Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by darryl kernaghan on April 9, 2017 at 2:24am

That's a nice piece of wood David, i wouldn't think you'd have much problems if you ran the neck in the same direction as the grain with that, we don't get ash here, so no actual hands on knowledge, but it looks ok to me

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Permalink Reply by David L. on April 9, 2017 at 3:25am

Thanks Darryl.

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Permalink Reply by Moritz Voegeli on April 9, 2017 at 2:49am

I think rather you will get problems with the inner tensions of this piece of wood: is there already a fine crack left of the mid of your photo?

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Permalink Reply by David L. on April 9, 2017 at 3:29am

Thanks for the reply Moritz. The line is where two saw cuts have overlapped leaving a slight ridge. The circle is solid at the moment with no visible cracks.

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Permalink Reply by Milt Haselmire on April 9, 2017 at 6:20am

The grain runs in the opposite direction of a conventional board. Give it a shot if it's a dry piece if wood. It certainly is beautiful.

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Permalink Reply by jawbone on April 9, 2017 at 10:51am

Are you sure that is a slice of the trunk?? Looks like normal grain and end grain on the edge, but I haven't been right about much lately - so, take me with a grain of sand!!  ;-)

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on April 9, 2017 at 11:29am

Yep I feel jawbone is on the money here. This piece looks slab cut from the trunk and cut round. if it had been sliced off then I would expect to see the growth rings on the face.

Taff

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Permalink Reply by David L. on April 9, 2017 at 12:45pm

If there was a prize you would be the winner jawbone & Taffy would get a laminated "second place" certificate.

This was sold as a woodturning blank to make a bowl from. The fact is was a circle misled me to think it would be from a slice straight out of the trunk. Having looked around the www I now know that they cut a square from the trunk (so you get the grain running across the face like a normal plank of wood), but to make it easier to turn they cut it into a circle.

This is great news for me :0) Thank you.

The circle is 2 1/2 inches thick - does anyone think it will have a problem with six strings? My guess is that it will be fine, though I will probably try it with electric 8s first.

For those interested this site shows how they get the woodturning blank
http://www.woodenbowlshop.com/making-bowls

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on April 9, 2017 at 1:47pm

No probs with six strings. I use six strings on a thin cedar top box with no issues over the years.
Cheers Taff.

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Permalink Reply by Moritz Voegeli on April 9, 2017 at 7:18pm

As to my understanding of what I read on http://www.woodenbowlshop.com/making-bowls the disk you bought is thought for «wet» woodturning and is not dried for years but fresh, right? So you don't know what happens when it dries. Your provider works with fresh wood, dries the rough bowls, and burns away those which got cracks while drying.

Maybe someone can give you a better advice than I do: put this disk away for a year to a place where it doesn't get sun, where it gets air from all sides and wait a year: if it gets a crack, you can think what you will do with the compact part of the disk.

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on April 9, 2017 at 9:52pm

David,

Are you intending to cut a guitar body out of that (lovely grain; I can already see a guitar shape in the highly figured part)? Or are you just gonna use the full disk? I'd align the neck with the direction of the figure, cut out a neck pocket, and use a bolt on neck. Fender use ash slabs for their bodies all the time, so you should be OK, although Moritz makes a good point about drying and stabilization. If it does crack, you can always either patch it with epoxy and sawdust, or just slap,a rustic piece of steel bolted across the crack...

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Permalink Reply by JL on April 12, 2017 at 3:18am

If it is 'wet' and needs to slow-dry...(moisture tester might come in handy here)

from some of my wood-worker magazines on drying 'chunks of wood'...End grain dries faster than face grain.  to minimize the chance of checking from uneven drying slap some paint on the circumference before you put it away.  you will be sanding/cutting that for your git body anyway.  wrap it in a single sheet of newspaper and stick it in your bedroom closet for a year, the newspaper will diffuse the moisture coming off it more slowly so you lessen the chance of getting a dry surface shrinking and wet core still engorged and find it split in the middle.

if it is already dry, ignore the ramblings of this old coot, lol

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