fryovanni

FWIW, it wouldn't make much difference what others may show. These figured woods vary a great deal from bit to bit, and what they sold 1 week ago may be nothing like what they pack up today. LMI is a solid company, and I would not put down their integrity, but as I mentioned the figure and grading(even if LMI grades with outstanding integrity) may not be what you prefer. If you want examples maybe LMI is the place you should be looking to. Ask if they would take pictures of the sets they will be sending for your approval. I am not sure if they will do it(that gets expensive), but it is better than trying to look at examples from others that may have no direct bearing on what you will recieve. My gut tells me most of the people on this board are not buying electric tops from LMI, as there are several other dealers that seem to pop up more frequently(so I am not sure if your going to get much responce here), but best of luck with your search and I hope you find the set your after Peace,Rich

I am not sure about "springy and bendy"(I assume that does not imply a weakness ). If that means it will vibrate well, then I would probably agree. It is a great wood from what I can tell. I wouldn't hesitate to use it, especially if it is only for a top on a semi(what could you possibly have to worry about?). I know there are often big debates about general properties(the science guys) and the traditionalists who want history of use before they will accept a wood for instruments use. Fortunately, Birch is a wood that can satisfy everyone. It has a long history of use in drums and it often trades favor with maple as the most sought after choice for resonant charictoristics. It has without general properties that show its strength falling between commonly used neck woods(not pushing the low end or high, a no brainer). Then you have hands on users, it is not bad to work with(dries well, machines well, seems reasonably stable in service). There is my take, for whatever thats worth, Rich

Figured Maple is a wood you should see to select, the grading standards and variety of looks you get with different types of figure make it a must IMO. Grading standards are confusing/loose/not truely "standardized", vary with the amount of maple the dealer sells/ not to mention vary with their customers typical wants. By wants I mean, say saugsage quilt is the favored look, then closer to that figure gets top grade, although smaller popcorn sized quilt may be what you prefer and thus would hold higher value to you. Also when you get into instrument wood, patterns come into play. Some grade to what is in the pattern. General wood dealers would grade to the whole piece. Since grading is to a degree based on fullness, strength, and uniformity this may make a board that has wain outside a "pattern" lower grade to a wood dealer, but higher to an instrument wood dealer. I get from your question, you are trying to make sure you get what you want in terms of looks and pay the proper value for that wood. My strong suggestion would be to use a dealer that allows you to select from pictures, and deals in a lot of maple. Go have a look at Chuck's offerings-link. He knows maple, he is a great dealer, and is very good about pricing fairly. Maple prices are rising rapidly, so I would get your wood now. I personally buy, mill, and occasionally sell wood. I myself would buy from Chuck in a heartbeat. If I did not already have what I needed. Peace,Rich

Jason, That set would do well with lighter or darker binding. That is the beauty of a set with such strong contrasts. The figure is so strong you could use figured or non figured binding and I don't think it would detract from the look. Just my take, but maybe when I get around to using a set from that billet I will see. Rich

This one Jason?

What you are saying you want to do is not very demanding. A 14" would handle the occasional resaw if the machine is used mainly for thinner cutting. The clearnace is a little limiting, but managable. I still use my 14" for tasks like you are saying you will be doing(and I have my choice of machines). Think seriously though about resawing. If down the road you want to pull off some runs of resawing, a larger saw is going to handle the tasks much better. You can squeak out a few resaws just fine, but you will be wrestling with the cuts. Peace,Rich

So Kenny, Talk to us about your needs and wants from this machine. We have several very experienced members here with a variety of bandsaws in the size range your after. Give us an idea as to budget, are you locked in to a certain number? The reason I ask is because the bandsaw is the foundation, but you need to look at good blade selection for the machine. Depending on what you want to do. There are jigs and fixtures that need to be built for the machine(this is pretty much the only way to go as I see little on the market that suits my needs, and most people I know that run a lot of material build these parts themselves). There are other items that may even be something to consider, such as atomizers, dust collection, alignment tools, possibly tension guages... So fill us in on what you see this tool being used for. Peace,Rich

Dear you, dear you... Rich

But for someone on a budget, who can't find pipe with a 3" diameter... ? Any more opinions on this idea? The second I say No, someone will chime in and say I did it. It will be a pain in the butt to try to use and achieve a decent result. You can make a basic pipe bender for a very reasonable price(home brew), if you must go that way. In the end investing in a heat blanket will be totally worth doing. It is easier to use, control, more reliable, can achieve super results(smooth, non distorted bends). That would be my recommendation. Rich

Sorry I didn't chime in quicker, but I have been busy. Thanks for the message Todd The horsepower is good. The Laguna Guides are nice. The Size has a couple limitations, but will have capacity for most tasks. Laguna makes quality saws. The main drawback really applies to resawing, and blade selection. The 14" wheels will make it tuff on carbide blades. If your intent is to do a lot of resawing, you would do well to select an 18"+(although 16" wheels will provide some extra blade options). I use a Steel City 18". It runs about $1200.00 stock. I pressed off the regular bearing guides and replaced them with wider bearings(each bearing cost $20, plus a smaller spacer bearing($5ea), so this was a $125 upgrade and I did the pressing on and off myself). The horsepower is 2HP, (which seems to serve me well). Laguna's ceramic guides are slick and are fine as is. The added blade length will cost you a bit more, but it serves to keep the blade cooler and they seem to last longer, the larger wheels are better for the blade as they are not bent in as tight a radius. I know people that are very happy with their 16" heavy duty Laguna's, but have heard little about the 14". Either machine will require you to make your own resaw fence. The larger table on an 18" machine will help when you make a slider table for trueing up blacks. A larger table and better arm clearance is handy for cutting patterns and of course larger rips. Have a look at my topic on blades in this section. Your blade selection and care will be a large factor in choosing the proper machine for yourself. Good luck and have fun! Rich

Oh, and the curl on that Walnut is really something isn't it And the Walnut is really stunning Agreed, the figure on that Walnut is really something Yes yes yes....The Walnut.... Not a great pic, but.. You have seen it already though Erik

Do you mind PMing me the web page they are listed on? I cant see anything that is 13" wide and will do a single piece top. I do see three pieces on the first maple billet page, but none that match the look... they are what i call messy. Maybe they arent listed up yet? Did you actually go in there to their shop? Whats it like? Perry, That billet that sold for over 1K was 13" wide on the back with live edges, you would get closer to 10" full thickness. Not really a full one piece, but a big billet for sure. The billets at Gilmer were two piece billets. I would have to look around and see if I recognised the billets on Gilmers web site(not sure if they were even listed yet). I was down at Gilmers yesterday, and they were packing up a bunch of good stuff for the GAL convention(they were grabbing the best of the best off the shelves). What you see on their site is a tiny amount of wood compaired to what they have in that building, and then they have more stored in another location(you should tell Marc what you want and he can find just what you need if they have it and it is dry). Anyhow, the bits I was looking at on the rack had figure that looked harder, bolder, smaller(finger size rolls vs fist size rolls, and just looked deeper, I think you know just what I am talking about). Another place here that has an even larger and more impressive selection of maples is NW Timber down in Jefferson. They have some strangeness in their pricing, but they have a very very large stock, and select bits are about as good as you will ever find. The maples around hear that display quilt can vary a lot. What they call Coastal Maple often has figure, but the figure is not the same strength usually(grain feels different also), but it can be had for $3-$5 bd.ft. Mixed up soft maples can be had for $10-12bd. ft. The strongest brightest Bigleaf around here though will start closer to $25 and go up to the high $200bd. ft.(that is a $400 billet), but I have NEVER seen numbers approching $400 bd.ft.(I mean great for them for geting the $$$, but I have just never seen those numbers around here). Peace,Rich

Did you call LMI for suggestions? Did it arrive cupped? or have you had it setting around waiting to use for a bit? Rich

Hmm.. Not sure if Uncle Bob is still all over the aluminum master or not. Last time we traded messages I thought he had tried it based on Larry's recommendation, but I think the advantage in the past was because the trimaster had a different alloy for the blade(which has been improved). Bob responded that he was not too happy with the Woodmaster CT's performance either, then I believe he tried it again and changed his opinion. Either way, you will love the blades, they are all really nice. If I were you I would gamble on a 1" Woodmaster CT(not sure what length your blades are, but they should fall in the $100-$125 range). The large gullets and TPI count as well as tooth configuration are specifically designed for wood cutting, and from experience it shows in the performance on wide resaws(especially oily or wet woods). Agreed, the figure on that Walnut is really something Rich

Because he obviously will get more than one top out of this, so it'll be $200 x the number of tops he cuts. Besides, this probably isn't a guitar builder buying this. How much do you sell your guitars for? I seem to remember you talking about doing that in your last couple of threads... i never saw this until just now. i sell my guitars for the price of me losing 200 bucks, thats how much. naw, well, it depends. i have never sold a guitar for even close to a medium quality import guitar. the most ive ever sold one for was 400. Its amazing how far some people will go just to build a guitar for someone. Every single one of those $400 guitars will haunt you in the future. I saw that $1000 piece of wood in the first post, and immediately knew i could sell it for $2400 or more as upgrades. At $1000 it was a good buy. Well, Perry I am sure with your reputation a premium model will command a fair bit for premium upgrades. However, that is not a "good" buy. I actually have some of the quilt from that log. It is nice fist sized quilt with good strength and the color is nice and white. However.... I was at Gilmer yesterday looking through some of their stock and they have several $300-$400 dollar billets that blow the socks off the billet in that auction(even if the ones up for auction were fully dry as Gilmers are). Gilmer certainly asks full retail market value for their premium stock, and it is less than half the price of the auction price. I am not sure why the person is buying that stock for those prices, but I am sure they are not up to speed on current market prices. The fact that they are buying partially dry stock at such a premium over full premium retail leads me to suspect they are not too sharp with valuation or understanding wood drying. Just my take, Rich

I do electrical work for a living. I am just rapping up the swap at the OLF today, and will be taking a break for a while(very busy week that swap meet). I have been thinking about posting up some wood for solid bodies in the buy/sell/ trade section again. I used to offer wood for solid bodies, but it became too time consuming and it was hard to justify the effort. Maybe we could get a bunch of people together and con Brian into a short "swap meet" for solid bodies. If it is like a week long event, it is much easier to handle. Mattia, I have checked the kerf on my Woodmaster and Trimaster, both are very close(both are 1" blades though). I am not sure what the deal is with the aluminum master? I understood it was supposed to be more flexable and better for smaller wheels, but that was before the newer trimasters came out(more flexable). The main feature I like about the Woodmaster is that it is made to cut wood specifically, and I feel like it does a better job getting through the material. The trimaster is designed to be a jack of all trades, and does handle most woods acceptably. I am not sure about a blade designed for cutting Aluminum though? You will have to give me your opinion after you rip through some timber with that baby. Oh, and the curl on that Walnut is really something isn't it . Rich

Mattia how the heck would that work. Sounds far too simple, and how am I going to get a sufficiently large glueing surface for my bolts Rich

Sorry I did not pop back in and respond here. No, don't take it apart. You can however modify those brace ends a couple of different ways. You could replace those bits of lining that broke off by glueing in a couple new bits(pretty simple to do, reaching in through the soundhole). You could also grab your chisel, and reach in there and trim the ends down(again pretty simple). No need to worry about it till after you get everything else rapped up. These things can be done anytime, and the risk really comes from the top getting thumped(something that would stress the brace), so it is not likely to happen while you are being careful with it. Rich

+1, I have a stash for my use and it is old. Well quartered Ebony will cost you a bit more. You can do well to buy a small log by the pound and saw it up for yourself, if your goal is to stash them for several years before use. Personally though, I have come to find African blackwood to be outstanding as a different approach to the jet black fingerboard. They are much nice to work with, the wood is very musical. It is actually a true rosewood, but density and weight are right up there with Ebony, and it takes a very high polish. Rich

Think through each step of your project and make a list of tools you plan to use. Type the list up and let us look it over. We can offer suggestions. When you have a list you can look at tools that can cover multiple tasks well, to allow you to spend the money on the most useful tools. Don't go buy a bunch of cheap work around tools that may or may not really work(that is a HUGE waste of money). Think used tools after you have a list, you can get quality used or even reconditioned tools at much more reasonable prices. Sometimes the right tool will take you a lot further with multiple tasks, such as a good router over a dremel(which is way underpowered for many tasks and is limiting). Rich

If you are buying this for a solid body project. Don't spend the higher cost for acoustic woods, unless you say really like the look of the piece of maple. Acoustic woods are selected with stringent requirements. This is because these woods will be carved or thicknessed very thin, and will be the source of the instruments sound as vibrating plates. This is not the case with solid body electrics, although there may be some smaller contribution to the sound the requirements and function are totally different. If this is your first guitar and you have a budget. Buy very good quality neck wood, buy decent "solid body" wood, use discretion with the figured wood(your finishing skills may not be up to justifying VERY expensive wood, and a nice but not flawless figured drop top wood will be 70% less expensive), focus on decent quality hardware, and good electronics(it is an electric instrument after all, electronics are just going to be much more significant to the sound produced). I have a fair amount of acoustic and solid body wood. I can use whatever I feel like using. I would not want to use fine archtop wood on a solid body. I have really cool looking figured tops that are not up acoustic standards, but look really great. I would rather use those for solid bodies(where structure is not a big deal and it is all about looks). However if money is no object, and you want to use the wood you are showing. Go ahead. I am sure the wood dealer will be happy to sell it to you. Rich

Couple observations. The braces that you did not inlet to the sides. You want to thin those to a thickness less than the thickness of the soundboard or feather them to nothing(more common approach). You create a stress riser that may lead to the braces popping loose by leaving them too rigid. The upper part of your main X brace(above the crossing). You don't need to scallop those. The area above the crossing is all about structure and resisting the strings force that is trying to collapse the top. I usually use a mild taper, inletting the ends into the kerfed lining. You can taper all the sides of your braces. This will remove a chunk of the mass, but remove little stiffness. Out of curiosity how tall is the main X crossing? My X crossing is usually between 1/2" and 5/8" depending on the size of the box. Your finger braces can be tapered much more usually. These are less structural. I have never inlet a finger brace(they are just not substantial enough). I use these to fine tune the top, after the main structural elements are established. Popsicle braces, I usually don't make mine quite that large(just FWIW). Just some observations that I hope are helpful. The ends of your thicker non-inlet braces are concerning, the rest will just effect the way the top sounds. Peace,Rich

Similar to other Ebonies as far as sanding. Less brittle than African Ebony. Bends easier than African. Takes a heck of a high polish. Color varies, often more striped in appearance(dark browns, cream, to black), as opposed to a "blotchy" coloration from black african ebony. Nice wood.

Yes, titebond will work fine but I prefer to use slow setting super glue for this. Both will work just fine though. Super glue will be a lot more messy. Had to read that twice. Erik is only talking about attaching the binding with titebond, and being sure to clean excess glue that may make its way into the fret slot. Otherwise, the dried glue in the slot will make it tuff to seat yout fret tangs. I think you are talking about using CA for the ends of the frets(where the tang has been removed). Titebond and metal don't adhear well, so that would not be so good to use.