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| Old Brace Stock, maybe... http://www-.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10102&t=1066 |
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| Author: | Dickey [ Thu Feb 17, 2005 6:19 am ] |
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An old garage door company hung it up about thirty years ago. My buddy hoarded up much of the old reject panels of solid quartered wood. I believe it's fir. A luthier/carpenter friend stopped by today, he thought cedar. Other boards the styles, which are larger are definitely not cedar. There are a few panels of redwood. So, I'm wondering, what it is that I have, any guesses? Here are a few pics. 
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| Author: | John How [ Thu Feb 17, 2005 6:51 am ] |
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My guess, doug fir |
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| Author: | WalterK [ Thu Feb 17, 2005 6:56 am ] |
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I guess...Condisaurus metaforus. What do I win??? Walter |
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| Author: | Sprockett [ Thu Feb 17, 2005 7:18 am ] |
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Bruce send me that Stack and I'll let you know what it is 
It looks like Cedar to me, take a knife and scrape one of the edges and smell it, you'll know if it's cedar or not right away... -paul- |
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| Author: | Dickey [ Thu Feb 17, 2005 7:34 am ] |
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Okay, Hint number two, it has no cedar smell. I've sawed bunches of cedar, this has a slight smell, but nothing like western red cedar. I've purchase several colors even of cedar from Ed Dicks, but it all smells the same. This wood which I'm considering for brace stock is dry, straight, quartered, old (30 years) known, and 11/16" tall, most of it. Then the planks, wowser, lots of wood there, plus some other which is deep redwood. I figure that was reserved for their best doors, wide enough for no glue lines. My other guess was Hemlock. We rarely get these species here in the south. |
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| Author: | Sprockett [ Thu Feb 17, 2005 8:07 am ] |
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If it's doesn't smell then it's douglass fir, there's not many other woods out there that look like that. They should be really stiff and have a good tap tone, I've seen guitar tops built with it before, seems to be a decent choice... So what do John and I win? 
-Paul- |
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| Author: | Tim McKnight [ Thu Feb 17, 2005 10:17 am ] |
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Bruce: Based solely on the second picture I would say it's Sitka. Look at the pinks and mauves in it. DF is pretty consistent in color (tanish) and has wavier grain with micro short streaks of darker brown whereas Sitka varies widely in colors. If it is in the pine family it will gum up your drum sander where Spruces don't have the pitch problem. Cedar will smell where Sitka won't have an odor. My stash of 59 Sitka is brownish in color like the first picture. |
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| Author: | Dickey [ Thu Feb 17, 2005 2:31 pm ] |
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Hmmmmm, I dunno. All I know is it's dry straight, most of it, low on the smell. One reason I don't think it is Sitka Tim, is the lack of medullary rays. Good quartered sitka would show silking and rays. This stuff is really well quartered, amazing they cared about it on glueup for a door panel. I've been ripping the straightest pieces out of the panels along the glue lines. |
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| Author: | Mario [ Fri Feb 18, 2005 2:20 am ] |
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Not all sitka would should high meds, and if there's much runout, it won't show any at all. This is sawn on the quarter, but is it sawn off-axis(as is likely)? I say Sitka. Doung Fir has a distinct "pee" odor. Cedar is too obvious to not notice. Hemlock would be a strange choice for a door company, which brings us back to sitka, as that is the wood of choice for old doors(all old doors were quarter sawn; y'all know that, right?), ladders, etc.... Whatever it is, split some on the thin side to see if the runout is acceptable, and if so, you have back braces for many, many guitars. |
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| Author: | Dickey [ Fri Feb 18, 2005 2:31 am ] |
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Split some on the thin side? Okay, Runout meaning going from the back of the panel to the front. I think I get it. Pics to follow. |
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| Author: | jfrench [ Fri Feb 18, 2005 2:38 am ] |
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Take a razor knife to a corner and peel up some wood, and see if its parallel to the surface. This is a good idea when you're starting a new guitar too, to understand how much runout your soundboard has (or doesn't have)... |
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| Author: | Dickey [ Fri Feb 18, 2005 3:02 am ] |
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While not representative of the whole stack, this one piece reveals what Mario is getting at I guess. There is a little wave going on with this piece, but runout pretty much queers using this sample. 
Okay, looks like I have a lot of nice dry easy to split kindling. |
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| Author: | Dickey [ Fri Feb 18, 2005 3:32 am ] |
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Posting doesn't work all the time, right now it's a crap shoot. Wastes valuable time redoing it. You need a backup of the posts just in case it doesn't take. I uploaded pics, after spending time downsizing the pics, then the post craps out...... aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! and where are the pictures. and...... will this post make it..... 
Okay, here is another sample, and i believe Tim and Mario are right this is Sitka. The sanded surface did not reveal the medullary rays like the split surface did. Also this sample had little runout and is probably acceptable. Maybe a slice has to be sacrificed to find out if it's acceptable. |
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| Author: | MichaelM [ Fri Feb 18, 2005 7:04 am ] |
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One for sure way to tell if it is sitka -- at least this is the way it is with all sitka I've used -- is to see how "stringy" it is. Sitka, unlike other spruces that I'm aware of, has very stringy fibers, which is why it is so strong. If the color of your photos is accurate, to me it looks like redwood. |
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| Author: | Mario [ Fri Feb 18, 2005 7:11 am ] |
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That's a lot of runout, Bruce. It runs off about 1/4" over what, 10"-12" in length? Back braces only! |
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| Author: | Don Williams [ Fri Feb 18, 2005 7:14 am ] |
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I hope you get some good wood out of those Bruce! |
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| Author: | John How [ Fri Feb 18, 2005 8:28 am ] |
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It looks like you have quite a pile there so some of it may turn out allright. Keep trying. |
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| Author: | Dickey [ Fri Feb 18, 2005 8:53 am ] |
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I think I'm gonna just do some tests with some of it destructively and see how much it can handle compared to my Sitka bracestock suppliers stuff. This aged material may really induce some tone, if I can get some that meets the criteria. Even the first piece with 1/2 inch of runout in eight inches, might be actually very strong. The second test was an eighteen inch piece and had a 1/4 inch in eighteen, pretty good I thought? This stuff sure needs to be cut and stored, right now it's taking up my wife's car space. I lost my side of the garage two years or so ago. |
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