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The Thing About Wood is...


DavesNotHere

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Posted

....you gotta' know how to handle it. Jim Deurloo knows how to handle his wood.

 

Fred and I were looking at the piece of maple that is going to be my cap and we were discussing which side side would make the best top. We were kind of leaning to one side in particular as it seemed to have the best grain and nicest flame.

Jim held it up and said "No, the other side is going to be the top" I asked why and he pointed to the "flamey side" and said "You see, all that flamed wood is going to be carved away and what you'll be left with is the wood closer to the other side which doesn't have as nice of a flame."

He continued "If I put the side that is not as pretty up then I'll be cutting off that wood and leaving the wood closer to the nice side,"

Then he added with a smile, "But I can't guarantee that, right now only God knows what is in that piece of wood"

 

Once he explained it, it seemed so simple, but I would never have thought about that on my own.

I guess after 50 years of building guitars you learn a thing or two ;)

 

DSCF4327.jpg

 

 

Oh, and he also explained how he would have to load the wood on the jig at an angle when he cut the body to make sure the flame was straight across and not tilted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted

There's no substitute for experience and Heritage...

Posted

So from the picture above which way will the grain be on the guitar ... left to right or top to bottom ?

 

 

In that shot the neck would be on the top side of the picture. I can't remember what side that pic is showing. Both sides looked great, but one seemed just a little better.

Posted

In that shot the neck would be on the top side of the picture. I can't remember what side that pic is showing. Both sides looked great, but one seemed just a little better.

 

Got that, makes sense that way.

Posted

the luxury of selecting your own timber!Only at Heritage....

Posted

I made some comment about Jim's wisdom after he explained how they'd use the wood .. and he smiled and said.. " Well, I've done this a few times... " .

Posted

I made some comment about Jim's wisdom after he explained how they'd use the wood .. and he smiled and said.. " Well, I've done this a few times... " .

Back when cars had fins... 1957 Jim learned the business

Guest HRB853370
Posted

....you gotta' know how to handle it. Jim Deurloo knows how to handle his wood.

 

Fred and I were looking at the piece of maple that is going to be my cap and we were discussing which side side would make the best top. We were kind of leaning to one side in particular as it seemed to have the best grain and nicest flame.

Jim held it up and said "No, the other side is going to be the top" I asked why and he pointed to the "flamey side" and said "You see, all that flamed wood is going to be carved away and what you'll be left with is the wood closer to the other side which doesn't have as nice of a flame."

He continued "If I put the side that is not as pretty up then I'll be cutting off that wood and leaving the wood closer to the nice side,"

Then he added with a smile, "But I can't guarantee that, right now only God knows what is in that piece of wood"

 

Once he explained it, it seemed so simple, but I would never have thought about that on my own.

I guess after 50 years of building guitars you learn a thing or two ;)

 

DSCF4327.jpg

 

 

Oh, and he also explained how he would have to load the wood on the jig at an angle when he cut the body to make sure the flame was straight across and not tilted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK, so give it up. You just got a 357 recently, whats on the radar now?

Posted

the luxury of selecting your own timber!Only at Heritage....

 

Nah, PRS makes a religious experience out of it. When I did my Private Stock my dealer flew to Maryland to pick the top along with PRS and Paul Miles. I was welcome to go but I didn't figure I knew enough to add to the conversation.

 

PRS will take you in the Wood Library and show you fifty thousand pieces of top-shelf stuff ranging from Perambuco to BRW. They'll arrange neck blanks by weight for you. They'll match an existing top and guarantee your satisfaction with the match. They have stuff readily available that's never made it into a Heritage or Gibson of any kind (I have a Wood Library guitar with a beeswing sipo back and a flamed mahogany neck that's as flamey as an Ultra top H-157, only it's flame <i>mahogany</i>.)

 

They have mammoth ivory and twelve different kinds of minerals for inlays (jade et al). They have every color of MOP and abalone and paua heart available. They can make you a 30,000-piece inlay dragon.

 

What PRS <i>cannot</i> do is have the guy who helped make Jimmy Page's and Peter Green's guitars build you a Firebird. And, of course, their jazz boxes are HIDEOUS.

Posted

 

Nah, PRS makes a religious experience out of it. When I did my Private Stock my dealer flew to Maryland to pick the top along with PRS and Paul Miles. I was welcome to go but I didn't figure I knew enough to add to the conversation.

 

PRS will take you in the Wood Library and show you fifty thousand pieces of top-shelf stuff ranging from Perambuco to BRW. They'll arrange neck blanks by weight for you. They'll match an existing top and guarantee your satisfaction with the match. They have stuff readily available that's never made it into a Heritage or Gibson of any kind (I have a Wood Library guitar with a beeswing sipo back and a flamed mahogany neck that's as flamey as an Ultra top H-157, only it's flame <i>mahogany</i>.)

 

They have mammoth ivory and twelve different kinds of minerals for inlays (jade et al). They have every color of MOP and abalone and paua heart available. They can make you a 30,000-piece inlay dragon.

 

What PRS <i>cannot</i> do is have the guy who helped make Jimmy Page's and Peter Green's guitars build you a Firebird. And, of course, their jazz boxes are HIDEOUS.

 

Okay... That sounds expensive.

Posted

There's no substitute for experience and Heritage...

+1

Posted

 

Okay... That sounds expensive.

Gulp Yeah..Maybe i will just keep playing my Mexican Telecaster.. :icon_sunny:

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