Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

I live about 20 minutes away (in Port Townsend). Let me know if I can help if you continue go have
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The Wood Well also known as Well Bay Woods is a small family business specialising in figured big leaf maple tops. Primariliy maple tops for Les Paul type guitars. They are a very reputable business. I deal with them regularly.(fpr the past 8 years) Address you correspondence to the attention of Sar...

It's actually Toona. Not only does this timber grow in Australia, but also there is some in Hawaii. That's where I got it from a mate who lived in Hawaii for a few years. After I consulted with Alan McFarlen, who endorsed it as a tonewood with Blackwood. I went for it. Incidentally, I lived in Darwi...

I've had great success using Australian Red Cedar (Toona) as a top paired with Tasmanian Blackwood B/S for a 00 acoustic. This guitar is about number 60 for me. It is the best sounding 00 that I've ever built. Very balanced sound, good highs and lows, great sustain, rings forever. The Blackwood/Ceda...

run away, run away

Thanks Mike,

The fret lines are maple. I'm spoiled, one of the best hardwood suppliers in the northwestern U.S. is about a mile down the road from my house so I often get first 'picking' rights!
Jay

Thanks Bob,

I debated long and hard re. the finish. Settled on oil and I'm pleased with the result.

Nick- the top/back/sides are Koa.

Well, thanks to Bob C. for help with side profile plans- finally completed my first Weissenborn. This is my 55th instrument but the first with no neck! Guess I'll have to learn to actually play it. I live in Port Townsend, WA where Chris Knutsen designed the predecessor to this guitar in 1895. Seeme...

Alaskan Yellow Cedar makes great tops. I've used it a number of times on medium (00) sized guitars. Reasonably stiff, the best wood has very tight grain.
If you google Hank Mauel in California, you will see that he favors AYC for one of his jumbo model guitars. You can use it without hesitation.

Thanks folks. I'm OK with figuring out the length. I've got a flexible tape which I use for just that purpose. but, being a lazy bugger, I'm looking for a better picture of the slope of the back. I think Bob Conner is going to help me out with that. For years, I bent my guitar sides un-profiled for ...

Well, I've decided to have a go at a Weissenborn. I've got both the GAL and Stew Mac plans as a guide. Have fabricated the female mold and the top/back profile template. Neither of the plan sets that I have have an actual pattern of a side- only a 'view' which doesn't accurately represent the actual...

Chuck Herrin in South Carolina who is the inventor of Pegheads gave me the name of a US west coast supplier: His name is William Thompson. His business is "The Crafted Cow" in Salem, Oregon. His email address is thecraftedcow@comcast.net and his phone number is (503) 364-0854. (add the U.S. country ...

My vote is for Pegheads for concerts and tenors. That's what's going on my next concert. They are priced similar to the Gotoh's so not cheap but nice 4:1 ratio and very light weight. I get them for $48/set from a supplier in Salem, Oregon.

Never let real world experience go unpunished. i was giving a general explanation of voltage vs. amperage with regard to motors. i know that shop tools on AC not DC. I was also trying to make the point that transformers can convert (step-up or step down) voltage. They have no effect on current. Simp...

Maybe it's just me..but wouldn't try to run a large power tool at the wrong cycles.

Having lived for 20 years in oz from '75 to '96. and now back in Washington state. i have experience with taking electrical machines both directions. My experience is that if you have tool/appliance/electronic device that has a direct current motor, then amperes (50A or 60A, or any other value) is o...

I've used old growth Douglas Fir thinned to about .100" for tops on parlor guitars. One with Bubinga back & sides, the other with Osage Orange back and sides. Both were killer guitars. Great projection for such a small guitar. I've found that Doug Fir is heavier,,but quite a bit stiffer (non-scienti...

Hey Lillian,, hello to fellow northwest woodworker. I retired from IBM in '07 and move from Bellevue to Port Townsend.
small world,

Jay

Great suggestion Adrian. I was hoping for a possible less destructive fix. I successfully sanded the inside of the box. but once it's fully asembled, I'll give the oxalic acid approach a try. My first blackwood guitar (circa 1996) used only light bulb in the fox bender, no paper, just slats. Got a b...

Yep, it was Otto. My memory cells weren't working when i sent the earlier post. Used to be a great place for wood. I'm still using the Tasmanian Oak and Jarrah workbench that I built in Burnside and moved it to Sydney, later back to Connecticut and then, finally, to Washington state. All the wood ca...

Thanks for the quick response. I found the sanding would remove the stain..was hoping for a more benign solution...so, I will carefully sand. Bit of a bummer though, my dad found me a 1 metre long 8/4 vertical grain board at the timber merchant in Norwood, SA. Put it in a pea sack, plastered it with...

what is happening? Bending with blanket & fox bender...tried wrapping in paper...massive black stains--looks like burnt wood but it's not. Then tried wrapping in foil-- same result...then tried with no wrap..still getting massive mineral deposits...happens only with koa and blackwood (both acacia).....

p.s. two grooves so you can do two pieces of binding at one go. I tried first with 4 grooves, thinking I could do an entire set at once, but if there is any variation in the depth of the grooves, or the depth of the binding, it becames difficult to make sure that flat clamping cauls will evenly brid...

I realise this a really old post..but I haven't seen the following method posted yet ,, so here goes: 1. I first obtained a piece of UMHW (non-stick,slippery plastic material) in a 1' x 4" x 36" piece. I'm in the US so there may be a challenge, but...get the material. You can usually find it a plast...

Having worked for IBM in Australia for 20 years before returning to the US, I'm loving 97 cents since 2/3rds of my superannuation is held in Australia in $A. Not so much fun transferring monthly pension dollars to the US at 75-80 cents (or worse). So for now life's good. And just to top it off, I li...