystery wood.... QS - 35 rings in a 29MM span. .. and here's the color variation in the pile - some is a rich brown, some is pink-ish. Some is white/ pale yellow. and for the cost of a trip into town ? Well worth the investment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted November 22, 2011 Report Share Posted November 22, 2011 I am thinking Spruce looking at it. If I am right it should be awesome as it looks quartersawn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyonsdream Posted November 22, 2011 Report Share Posted November 22, 2011 I have a 100+ old home and I recently had to cut into one of the original doors do i could install a cat door. turned out, mine was mahogany. it's hard to tell just looking at the end grain but you could have the same thing. Mahogany was very popular back then.... On a side note, I got a chance to walk around the acclimating room at Martin Guitar on my break the other day. They have a stack of mahogany that stands 15 feet high. It came from a Tibetan Monastery that was recently torn down. The wood was in the monastery for over a hundred years before Martin bought it. Guess it's been sitting at Martin for over 6 years now. Chris Martin won't authorize it for use yet. I was told that they wont use it on any guitars that cost less than 50K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted November 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2011 I would seriously consider replacing that door with a modern one. 100+ year old mahogany aint easy or cheap to find. Just sayin...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orgmorg Posted November 23, 2011 Report Share Posted November 23, 2011 Awesome! Keep in mind that is lead paint on it, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted November 23, 2011 Report Share Posted November 23, 2011 Sweet Jesus tacos! I need to find an old door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted November 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2011 Awesome! Keep in mind that is lead paint on it, though. I had, and I will, and I thank you for posting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted November 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2011 Sweet Jesus tacos! I need to find an old door. Old houses are everywhere up here....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyonsdream Posted November 24, 2011 Report Share Posted November 24, 2011 I would seriously consider replacing that door with a modern one. 100+ year old mahogany aint easy or cheap to find. Just sayin...... My doors are paneled, Wouldnt do much for me except for the framing. We've worked hard to keep the house authentic, so the doors get to stay doors. All of the joists and trusses in my house are mahogany as well. All 4-inches thick and about 8 inches wide.... don't think I havent pondered ripping out a few joists LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted November 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2011 Oh, I was playin for the most part. 4 by 8 huh? I'd be tempted ! lol. I wouldn't take a door that was being used, but these were one step shy of the dump. I'm a sucker for some cheap material- 'specially if it's got potential. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted November 24, 2011 Report Share Posted November 24, 2011 its a spruce - but it does look bloody nice. i wouldnt use it for necks though, but maybe join pieces together for acousticy tops or spruce bodies. looks tight and straight grained enough that it should be quite strong My cousin found some mahogany in a skip the other day - 1 single plank that is about 15'x10"x1.5". straight grained, unwarped. and about 5 degrees off quartered. should keep me in neck blanks for a while Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted November 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2011 Awesome find! I'm guessing a 'skip' is a construction dumpster? Regardless, thats a sweet score! Out of curiosity, why wouldn't you use the wood for necks? - I'm certainly going to ( 1 at least ) You didn't list a reason for not, so I'm curious. Headed out to do some paint removal now- I'll have better pics of the wood later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted November 24, 2011 Report Share Posted November 24, 2011 A skip is a skip - not my fault you guys don't speak English i wouldnt use this wood for necks because a softwood neck has never seemed like a good idea to me... but i know melvyn hiscock has suggested douglas fir might be good, and i know you will probably try it anyway. anyway, if you are going to try a softwood neck it looks like you have good stock and it might just work. but for me this wood needs to be multipiece bodies or archtop tops, its screaming acoustic qualities from the pics - just wonder if the actual tone will live up to it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted November 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2011 screaming acoustic qualities, indeed !! Oh my. I took some of the finish off of the pink-ish boards today and woo-hoo ! The ring is incredible on those. Here's some moar pics of the boards - That's the ( possible) neck wood and this is a view of the grain on the flat-sawn side This is two of the body boards that are ringy-singy ... and here you can see the color difference between the boards There were 3 doors - two of which were panels ( they'll be boxy - slide guitars ) and one was a 12 window french door. Some of the wood is decidedly yellow and soft so I'm going with pine on those boards. Some of it is orangey- brown and some is pinkish. I'm certain there is no one type of wood in the pile at this point, so I'm going with "body" or "neck" judging each board on its own. Pics as they happen.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted November 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2011 The first guitar in the line-up will be a Jackson Demmelition V copy. It's going to be White with black hardware and bevels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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