Guitar Building. Need Some Info

Chewbacca

Chewbacca

New member
So... I was planning to build an 8 string guitar, but I need some info on woods and other stuff:
Is there such a big difference between african and honduran mahogany?
What's a drop top? Can I make one using spalted maple?
I heard that Spalted Maple is a very complicated wood to work on, What kind of treatment does it need before using it?
What's a reinforced headstock? Could you give me some examples? How do I build one?

Thanks for your help!
 
Re: Guitar Building. Need Some Info

Mahogany any kind is all over the place anyway.

I could imagine that a thick spalted top is a sound killed. Looks wise it just needs more filling and if you have soft spots in there you need to decide whether you want to harden them up or leave them under the paint (with risk of later indentations).

Reinforced headstock == Volute?
 
Re: Guitar Building. Need Some Info

African mahogany isn't a true mahogany. Honduran is. Spalted maple is tough on the lungs so wear a respirator when working with it. With the types of questions you're asking here, it sounds as though you're just starting out as a woodworker/luthier. You're going to need a lot more information then we can provide here on the forum. There are several good books you can buy that will give you good guidance in your endeavor.

Here are a couple:

51fAJPU-a1L._SL160_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-dp,TopRight,12,-18_SH30_OU01_AA160_.jpg


51pImeTvcbL._AA160_.jpg



However, the most important consideration you have is not wood choice or construction method, but proper (safe) utilization of woodworking machinery. You'd be surprised how fast a spinning blade or bit can remove your fingers or hand. I've known several people that have had that happen. Fortunately, I have not. Please make sure you understand the inherent dangers of woodworking machinery. Climb cutting with a router (or router table) will give you a much smoother edge, but it will thoroughly ruin your day when it pulls the wood from your hands and your hands into the spinning bit. Be careful!

The Warmoth site has some great information on wood choices and tonal characteristics.

www.warmoth.com

And, lastly, if you're looking for Honduran mahogany, I have a few billets kicking around that you're welcome to if you pay the shipping -- assuming you're in the continental US, of course.
 
Re: Guitar Building. Need Some Info

pzaxtl said:
African mahogany isn't a true mahogany. Honduran is. Spalted maple is tough on the lungs so wear a respirator when working with it. With the types of questions you're asking here, it sounds as though you're just starting out as a woodworker/luthier. You're going to need a lot more information then we can provide here on the forum. There are several good books you can buy that will give you good guidance in your endeavor.

Here are a couple:

51fAJPU-a1L._SL160_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-dp,TopRight,12,-18_SH30_OU01_AA160_.jpg


51pImeTvcbL._AA160_.jpg



However, the most important consideration you have is not wood choice or construction method, but proper (safe) utilization of woodworking machinery. You'd be surprised how fast a spinning blade or bit can remove your fingers or hand. I've known several people that have had that happen. Fortunately, I have not. Please make sure you understand the inherent dangers of woodworking machinery. Climb cutting with a router (or router table) will give you a much smoother edge, but it will thoroughly ruin your day when it pulls the wood from your hands and your hands into the spinning bit. Be careful!

The Warmoth site has some great information on wood choices and tonal characteristics.

www.warmoth.com

And, lastly, if you're looking for Honduran mahogany, I have a few billets kicking around that you're welcome to if you pay the shipping -- assuming you're in the continental US, of course.
Click to expand...


Thanks a bunch! I will take a look at them. I'm using warmoth as guide right now, they sell african mahogany blanks but the honduran one isn't available, that's why I'm asking if they have similar tonal qualities...
 
Re: Guitar Building. Need Some Info

A "drop-top" is when you cut the angled forearm slope like on most Strats.

Depending on your playing style, you may not need to carve the slope. Tele players have lived without it for decades. If you're slinging the guitar low for chugga-chugga, or hunched over playing Rap Core or Gnu-Metal, I don't see the lack of a slope being an issue. If you wear it up high like '80s Shredheads, the slope might be more comfy for you.
 
Re: Guitar Building. Need Some Info

DrNewcenstein said:
A "drop-top" is when you cut the angled forearm slope like on most Strats.

Depending on your playing style, you may not need to carve the slope. Tele players have lived without it for decades. If you're slinging the guitar low for chugga-chugga, or hunched over playing Rap Core or Gnu-Metal, I don't see the lack of a slope being an issue. If you wear it up high like '80s Shredheads, the slope might be more comfy for you.
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Thanks! I guess I'll make it totally flat then. BTW, I'm trying to find a dealer that sells neck through blanks, something like 40,5 - 42,5 inches in length, but I'm having a hard time here: Warmoth, Stewart MacDonald and Carvin didn't have any available, there's also Soulmate, but I don't know if they have everything I need. Does anybody know a wood supplier that have a variety of woods for that kind of construction? I was looking for mahogany(african mahogany is ok), hard maple and claro or black walnut.
 
Re: Guitar Building. Need Some Info

I know LMII sells laminate woods pieces at that length but I don't know any solid neck blanks that long.
 
Re: Guitar Building. Need Some Info

I believe that "drop top" refers to a uniform thickness top that is laminated to the body wood after contours and reliefs have been cut. That same top when laminated to a Tele style body would not be a drop top or bent top because the edges are square ... that is, the top and bottom surfaces of the guitar body are flat.
 
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Re: Guitar Building. Need Some Info

Abeldc said:
I know LMII sells laminate woods pieces at that length but I don't know any solid neck blanks that long.
Click to expand...

Thanks! That helped me a lot. I was planning to build a 7 piece neck, so laminate wood pieces will be really usefull to me, I guess.
 
Re: Guitar Building. Need Some Info

Chewbacca said:
Is there such a big difference between african and honduran mahogany?
Click to expand...

No.

Chewbacca said:
I heard that Spalted Maple is a very complicated wood to work on, What kind of treatment does it need before using it?
Click to expand...

It's not a matter of treatment, it's a matter of grain awareness, cleavage awareness, and working thoughtfully and carefully with it.

Chewbacca said:
What's a reinforced headstock? Could you give me some examples? How do I build one?
Click to expand...

If you don't know what it is, you don't need one! :laughing:


Chewbacca said:
I'm trying to find a dealer that sells neck through blanks, something like 40,5 - 42,5 inches in length
Click to expand...

USACG will make you whatever size you want.
 
Re: Guitar Building. Need Some Info

Where are you located?
There are woodworker stores, Woodcraft and Klingspoors, near me that sell planks of mahogany, maple and other woods that are easily within that length. It won't be a super good bargain, but they'll have what you need, typically.

And if you're doing spalted maple, I'd definitely leave it flat to avoid all sorts of complications.
Check out something like Polycryl to stabilize that spalted maple.

Are you doing a thru-neck, set-neck or bolt-neck?
IMO, any sonic differences between the various mahoganies as body woods will be minimal and less so if it's a thru-neck.

If you're doing the laminated neck, bear in mind that companies like PRS do this thing where they split a mahogany neck blank, flip one end around so the grain is reverse to the other and glue them up that way to increase stability.

And yea, I also think that "reinforced" headstock things is just a neck volute.

MM
 
Re: Guitar Building. Need Some Info

Spalted is difficult to work with basically because it's diseased. The spalting is some sort of fungus or mold and it makes the wood brittle. It's also why it was suggested to wear a mask when you work with it; don't want those spores to take over!!
 
Re: Guitar Building. Need Some Info

spalted maple can soak up a lot of the finish too so buy twice as much paint as you think you'd need!
 
Re: Guitar Building. Need Some Info

jake_xms3_punk said:
im sure "drop top" is another name for laminate top?
Click to expand...

Lazarus1140 said:
I believe that "drop top" refers to a uniform thickness top that is laminated to the body wood after contours and reliefs have been cut. That same top when laminated to a Tele style body would not be a drop top or bent top because the edges are square ... that is, the top and bottom surfaces of the guitar body are flat.
Click to expand...

I seem to recall reading something back in the 80s where Tom Anderson referred to the armrest cut as "Drop Top", even though he did give that name to a specific model, which, coincidentally, was the first of his models to have that cut IIRC.
 
Re: Guitar Building. Need Some Info

http://www.andersonguitars.com/product_information/models/s_family/classic_over.cfmHere you can see Anderson's "Classic" model which has the body contours but is not a drop top because there is no laminated top.


Following is an excerpt from the text accessed by "The Complete Story" tab:

Drop Top Classic announces itself with a radiant book-matched flame or quilted maple, koa or walnut top that is actually bent (or "dropped") over a carefully chosen tone-wood body-back to create a smooth and comfortable, swooping forearm contour—and it does it all in keeping with the traditional of pickguard styling.

My thinking is that there is no need to bend the top if the contours are not already cut. Additionally, there are several photos where the scraped wood binding effect reveals the full thickness top even in the forearm contour areas.
 
Re: Guitar Building. Need Some Info

I'm going to make a neck thru construction, that's why I needed those longer blanks, and, thanks to the help you all gave me here, I managed to find suppliers for all the woods I needed.
Since I'm from Brazil, I considered getting some mahogany or rosewood from here, but it's such a hassle to get any, too many laws and too expensive for me as well -even tagima (brazilian guitar manufacturer) uses african mahogany due to it's higher availability.
Not being an U.S. resident also makes it harder for me to get some honduran mahogany, but since afican mahogany seems to be just as fine as the meso american one... that's not a problem anymore (especially for the price warmoth asks for an AM body blank).
 
Re: Guitar Building. Need Some Info

Chewbacca said:
I'm going to make a neck thru construction, that's why I needed those longer blanks, and, thanks to the help you all gave me here, I managed to find suppliers for all the woods I needed.
Since I'm from Brazil, I considered getting some mahogany or rosewood from here, but it's such a hassle to get any, too many laws and too expensive for me as well -even tagima (brazilian guitar manufacturer) uses african mahogany due to it's higher availability.
Not being an U.S. resident also makes it harder for me to get some honduran mahogany, but since afican mahogany seems to be just as fine as the meso american one... that's not a problem anymore (especially for the price warmoth asks for an AM body blank).
Click to expand...

Cool man, keep us posted on the progress!
 
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