fryovanni

Looks like reasonably well quartered curly Maple. If you like it's looks and have a use for it go ahead and get it. People use it all the time on electrics, seems silly you would even ask about it. Also, Why is the topic asking about Spruce if your looking at Maple now?

For what it is worth, I saw this question posted over at the OLF about a week before I saw it here. I would bet it has been posed on other forums also. As odd as the question sounds, there are people who like the smell of certain woods. Not really notable on solid bodies that are sealed up pretty well, but in the acoustic world many time the wood remains exposed on the interior. Sorry to hear PG is a little below your level of knowledge, or maturity, or whatever it is that offends you. You have to find a forum that is a good fit for you. Peace,Rich

The use of resonant is pretty vague. Wood used for a violin, cello or violas needs to have certain properties depending on the part it is making. A solid body guitar has VERY differnt requirements and thus the properties you want in the wood are different. Any piece of wood we use, should be lively and musical (which is a very broad statement). Wood that was used to make a table may be very musical and lively. It just depends on the piece (which holds true of any piece of wood). If you want to get into specifics. You need to look at what the wood is used for(neck, fretboard, solid body, soundboard, tone bars....), consider what properties are most desirable for that part(relative to what you are building). The most ideal wood for one application could be a disaster for another. Rich

Cool, I figured you probably had something in mind. Neck wood to me is critical. I want the straightest grain, very very very well seasoned, I am less worried about quarter sawn vs flat(but straight is a must). I am leary when I see too much warpage in a piece. I really try to figure out if it is acceptable drying shrinkage, or if it is a clue to poor orientation. If the warp is an even movement along the whole length, I have no issue surfacing and using it. If the distortion starts at a point, some of the wood is straight, I avoid the piece. If it is a twist, that clues me in to what will happen as it shrinks and expands in service. If the distrortion is strong, I worry about tension, and what it will do after carving away material to shape the neck. These are considerations, not all twists, cups, or warps are the same. Use your good judgement, but never compramise on suspect neck wood Good Luck, Rich

I would not try to straighten a neck blank. A finished neck, maybe, but there is no good reason to do this on a raw neck blank(it is asking for problems). Also you will find heating a 1" thick piece of wood sufficiently to straighten it is not an easy task. 1/8-3/16" is not too difficulty, 1/4" becomes more challenging, above that becomes a bear unless you rig up a large steam box that would allow you to heat the wood over a longer period(but that much moisture and heat for that duration is not something I want my neck blank subjected to) . FWIW; a 1" blank(even if it required no surfacing) is skinny for a neck through, unless your body is going to be 1" thick. Peace, Rich

This relates mainly to the structure of the wood. You can see the more exposed end or short grain sucking up the dye like a champ. The areas with mostely side grain exposed are sucking up less. The differences you are seeing at the growth rings relates to early wood (being more pourous with thinner cell walls) sucking up more dye, and late wood (having much denser structure with smaller pore structure) sucking up less. You may do well to scrape the surface as opposed to sanding, this opens up the pores instead of crushing them and filling then with debris. I have done better with less watered down dyes(stronger first coats). After you apply the first coat the wood will swell and your late wood is going to want to accept less dye(you may have experienced this as you tried to apply more coats of dye with little effect), if you allow it to completely dry it may accept more stain better. The more exposed late wood you have in a piece the harder it will be to deal with. Wood that is flatsawn or rift exposes more late wood. Well quartered wood exposes less and is easier to deal with (just FWIW). I do like tinting clears better than wiping dye, because you can get nice control and I like the way the different grain angles reflect light without dye pushed close to the surface. Hope that helps some, Rich

Is the difference mainly a side grain vs end grain difference(as the grain rolls about), or is does it appear to be spots that make no sense with the grain(like surface contamination)? Maybe a picture would be handy.

Rich, Can you explain why you say kiln drying is not a hot process? I say it is not a "hot" process because often times people ask about kiln drying wood in their oven, as in very high temps. Depending on the wood and schedule, 90-120 deg. F. and higher temps to equalize and condition are not uncommon. You have to be set up to control relative humidity(a proper kiln), and if you don't know what your doing you can cause a lot of drying damage. You have to bring the wood to a very low moisture content before you bring up the heat(drop the relative humidity at higher temp) and force the wood to an over dry state, then finish by conditioning(ramping up the relative humidity at higher temps). Kiln drying is not bad, and it is fast, but it has risks(potentially checking, splitting, and also case hardening). Yes, heat is acceptable by some governments as a way to kill potential pests. Perry(Rhodes56) told me about some figured Maple they cooked and destroyed in customs. I shipped him a big burl that luckily was extreamly well dried before shipping, because they cooked it, and from what he told me it did survive the process. Heat drying wood should be avoided unless you are experienced. I do not advise it, unless you know what your doing and have equipment. Moderate temps, and good air flow is as accelerated as I think most people should attempt.(just my opinion) Peace,Rich

If it was rotting it would be soft as heck by now, and he would spot that in a heart beat. Clearing the bark will remove the crawly buggers home, as soon as the wood has dried to a reasonable level, the mold and rotting would be halted. Kiln drying is not a "hot" process, but it does bring the moisture levels down faster, by controlling the temp., humidity, and airflow to a prescribed schedule appropriate for the wood(some woods can take more agressive schedules, some can't. The schedules provide some loss control). There are some homegrown methods of speeding up the process, such as placing a piece of wood in a black garbage bag on a mildly sunny day, leave it for a bit, then pull it out, turn the back inside out and do it again. The small volume of air in the bag will only allow a certain amount of moisture to be drawn out, thus controlling the drying rate. Personally though, I would suggest not rushing it, you only increase risk the faster you force the wood to dry. Rich

Shrinkage will be about 5-7%(depending on orientation). Since you won't have much perfect orientation happening figure shrinkage at 7-8%, plus allow enough thickness to surface any twisting/cupping or what have ya. 8/4 stock is usually cut close to 2.25", and should surface out 1-7/8"-2" unless you get some nasty cupping or twisting. You don't want to cut too close to finished dimension, or you may wind up with unusable pieces. Also keep in mind checking and splitting happens, so don't cut too close in length. As for drying. I wouldn't recommend drying too agressively. The faster you dry the higher your losses. You would do well to take it easy until your under 15% moisture, then move it to a warmer, dryer location. Figure on at least 1 year per. inch if you are air drying, and to get the wood down to moisture levels we use for instruments, count on about 25% longer. That may be slightly higher or lower depending on your climate. Don't rush it though Rich

One guitar per. month seems reasonable, and kindof a no brainer if you actually are trying to win. Pro with no contribution, Amature with no contribution.... Don't really care much. Self promotion on this forum has always been pretty open. If it is a talented pro, that is new to the forum. I am glad they are here, and hope that at least the forum could offer something to them for their time to contribute opinions and assistance. Winning GOTM is not likely much of a feather in the cap of a seasoned pro. If they are so new to working as a professional and GOTM is a big deal to them they are likely not too far off the caliber of other entries, and since GOTM has an element of favoratism(popularity contest) they are likely to be at a serious disadvantage being an unknown. I really like seeing small shops succeed, so I would hope they are not timid about promoting themselves any chance they get. Placing commisioned builds, builds with little modification... Well I wouldn't vote for them either way, and I see it as silly they enter a builders contest. Seems pretty self regulating, because they will get little or no votes. I would say that some regulation regarding disclosure would be handy. I hate having to go through cryptic posts about a guitar and wind up asking myself did this person build this guitar?, a couple parts?, or ??? Giving credit to parts that are outsourced is good form, and seems a reasonable request. I think keeping GOTM open and reasonably free of regulation has worked for a long while. Actually the casual nature of the forum, admittedly a double edged sword at times, has also proven to be a platform people are comfortable with and enjoy. Rich

Luke, ????, Pulling and reusing fretwire??? I understand working with a budget, but you really have me lost. Do you have a list of parts, and tasks you need help with? Rich

Great stuff Perry! You actually ask your customers what they want in guitars and build what they are asking for, what a strange approach to designing guitars . A really stiff neck and light weight body How could that have any sustain Rich

Cool, I built a table for the same function about 3-1/2 years ago. I finally broke it down about two years ago because it took too much space and was just about never used (I have mainly been working on acoustics). It was handy for some tasks. Rich

Cool! Good to see you making use of the wood. Keep in mind shrinkage when you have it cut up, so you don't end up with bits that are a bit small. Of course if your father in law has a mill, I am sure he understands drying shrinkage .

The idea behind indexing off the actual part(final shaped body) is to ensure your accuracy(with respect to the finished product) is accurate. If you are routing a flat topped guitar, using a regular router base and bearing guided cutter is wonderful. If you are dealing with a carved or radiused top, indexing the top becomes tricky(requires a smaller base, and the router needs to be stabalized). Stabalizing the router can be done with a few different jigs that can be made yourself, and they work pretty well. Rich

#2- You don't want to use too much water, this can cause problems. You do want to use the moisture efficiently(steam helps heat the wood evenly). You may want to consider super soft, or a veneer softener if you want to soften the fibers before bending. #5- Quartersawn is not prone to breaking per sey, and flatsawn may expose the possiblility of seperation(but certainly does not mean it will happen, just a possibility). Figured wood thats structure has a lot of short grain and end grain(flat or quartersawn) is where the risk increases drastically because the orientation is much weaker. Exposed endgrain also drinks and releases moisture very fast. Using a side bending jig and heat blankets allows you to use slats which can be sealed(control moisure *get more out of less). Provides even support top and bottom. Delivers heat evenly and efficiently if a controllable manner. Allows you to heat and leave to wood in place to cool(no cooling as you transfer it to a mold). Provides extreamly repeatable results. Is fast because it is so efficient. Just FWIW, this is why many builders have gone to this method of bending. It doesn't take many broken sets to pay for a heat blanket Luck, Rich

Some build with individual pieces(not continous kerfed strips), some use continous un-kerfed linings. Up to you. I kinda like the ease of installing kerfed strips. I don't care if they are continous. There is a little difference in looks, but not a deal to me.

Dead Flat. If for some reason the fret tangs force the neck into back bow, the strings should counter it shortly, or you can clamp it over night and work that out(assuming, your slots are not cut too narrow for your fret wire).

I think it wold be smart to test the finish on a spare piece of spruce, just so you know what it is going to do. It is the penetrating oil that becomes problematic(again my opinion). Most blended oil finishes build on the surface, and are not heavy on the penetrating oil(there is no reason to want a finish to penetrate the wood, thin surface finishes provide the protection needed). Some oil finishes break down and lose there ability to slow moisture transfer, this is also something I would not want. Really though, as I mentioned, a very thin wash coat of shellac(which only builds on the surface). Will effectively seal the surface, and keep your oil finish on the surface. Rich

I cut my own inlay, unless it is a common piece(Gibson Blocks, dots, etc...). Andy Depaule offers a good selection of pre-cut inlay, as well as shell blanks. If you are wanting to have a custom job done for you there are a few talented people that offer custom inlay(their time is worth a fair bit, as they are usually very in demand artists). There are a few places that offer machine cut inlay, possibly using less expensive materials, which may be a cheaper option. You should give us an idea as to what you are looking to buy or have done, and a ruff idea as to your budget. That may help narrow down the options.

Exactly when are you getting buzzing? Is it when you play open strings, when you are fretting(if so where), when your pulling a 1-1/2 step bend(I assume not with your low E though)? What is your string clearance at the first fret when you capo the strings between 2 and 3? Are you absolutely sure you have level frets with the neck set dead straight(across the entire width of the neck)? You said your action is set to better than 1/16th which is not super low (I think that is about spec. for many factory guitars), and shouldn't be an issue with your gauge strings(larger high strings on a bass may require 1/64th extra). Lastly, how hard do you play? The only cure for a heavy hand is higher action. Raising your action a tiny bit will do more than extra heavy relief(and the relief only helps in some areas). Low E string, 42 gauge string. frets 1, 2 are perfect, as is the open note. 3rd fret is awful. 4th fret and up are bearable considering the low action (a hair over 1/16", measured at the 17th fret, which to me is low action). For some reason, 3rd fret is buzz city. I checked for uneven fret height and its fine. I'm thinking maybe the fret isn't properly seated. I'll drop in a bit of CA glue in there. Of course, when plucking the string, I tend to go a little hard when testing for buzzing... but at the 3rd fret, its bad. So you think the 4th is a bit high or 3 is possibly low. Your action is lower than I thought. I normally measure at 12. Out of curiosity what is your action at 12? Either way an isolated problem is not going to be solved with adding relief, so getting to the bottom of the fret problem sounds like a good way to go.

You should draw out your neck profile at the first fret. Your using a skinny but tall (1/8" x 3/8" sorry I don't think in metric well), and you are thinking of placing the rod outside the 3/4" center lam. Which would potentially push you right to the back if not through if you are using a 1/4" fretboard and an average to thin neck depending also on contour. You have to draw it out, because you are the only one who knows what all the variables are.

Exactly when are you getting buzzing? Is it when you play open strings, when you are fretting(if so where), when your pulling a 1-1/2 step bend(I assume not with your low E though)? What is your string clearance at the first fret when you capo the strings between 2 and 3? Are you absolutely sure you have level frets with the neck set dead straight(across the entire width of the neck)? You said your action is set to better than 1/16th which is not super low (I think that is about spec. for many factory guitars), and shouldn't be an issue with your gauge strings(larger high strings on a bass may require 1/64th extra). Lastly, how hard do you play? The only cure for a heavy hand is higher action. Raising your action a tiny bit will do more than extra heavy relief(and the relief only helps in some areas).

Fretboards are in that tricky range for me. Sometimes you need that low loss to get a full three boards from a 4/4 board(skinny ones). If it is a solid 1" I use my Trimaster or Woodmaster whichever is on the machine(Snakewood, Blackwood and PI being exceptions). I hacked up some 8-1/4" x 5.25" Cocobolo I while ago. That was 100% Woodmaster. Tried the Trimaster and it performed miserably(gunked up). If I had to have one blade only it would be a Woodmaster CT, if I could have two I would add a Woodslicer, and my third addition would be a Trimaster. One Woodmaster CT will produce a HUGE number of cuts, and doesn't blink at the hardest or oilest woods. Only downside is when the wood is expensive and you NEED that extra yeild (then you don't worry about spending some time cleaning the blade). Peace,Rich