eddiewarlock Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 Hi guys i'm in Spain and about to buy timber to build guitars. I finally found hard maple, however, they have warned me it MIGHT have termites. I have never dealt with this problem as the timber i have used like spanish cedar, mahogany and purpleheart are not prone to have termites. The plank i liked and would like to buy seems free of them, but they said it still can have them. This is the only place that sells hard maple i have found here in Seville, it's a long and thick plank... I plan to cut and slice the plank into neck thru blanks to use in the future and that way i could see infected pieces and discard them... what do you think? PD: Other places sell Pacific maple, which i believe is soft maple, but i didn't see a quartersawn piece,,, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 Buy it.if it has termites there can't be too many or you would see the holes. You don't have to discard the infected pieces unless they are entirely eaten...just kill the termites 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddiewarlock Posted March 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 that´s what i thought, but i had never bought a maple plank as it is not sold in Venezuela. I am very glad i asked. Thanks a lot for your reply Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddiewarlock Posted March 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 btw, what do you use to kill termites? In Venezuela we soak the piece in paint solvent... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 That sounds about right...just nothing that won't evaporate completely. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim37 Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 I would treat it for termites either way befor i put it with any of my other wood just to make sure they dont destroy your wood suply or shop. Just find some pesticide that works on termites follow the directions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddiewarlock Posted March 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 In the USA where would you find such pesticide? a supermarket? a hardware store Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 Yeah, possibly both of those, a home and garden store store for sure. Over here, Lowes or Home Depot would fit the bill. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 I really don't know about pesticides...they might leave residue... Of course,vacuum bagging for a month or so would be best...suck out the air and let them suffocate...eggs too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddiewarlock Posted March 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 vacuum bagging is a great idea...however, i just moved here and have no idea where to have that done... If the pesticides leave residue, i think it won't be a problem as the guitars i plan to build will be painted in opaque colours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 Heat works too, from what I understand. At least, that's how professional mills do it. They're killed in the drying process, which involves leaving the wood at about 133 degrees Fahrenheit for a period of time. I'm not sure how long it would take though, at a minimum, to kill the termites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddiewarlock Posted March 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 Maybe i can take advantage of the spanish summer, here in Seville temperatures reach over 131 degrees fahrenheit (55ºC) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 That won't work most likely.The heat is not constant enough. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 I was given some swamp ash that I was told had borer beetles before. I froze it for 6 months in my freezer... that seemed to do that trick. Chris 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddiewarlock Posted March 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2013 (edited) OK bought the maple and some alder, the maple looks clean. The cut it's ok, Flatsawn, but has a section that can be used quartersawn, it's a thick plank, 3 inches. Edited March 23, 2013 by eddiewarlock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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