Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by HERMIT on July 7, 2010 at 3:17pm

I found that scouring the yellow pages for local merchants and enquired about offcuts. or just be cheeky and ask family and friends if they have any hidden treasures like old headboards and cabinets laying around that you could cut up.
ive just used an old beam and kitchen cupboard along with a hardwood fretboard purchased from homebase(look in their decourative wooden coving section) good luck fella.......... its a pity we aint got a home depot or lowes store in uk !!!!!!!!!!!

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Permalink Reply by Josh Dunbar on July 8, 2010 at 3:53am

thanks for the reply Hermit:). i think ill practice on some cheap hardwood (i hope they have it at ipswich wickes!), and then once im seasoned, might go down the luthier wood grade route (i also want to make slightly more sophisticated instruments)
cheers for the ideas! Josh

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Permalink Reply by Darren Gosling on July 8, 2010 at 10:52am

I get a lot of my wood from skips,,, usually Sapele frames and doors (fashionable in the 80s in UK) I have been lucky so far with the cut of the wood and it old and fairly stable so not much planning needed.

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Permalink Reply by Mark on July 9, 2010 at 5:42am

It is difficult to find good sources of hardwood in the UK. Some of the experienced builders on here seem to manage to find a lot of good material in skips but that isn't an option for everyone (for some reason I rarely see skips in the road around where I live and the ones I've come across have had nothing but useless lumps of softwood and MDF).

My wood of choice at the moment is sapele, which I get cheap from local joinery firms - I have a couple that'll saw and plane small quantities for me cash in hand (it works out about £3 a neck). You just have to be cheeky and ask - people are often happy to help and you have nothing to lose by trying.

I began using sapele because a guy at one of those firms suggested it to me as a sort of poor man's substitute for mahogany. I've found it really easy to work with and easy to get a nice finish while also producing very strong necks. Wikipedia has the following to say about it:

The commercially important wood is reminiscent of mahogany, with a distinctive figure, typically applied where figure is important. It is sought after as flooring for its durability and beautiful graining. Among its more exotic uses is in guitar manufacturing, in the top, back and sides of acoustic guitar bodies as well as the tops of electric guitar bodies, for example by well known guitar manufacturers such as Ibanez (Japan/USA), Taylor (USA), Martin (USA), Larrivée (Canada) and Esteve (Spain). Sapele is also used for the neck piece of ukuleles due to its pleasant aesthetic quality, by such manufacturers as the Hawaiian companies Kamaka and Koaloha. Late in the 90s, it started to be used as a board for Basque percussion instruments txalaparta on the strength of the livelier quality of the sound. It is also used by American car maker Cadillac for interior wood trim on its vehicles,

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Permalink Reply by Josh Dunbar on July 13, 2010 at 11:06am

hi guys.. cheers for the replies! i think im going to try and track down a solid source of sapele.. as it seems a lot easier to find and everyone has good words for it!

That is, as soon as my money clears from a PA amp i sold!!! my fingers are itching!!!

Josh

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Permalink Reply by Paul Dawson on July 13, 2010 at 11:47am

Try John Boddy of Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire. They have a wide range of exotic hard woods. Check out their website.
I've had American Black Walnut, American Cherry and American Tulipwood from them. They have mahogany and, I think, sapele. They also have woods like wenge and Purpleheart.

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Permalink Reply by Josh Dunbar on July 13, 2010 at 12:45pm

This site is great! cheers. Is there any way of ordering online?? Or shall i just drop 'em a line.
Cheers, Josh

Paul Dawson said:

Try John Boddy of Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire. They have a wide range of exotic hard woods. Check out their website.
I've had American Black Walnut, American Cherry and American Tulipwood from them. They have mahogany and, I think, sapele. They also have woods like wenge and Purpleheart.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Dawson on July 14, 2010 at 1:50am

I don't know about ordering online as I always go in person - it's an 80 mile round trip for me but well worth it as I can mooch around the timber (the public area is the size of an aircraft hangar). Try phoning them - 01423 322370 (or FAX - 01423 324334).

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Permalink Reply by Josh Dunbar on July 14, 2010 at 2:44am

Ah okay.. thanks a lot :-). bit more than 80 miles for me! Will give them a ring

Paul Dawson said:

I don't know about ordering online as I always go in person - it's an 80 mile round trip for me but well worth it as I can mooch around the timber (the public area is the size of an aircraft hangar). Try phoning them - 01423 322370 (or FAX - 01423 324334).

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Permalink Reply by c# merle on July 14, 2010 at 2:56am

95% of my necks are made from solid wood flooring. once you sand the laminate off their ideal for carving.
just keep an ear open for anyone getting a new floor and claim the offcuts!

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Permalink Reply by Josh Dunbar on July 14, 2010 at 3:15am

ive got loads of laminate flooring and other wood in the garage but none of it seems neck grade... the laminate flooring is too thin, and theres some softwood that would crumble... and some mdf / ply / chipboard etc..

c# merle said:

95% of my necks are made from solid wood flooring. once you sand the laminate off their ideal for carving.
just keep an ear open for anyone getting a new floor and claim the offcuts!

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Permalink Reply by Josh Dunbar on July 20, 2010 at 4:59am

got some nice sapele from Ridgeons yesterday - no knots at all :-)

just need to figure out a way to cleanly cut it down the middle as its too wide... i dont have a table saw

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