Jameshow
Established Member
I have a big 4' length of cherry is that worth cutting up into boards?
Post a photo of the last thing you made
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Doug B
Shy Tot
I would, if you can get some useable timber out of it why not
MARK.B.
Established Member
Only used it a few times and each piece went brownish over time
Maybe it does - not sure
However, when you cut purpleheart, the cut surface is brown, sit it on the shelf and it goes purple
The purpleheart pen I made the other day was fairly brown when I made it and is now very purple - took about a week to go purple
so far all the pieces of purpleheart sitting on my shelves in the workshop have stayed purple, I have only seen a change from brown to purple...
looking into it further - it appears that it changes twice...
Freshly cut Purple Heart slabs can appear a dull gray or brown color. It turns purple upon exposure to air and light pretty quickly too. After just a few short days of exposure to air and light, the color change is abrupt. A Purple Heart project exposed to air and light will darken to a dark brown over time if kept indoors. An exterior Purple Heart project will age to a silver color, just like most other woods exposed to the outdoor elements.
So, I expect that you need to let it go purple, and then UV protect it to stop it going back to brown...
I damaged a piece of 500mm left and 500mm right self adhesive measuring tape and didn't want to waste it. I saw this trammel style compass on Hammer Sounds YouTube channel a while back so I thought I would give it a go. I cut the tape in the middle and used the right side. The trammel is around 650mm long even though the tape is only 0.5m.
not finished, but just got linseed oil on two guitar parts of a les paul style guitar (the first opportunity to see what color it will be with some warmth - hoping for deep brown on the rosewood, a nice straw color on the limba (back of the guitar body) and a good but not tasteless or harsh looking figure on the laminated neck).
Finish will be shellac (applied french polish, and thin, so I can freely play the guitar without caring about chipping finish.
Always nice to build with pretty wood to cover up your mistakes a little.
Finish will be shellac (applied french polish, and thin, so I can freely play the guitar without caring about chipping finish.
Always nice to build with pretty wood to cover up your mistakes a little.
Kicked Back
Established Member
Amazing work. That neck
What's your approach to getting the neck dead straight across its profile? I have no problem shaping the neck (faceting with rasps) but then get stuck in an endless loop of chasing little high/low spots around in the sanding. It's getting to the point where I'm either going to make a router neck carving jig or make a sanding block that's exactly the same length as the distance from volute to heel and sand perpendicular to the neck!
Thanks
clogs
just can't decide
shouldn't Doug B's Sycamore get cut to planks very quickly before the ends split....
just askin....
just askin....
Jameshow
Established Member
Same with cherry?
I was thinking about this if I chainsaw it in half and the circular saw into 30mm boards off the flat?
clogs
just can't decide
or find someone/joiners with a big bandsaw to do it........?
Amazing work. That neck
What's your approach to getting the neck dead straight across its profile? I have no problem shaping the neck (faceting with rasps) but then get stuck in an endless loop of chasing little high/low spots around in the sanding. It's getting to the point where I'm either going to make a router neck carving jig or make a sanding block that's exactly the same length as the distance from volute to heel and sand perpendicular to the neck!
Thanks
I start with the whole thing just making a pair of collars at each end (cut ins that are fat of the profile in the profile corners, if you know what I mean (like left fat like an old cheap telecaster deluxe neck) and then remove the wood between the two and then work the volute and heel area by eye to blend it.
Then I go back and do the same thing again hitting close to the final target thickness at the first fret and an inch or two above the heel and move everything down.
The part about keeping the neck straight along the length across all parts of the profile is helped by doing some of the final work with a skewed nicholson supershear (I buy those any time they come up on ebay for cheap and have half a lifetime's supply now). They're a little grabby, but used on the diagonal and then rubbed flat on the neck, they take high spots off well - it's still a bit of a feel thing and by eye. I guess the initial shaping from a completely rough blank is about an hour and then the remaining stuff I tend to do in one or two sessions just to make sure I get to look at everything a few times (and of course, the last of it is done with the fingerboard on. I sort of learned on this one that it would be better to leave the neck a bit fat and trim it to the binding later. I trimmed the neck slightly thin figuring I'd get the binding on and then shape the binding down to the neck and it worked oK.
But the files/super shears are great in the last bits of it because they're flat and straight and you can use them any direction. without hurting too much and then just card scrape off their marks.
Around the volute, I have a sawmaker's rasp to blend things in, and then scrape that off, too, and finish sand - that's helpful at the volute and heel because it doesn't leave deep marks or flat facets.
There's probably acoustic guitar makers somewhere thinking it's a waste, too! I've heard from one - a friend - already. "why waste wood that nice on the top of a solid body guitar?"
There's a lot of plantation wood being grown in india now (E. Indian rosewood), but it does seem to be a trick to find the really nice billets without going directly to india (which I think is a risk - guitar parts are exempt from CITES for E. Indian rosewood now, but they're supposed to be finished to some level). I see lots of big wood like this listed from india but when I check with the sellers there, they all say "no paperwork, customs not a problem, sir".
Sure.
MARK.B.
Established Member
Like the colours on that one Garno ,very nice
Distinterior
Established Member
About 5 years ago, a good mate of mine had to have an Oak tree cut down in his garden for various reasons....He asked me if I wanted any of it and, of course, I said yes.
After it had been felled, it lay on the ground for about a month before he & I managed to find the time to manhandle a couple of decent sized bits up his garden and into the back of my van.
I kept the logs in my workshop for about another month or so before re-sawing them into planks and putting them in stick.
5 years on, it was coming up to his 60th birthday ( my 60th in 2 weeks as well...) and i thought I'd make him a decorative mitered box out of the Oak from his garden.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that some of the planks had Spalted, so i picked a couple that were not too punky and the pictures below are the result.
It's a bit rustic, but hopefully he will like it...!
Finish was 4 coats of Sanding Sealer, flatted down between coats and final coat of Microcrystalline Wax, buffed.
Size is 360mm wide x 190mm deep x 100mm high and lined with self adhesive black felt. All the Oak is about 9mm thick.
After it had been felled, it lay on the ground for about a month before he & I managed to find the time to manhandle a couple of decent sized bits up his garden and into the back of my van.
I kept the logs in my workshop for about another month or so before re-sawing them into planks and putting them in stick.
5 years on, it was coming up to his 60th birthday ( my 60th in 2 weeks as well...) and i thought I'd make him a decorative mitered box out of the Oak from his garden.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that some of the planks had Spalted, so i picked a couple that were not too punky and the pictures below are the result.
It's a bit rustic, but hopefully he will like it...!
Finish was 4 coats of Sanding Sealer, flatted down between coats and final coat of Microcrystalline Wax, buffed.
Size is 360mm wide x 190mm deep x 100mm high and lined with self adhesive black felt. All the Oak is about 9mm thick.
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Coyote
Established Member
Front garden fence. I think it’s referred to as “board on board” style in the US, not sure what the appropriate term is over here. Posts have been capped since I took the photos. I took the easy way out with the gates, didn’t have time to muck them up. Still got some patching to do to the drive to finish off. Not sure whether to stain it or let it silver.
Stigmorgan
Established Member
Small oak dish from a sleeper offcut, the top is slightly coloured with a little red food colouring mixed with acetone, applied and once dry lightly sanded back,
Just for fun 3 little plant pot shapes from a silver birch branch, all 3 sanded to 320, on the left is bare wood/unfinished, centre is abrasive paste and hard wax, right is friction polish.
Just for fun 3 little plant pot shapes from a silver birch branch, all 3 sanded to 320, on the left is bare wood/unfinished, centre is abrasive paste and hard wax, right is friction polish.
That is really nice!
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