Need luthier guidance on selecting best 3 parts of ash to glue together for telecast

[Stratguy21]

Hello luthiers out there?

I am a hobby builder who has gained some donated ash from a local ranger.

The trouble is the tree stumps are short and not very wide.

So the slabs I grt will make a 4 piece telecaster at best maybe 2 piece on the bigger logs. I have quarter sawn two pieces of ash but am looking for guidance and recommendations on how to marry the wood up for glueing n clamping together.

I will post pics as I move through each log or tree stump.

Many thanks guys please give a heads up if you are there to help. As I want to make a telecaster for my first guitar. I have a ash neck that i made into a board tbat may make 2 necks. I nees a band saw tomcut it in half though.. although i may bow saw it down the middle as my sawing technique is improving..

Thanks guys I will post pics when you post to me.. the wood is at like 14 percent moisture and needs slabbing into boards and sloe seasoning for a long time yet. Although once it gets to 10% to 12% i am going to pull the trigger and make the first guitar and let the rest season.

Thanks people. Your help is much appreciated. When the guitars dobe I will demo it and make a yputube showing all its faults and explaining to others how to avoid it. To help other beginners.

Cheers

Oh by the way there is checking as i stupidly did not cut the green wopd stumps into boards immediately..

Although some boards with checking running right through it I m going to get hide glue and lightly glue and clamp them together to not waste anywood and learn just how badly theose extra breaks effect tone. So I should end up with a 2 piece and few 4 piece telecaster bodies.

Thanks again

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Need luthier guidance on selecting best 3 parts of ash to glue together for telec

I'm on line to help. Please post pics when you get them.

How are you measuring the moisture content?

[AlexR]

Re: Need luthier guidance on selecting best 3 parts of ash to glue together for telec

Apart from physical or mechanical flaws, there is no obvious or reliable method for choosing what bits of wood will make a killer guitar.

[Stratguy21]

Re: Need luthier guidance on selecting best 3 parts of ash to glue together for telec

Apart from physical or mechanical flaws, there is no obvious or reliable method for choosing what bits of wood will make a killer guitar.

Thanks for replies guys. I am using a cheap 2 prong pricker moisture meter detector... i understand it wont be accurate deeper into the wood but its a good start.. to measure moisture on budget. The ash ia at 14 to 16 percent. The way I am thinking is to line up the grand line straight and paralel to the neck as this should help resonance? Some of the mini boards have a big single crack in them... I am going to try ro cleanly break the cracked piece off clean it and glue it back on with hide glue and clamps. Dont want to waste any wood unless its really busted or rotted or too much cracks. Will try get pics tomorrow.
I have 3 to 4 more 1 foot high stumps of ash to try hand saw into soke kind of board for telecaster. I have 4 big long pieces of ash to one already carved into a necl board the others nees to be measured, marked, carved and planed into neck boards.

I have a spare room in the house and I will try to gently and stabilily slowly season the boards when cut... any tips on a good cheap de humidifier and fans to help slowly dry these boards. Will I need some electric radiators for the room for winter? I will get a decent humidity meter soon to try help this.

[Stratguy21]

Re: Need luthier guidance on selecting best 3 parts of ash to glue together for telec

Thanks Doc. I will post the pics of the stumps soon. As they need to be sawn by hand. Will be great to get your opinion on these. I am going for between 1.9 inch to 2 inch thick. So I have some extra size due to seasoning or errors in the cut. As they should shrink when water is lost? I have the patience to try season this ash slow and properly as I can although probably will aim for 10% and just use it for practice building telecasters asap. The ash stump or logs are not long enough unfortunately to yield a one piece body or two piece for that matter.

Although I do have one aah log big enough but I was dumb and left it in the garden and now it is badly checked or cracked... I may just saw it into a board and inspect to see if I can hide glue the pieces together and practice making a budget hardware tele or strat on it. The good thing is all the ash is slow grown with lots of growth year rings densely together.

[Stratguy21]

Re: Need luthier guidance on selecting best 3 parts of ash to glue together for telec

I'm on line to help. Please post pics when you get them.

How are you measuring the moisture content?

Thanks Doc. I will post the pics of the stumps soon. As they need to be sawn by hand. Will be great to get your opinion on these. I am going for between 1.9 inch to 2 inch thick. So I have some extra size due to seasoning or errors in the cut. As they should shrink when water is lost? I have the patience to try season this ash slow and properly as I can although probably will aim for 10% and just use it for practice building telecasters asap. The ash stump or logs are not long enough unfortunately to yield a one piece body or two piece for that matter.

Although I do have one aah log big enough but I was dumb and left it in the garden and now it is badly checked or cracked... I may just saw it into a board and inspect to see if I can hide glue the pieces together and practice making a budget hardware tele or strat on it. The good thing is all the ash is slow grown with lots of growth year rings densely together.

[AlexR]

Re: Need luthier guidance on selecting best 3 parts of ash to glue together for telec

For gluing your pieces together, have them cut as much along the grain lines as possible. This gives a long grain gluing surface, which is strongest.

[Stratguy21]

Re: Need luthier guidance on selecting best 3 parts of ash to glue together for telec

For gluing your pieces together, have them cut as much along the grain lines as possible. This gives a long grain gluing surface, which is strongest.

Thanks for that info man. If i missed it in the first two quarter body blanks I suppose I can plane down to the grain lines?

Pictures of the tree stump grains and boards I cut incoming soon.

[AlexR]

Re: Need luthier guidance on selecting best 3 parts of ash to glue together for telec

I don't mean you need to have a grain line on the edge, just that the plane of your cut should try and follow the line of the grain as much as is practical.