Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

The pieces that you've sawn look nicely quartered. Is that one of the blackwood necks in the top photo? How did you go with the neck blocks?

cheers
Steve

Sounds complicated Tonxi. Looking forward to the pics. Problem I always have is getting the thickness right. Too thick means too much sanding and too thin.......well you can use it to start the fire.
cheers
Steve

They look good Dom,
Hope you get time to put up some pics of the necks and assembly. Very interesting.
cheers
steve

Dorrigo Woodworks is my little enterprise. I have a few sets from time to time and mostly sell on ebay. I spend most of my time sawing up customers logs. I also have a big resaw if you want to slice that rosewood up. Sounds like woodrat has helped you with a set but I'll pm my phone number for you a...

Hi Tonxi, I have quite a bit of nsw scented rosewood myself and I've been cutting some for guitars and ukes. Make sure you saw it on the quarter and well away from any surface checking. It can be disappointing as flaws often appear after sawing. It can also be fantastic. Good to hear of another foru...

Bellingen has the jazz festival and Dorrigo has a folk and blue grass festival so a guitar show would fit in well with either of those. And then there is Bellingen's camp creative which sometimes includes music and dance classes but could do with a uke building course or similar. There is no shortag...

I know Repton well. Look me up when you get back and we can swap stories and maybe share come Ocha around the kotatsu.

regards
Steve

Great thread Alfred.
It ticked a lot of boxes for me and brought back some memories:
The taste of dried perssimons
Kayaking
Bandsaws
and guitar sets .

cheers
steve

I also think it looks like tallowood which has a sour smell that lingers (not as powerful as rosewood but still a distinct smell). The give away for tallowood is the greasy feel of the timber. Also it has a high tannin content so put those shaving in some water and see if they leach a lot of tannin....

Welcome Tod,
I'd go along with blackwood as a good choice. It's a proven performer. Make sure it is quarter sawn.
regards
Steve

Pics of some Paulownia as promised. These pieces are 350mm x 10mm backsawn for surfboard laminations. I will photo some quatersawn boards next time I cut some. This log was 16 years old with a centre diameter of 67cm.

cheers

Steve

Hi Paul, It would be in my interest to promote paulownia as I have a large quantity of logs at my mill but... I really think it would be too soft. It is much softer than WRC. Some backsawn timber has nice figure and the occasional quatersawn piece can have an attractive ripple at stump level or clos...

Puff wrote:Geologist's lunch? Rock cakes

Hey Puff, getting stoned!!!!!

As promised I have cut some veneers from the centre billet of a very straight camphor laurel log. I thought it best to get stable straight grained quarter sawn material. I'm not sure that the smell is a big problem. In my experience it leaves the wood to a large extent after sawing. If the timber is...

I am cutting some camphor at the moment. I'll slice some some sets and rack them out to see how it goes.

cheer
Steve

I learnt the hard way ruining a nice piece of fiddle back blackwood by trying to put it through my 2 blade wadkin thicknesser. The blades were sharp but the tear out destroyed the piece. Now I use an 1100mm 2 drum sander.
cheers
Steve
Dorrigo Woodworks

I don't see us running out of Blackwood any time soon. It grows like a weed in this area. It is truly renewable; a fast growning pioneer regenerator that yeilds pretty timber. Several master tree growers have included it in their woodlots. It also self seeds everywhere. Just wish more of them were f...

Inspirational stuff. Reckon I might have a crack at one of those myself.

cheers
Steve

Getting back on track, I would like some advice on sawing necks. I have mastered the quatersawn, book matched back sets and sides and would now like to cut necks and heels out of pieces that are too narrow for anything else. I read on one forum that necks should be 80mm wide and 25mm thick. It also ...