Where do you buy woods from?

[ponch]

Hey guys. Just wondering if anyone had any gems of online stores that sell woods for guitars that are a bit out of the ordinary. I have recently been introduced to pale moon ebony and my life seems empty without a fretboard made of that gem. Obviously we have the pbg blanks which I'll be using and abusing in the future but does anyone know where I can order some more exotic, and even native pieces. I've seen wattle and camphor, myrtle, mango pieces and they seem to be a bit more about interesting than an alder/maple combo, not that there is anything wrong with it.

[dingobass]

Check out Lazaridies in QLD.

[ponch]

Sweet, thanks db.

[ponch]

Anyone know much about red oak? I got a few boards a few days ago from an underground mine, 55mm thick and caked in coal dust. Been down the mine for decades I was told. Might be cool to plane it to thickness and see if the dust has stained the wood, could be interesting.

[Nickosaurus]

Sounds rad Andrew. Make sure it is dry though.

[wokkaboy]

hey Andrew, sounds like nice timber but I'd be worried about the constant moisture around it for years. Might be worth planing it to a tad over 40mm and leave it in your shed for at least a year or 2 to see if it warps. Maybe if you can please post some photos of the boards, they probably look filthy so no point until you plane them down a bit

[ponch]

It's pretty dry up here hey so hopefully the planks are pretty dry. Here are a few photos. With the grain wiped over with wax and grease remover, there are these grain lines that almost look like keloid scars. I'll photo bomb you guys now.

[ponch]

Some more pics

[wokkaboy]

nice looking grain Andrew, I'd wait for DB's opinion if you can cut an axe with it, he may recommend to store it and sit on it for a bit, but I think you have some potential nice scratch body timber !

[Gavin1393]

Allied Lutherie http://www.alliedlutherie.com
LMII, and www.lmii.com
A Hix Tonewood http://stores.ebay.com.au/ahixtonewoodandluthiersupplies/

[ponch]

Thanks mate. There are another three pallets of the gear left as well. I got 8 of those boards for $5 so if turns out to be firewood, no dramas, but will probably get a few more bits.

[ponch]

Just picked up another 15 boards so I'm wooded out for the time being. Should I plane the boards and cut to a body length and dry them that way or leave them as is?

[wokkaboy]

Hey Andrew, wow you did go hard. I'd probably store them as they are, a longer piece will be easier to see if it has warped. You may be lucky and they end up making great guitar bodies. For $5/board think its worth a shot !
Whats the rough dimensions of a board ?

[ponch]

Yeah well if it turns out to be good wood, awesome score, and if it's rubbish, then $20 well spent to practice shaping bodies and necks. They are 950x45x45

[wokkaboy]

that would be 950 x 450 wide x 45 thick ? each board you will get 2 bodies out of !
mate even if they do warp you can make an axe to mount on a bar or a wall mate !

[ponch]

Sorry mate, my bad measuring. 145 wide

[wokkaboy]

ah ok so 3 boards should make 2 bodies then, or you may be able to cut one board in half and 2.5 boards should be enough for 2 bodies.
as an exercise I'd sand off some nice grain and wipe it with turps and take a photo, always keen to see how the grain looks !

[ponch]

Yeah will do mate. Routing the neck pup cavity for the tele then I'll jump on it

[ponch]

First pic is the size of the boards, the other two are planed, super quick sand with 180 and a wipe with turps. Hoping dB comes along and let's me know what he thinks of these trees.

[ponch]

A couple more

[wokkaboy]

looks nice Andrew,
I started doing some research yesterday on red oak and what I briefly read it should be ok. I'd get onto google and search for "is red oak a tonewood"

[ponch]

Yeah I've done it, from what I've read they say it's a very porous wood, where this has a nice, tight, smooth grain. Maybe it's another type of wood?

[wokkaboy]

it may not be red oak Andrew but identifying it you would need to be a timber guru. Is that your guess or did the coal mine suggest it was red oak ?

[ponch]

I got the wood from a recycle shop, the lady had no idea what it was so I asked the fb notice board what it was and one guy said they use red oak so probably that, but no definite answer to what the wood is I have.

[wokkaboy]

it does have some red features in the grain so well could be Andrew,
see if it looks like any of these images

https://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1223&bih=758&q=red+oak&oq=red+oak&gs_l=img.3..0l10.611.1359.0.1760.7.6.0.0.0.0.250.2 50.2-1.1.0....0...1ac.1.58.img..6.1.249.v7GqIVvSdio#hl= en&tbm=isch&q=red%20oak%20timber&revid=465385918&imgdii=_

[ponch]

Thanks Wokka. Hard to say man. My stuff goes from red to silvery grey where the Google photos are pretty much red. I'm stumped hey, might be worth signing up to a wood work forum and asking them. Either way it looks nice and rings nicely when tapped. Doesn't just go thump and have no resonance so maybe I'll get lucky and end up with a nice sounding instrument with some recycled woods.

[wokkaboy]

good stuff, well if you knock it and get a dull thud you know you have a dud so sounds like this is good potential.
I'm sure once the pineocaster is done you will be gluing this up and cutting a new body !
Generally the harder the timber is to cut the tighter the grain and sometimes less tonal qualities it has, so you will see when you start cutting and routing it

[ponch]

Thanks mate. They're heavy bits of tree hey, so I might chamber the bodies and top them with something. Thinline teles, or a chambered start body, but where the arm contour is, leave it solid, and plane the top wood away so it has a 2 tone effect. I might even try putting a neck together with it.

[wokkaboy]

yeah cool you got how many boards about 15 ? so thats at least 10 guitar bodies ! Even more if you cut a few in half.

[ponch]

It's about 20 now haha. Even if I make them as functioning guitars but spec them with cheaper parts for locals up here. There is a massive market for all things coal mine memorabilia. You often see belt buckle with mining equipment selling for $50 on the fs Facebook page up here. Would be better if they turn out to be tone monsters though.

[vh2580]

while we are talking wood found an interesting article on SD forum about tone woods

http://www.seymourduncan.com/blog/the-tone-garage/different-woods-different-tones/

[wokkaboy]

looks like a good article Tony, cheers for posting that, I'll have a good read later.
Funny they say basswood prefered for metal axes haha

[ponch]

Thanks for the link mate.

[ponch]

A question regarding hollow bodies and thin lines, what's a suitable top wood? Is it possible to get an acoustic soundboard blank and use that?

[ponch]

And Tony, any hot tips on wher to buy wood in Mackay?

[wokkaboy]

Hey Andrew, I've never done a chambered/hollow body, but the most common top is maple usually flamed. I think an acoustic top being about 2-3mm thick would be too thin for a solid body axe.
Think I've seen mahogany used as well. I haven't done enough research

[vh2580]

to be honest Andrew I havent had a good look around for timber (been here only six months). Outside the standard blue and green shed and porters there doesnt seem to be other suppliers. there are a couple of joinery shops that do custom benchtops etcc at Slade point so i suppose they would be a starting point to see if they have anything to . Being regional probably the net.
There are a couple of small mills between here and Cairns that i have seen in my work travels and always thought of dropping in to see what they have as they always seem to have have non forestation trunks etc in there yards.

[wokkaboy]

Andrew, if Lawry doesn't know I'd suggest you probably have to order the tonewood timber online and get it posted

[ponch]

Awesome thanks guys.

[ponch]

Posted it on a wood work forum and as yet no one has any ideas on what it is either! Halp!

[Brendan]

A question regarding hollow bodies and thin lines, what's a suitable top wood? Is it possible to get an acoustic soundboard blank and use that?
Andrew - I think it would be doable. Check a couple of the big name manufacturers of hollow bodies and see what they are using on theirs and I think you'll find a nice range. Alternate supplier would be ALS in the Gold Coast. The Hancock Brothers that run the show have a reasonable rep. They also stock spruce specifically for archtop guitars.
http://luthierssupplies.com.au/index.php?cPath=133_33_37

BTW - I know that the Gold Coast is no where near Mackay, but it's a whole lot closer to there than Perth. No idea what the postage costs would be to get it from the GC to Mackay - hopefully cheaper than Perth.

[vh2580]

If its been underground for a while it could have had colour leached in from minerals and organics in groundwater which may make it harder to identify. Particularly if old shoring timber.

[Brendan]

Also possibly try TopVeneer in Townsville. http://topveneer.com.au. While they specialise in veneers, they may be able to offer something a little less thin. They also have a pretty good range of nice woods. As for tonal qualities - no idea. Ran across their site looking for veneer for rings not guitars.

[ponch]

Thanks for the help guys. I almost forgot I know a fella up here, a carpenter, who has a workshop at home and can cut the boards I have down to half inch thickness so failing all other avenues, I could chamber out the body, then use a slimmer piece of the same wood for the top.
Tony you're probably right man, this stuff is caked in dirt and coal, pretty gnarly but looks interesting.

[Brendan]

Just found this site - seems to specialise in Archtop guitars - the wood used for tops is pretty much the same that acoustic builders would use...
http://www.bowriverwoods.com/tonewoods/archtop-guitar-tonewoods/archtop-guitar-tops-and-soundboards/
Dimensions though may be different...

[ponch]

Thanks heaps for the link mate, checking them out now.

[ponch]

Turns out the figure that looks like scarring is a slight fiddle back which is quite desirable. I may be way off but I wonder if it is brush box?

[ponch]

Another suggestion as to this mystery tree is Himalayan blue pine.

[ponch]

Emailed a few timber yards. Pressure treated yellow pine.




Shit.

[wokkaboy]

bummer Andrew, thats what a few blokes thought on Electric Guitars Builders Resource as well hey.
Not much you can do with it then. What did you spend on it about $100 ?
You said it is pretty heavy timber, pine generally isn't so sounds like its got some moisture absorbed.You might be able to use the boards to retain a vege garden in your backyard mate !

[ponch]

Yeah man. All up it was under $20 so no biggie, but no reclaimed wood teles for me.

[pablopepper]

That certainly blows. Better to find out before you start cutting into it though.

[ponch]

Yeah that's it hey.

[wokkaboy]

oh well, there's a lesson there mate, order some nice timber online then think there's been a few good links posted on this thread

[ponch]

Yeah mate will do.

[wokkaboy]

while you wait for the online order to roll up might as well finish your pine tele buddy !

[ponch]

Good idea. I might have a crack at a start body also.

[wokkaboy]

yeah you know the pine from the green shed is cheap. If you want to minimise new templates you have to make the strat could be a hard tail bridge.

[ponch]

Very true, or I could wimp out and get some made up but wheres the fun.

[wokkaboy]

yeah if you make your own templates you will learn more. Should see how rough my first template was. More care you take with the template the better the routing will be

[ponch]

Another suggestion I got was blackbutthttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/11/17/8a3c42b5a3304c7b57eeb136b0809741.jpg

[wokkaboy]

yeah the blackbutt I got from the woodshow (was from South West of WA) was very hard so may pay to choose a less hardwood to work with. That bar table I built for that reason thought it would be too hard to work with.
Blackbutt from the east coast may have different properties

[ponch]

Did it look similar to the gear I've got?

[wokkaboy]

the blackbutt had a fairly red/yellow colour to it. This is the slab that was cut for the bar table before I did any sanding

[ponch]

Yeah looks similar, blonde to red to greys. I hope its this over poo pine.

[wokkaboy]

well if it's blackbutt you will know if it's fairly hard to cut. Pine will be much easier to cut.
This slab is about 50mm thick but took a bit of work to cut it with a circular saw

[ponch]

OK I've got a jigsaw so it should be like trying to push a plastic knife through concrete.

[wokkaboy]

have a crack at cutting it, might as well do that before you glue the pieces together. I'd wear a good mask in case its treated pine, wear your paint mask that you use for 2 pack

[ponch]

Just spoke to a fella, they either use rosewood or blackbutt as they are super hard. They don't treat the wood as its a risk down in the shaft with gas and fire or something. Couldn't say exactly what it is because its a bit old and ratty but looks really similar to the gear they use as roof supports. Also told me where they get it from so I'll ring them tomorrow.

[wokkaboy]

ok well hopefully it's blackbutt, If it is it will be harsh on router bits !
give it a knock test with your knuckle and see if it gives a higher pitch sound. If its a deep thud then it won't be a good tonewood

[ponch]

Yeah its really bright hey, not like metal bright, but not like punching nr pizza dough.

[wokkaboy]

haha nice description. NR pizza dough is a short deep thud, just ask AJ !!

you may be in luck then mate.

[ponch]

Fingers crossed. Hey have you got a DT product in a retail pack yet? I got bondi today, but in the pack was neck finishing instructions.

[wokkaboy]

no haven't had written instructions about Dingotone but DB says apply the stain coat first, then the intensifying coat. Might as well use up all the stain coat in probably 2 or 3 sessions. Rub as much in as the timber will take and wipe off excess.
He even said you can come back half an hour later and try rub more in. The first 2 coats are the most important so get heaps of colour in.
Wait till you smell it !

[ponch]

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/11/19/8846702f3c22e137fdbe5f6c9e7d9a0e.jpg
General opinion is treated pine. Lucky I planed with a mask on.

[ponch]

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/11/19/3190f5b2fecb73441c759174a9ce3f87.jpgspalted pine anyone?

[Fretworn]

spalted pine anyone?

Water damage?

[wokkaboy]

I'd say so Fretty being underground for a long period of time.
I'd use them to retain a small vege garden Andrew

[ponch]

This shite is driving me mental. One days it's bet your house on it treated pine, today there is no chance it's pine or treated. Balllllsssssssssss.

[vh2580]

Andrew there is some interesting colouring in the timber. if it seems structuraly sound and has a nice knock have a crack at a dummy body. for $5 a length and a few hours of time you cant lose.
May look really good stained regardless of what timber it is. I would use breathing protection regardless of treated or not seeing some of the crap ive seen down mines.

[ponch]

Yeah mate, especially seeing as its covered in coal dust.

[ponch]

Quick update on the mystery wood. Bought it all for under $20, sold for $15. No harm done. On a plus side, put it out on fb if any locals had hardwood or knew where to get some locally, guy just bought a house, reckons he has a pile on his trailer to go to the dump he found under the house he just bought, old queenslander. Doesn't want anything for it, quite thick and long so having a squizz tomorrow. Maybe mystery wood 2.0 will be some rocking old as the hills figured like no one's business tone wood of champions. Maybe. Or just more shite treated pine

[DanMade]

Just got back from a trip over to Lazzarides Timber. Bad news guys, they have closed down. For good.

I was only there a week or so ago, picked up some Rosewood, Makore and Wenge. I had my eye on some Vic Ash and bloodwood they had there. So I went over there to get it this morning. I should of phoned first. I walk in and the guy asks if he can help me, I tell him I'm just after some of that ash there in that rack, that's when I notice it's actually the only rack with stock in the whole place.

He goes on to tell me it's not for sale as they are shutting down and all the stock was auctioned off and that's the last rack they had to load up on the trucks.

The whole place was empty, if you've ever been there before you'd know that's a crapload of stock, all gone. I almost shed a tear as I asked the guy where I'm supposed to get timber now. I just got a sorry blank look.

I wish I had known about the auction, the other guy that works there never mentioned a thing about it the other week.
It's hard enough as is to find decent stock for guitars without paying an arm and a leg for. It looks like it's only going to get more difficult from here on out.

[wokkaboy]

bummer Dan thats bad news mate. The guy that sold you the timber last week should have told you about the auction so you could stock up. That sucks. So there must be other decent timber suppliers in Bris Vegas ?

[DanMade]

I've been looking for a while now woks, there's not much around these parts unless you need to build a deck. I know I can get quality stuff online, though I like to pick my own selection from a rack, and actually see and feel it. And the prices are usually a little inflated online.

Looks like ill go back to where I got my first timber blank from. PitBull Guitars. That slab of mahogany DB hooked me up with for my Tele was top notch.

So DB, what you got hiding there now.?

[ponch]

Yeah mate I heard about that a few weeks back hey. . Apparently the old fella was trying to sell the business for a while, couldn't find a buyer so just sold up and retired. Sad news.
On a brighter note, just nabbed some silver ash, bloodwood, red cedar, plum and Leichardt from an old digger who had a cattle farm out the back of Mackay. Cut the trees to clear th4 paddocks and kept the wood. He just lopped a huge bloodwood, reckons he will have the boards cut soon and dry to use in 18 months.

[ponch]

This is the Leichardt. I'll try get some better photos in the morning as well as some of the other woods I got too. Loving this though. I'll use it a little later on, but for now silver ash body with qld red cedar tops.

[ponch]

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/11/27/1310cf3bd1d1f1559cfac08e21417692.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/11/27/4aca11f26a4469a8ca5e8751f5c3b668.jpg
This is the Red cedar and bloodwood. Looks like the bw has a bit of a flame.

[ponch]

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/11/27/4a6b728ea87e9f1dbe4c224043396780.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/11/27/6e239800977959b77fc1987643487b45.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/11/27/10fd786d7de3cbb5f0bfe47114cca137.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/11/27/a270e0c3e6980c49293a82e424f31221.jpg
And here are the slabs in relation to a body size. Each are over 1 3/4" thick so will more than likely get the blanks book matched so it will be ash body and cedar or Leichardt tops, and 3 piece ash and bloodwood necks with bloodwood fret boards. I might try get a half inch book matched top out of bloodwood and use it to top a chambered body. It's so damn heavy though.

[wokkaboy]

some nice looking timber there Andrew, good score. Looks like you've got a few axes worth there !

[ponch]

Yeah mate I'll be busy with this stuff for the next 12 months I think. Only set me back $75 as well.

[wokkaboy]

good one Andrew, yeah 12 months worth there easy and quite a few router bits !
You will learn a heap building your next 2 or 3 scratchies.
Still think you should finish your carved top pineocaster

[ponch]

Yeah may do. She's a bit rough where I missed the template on the body sides in a few spots so a few nasty gouges. Very first time I used a router though so I guess that's to be expected.

[wokkaboy]

I'd sand down the gouges on the side as much as you can then fill them. First scratchy you will look back and see how far you have come !
Should see how many faults my first pine scratchy has got, I haven't even got a finished pic of it ! Str@t shaped with sharper horns

[ponch]

That looks unreal mate!

[wokkaboy]

cheers mate it was done in WT columbian gold with gold highlights. We made a few more exxagerated str@ts that were larger with bigger curved sharp horns.

[ponch]

Yeah rad. I'll hopefully get the tl and St finished before going away so when I get back I'll do the ib7 then on to scratch city.