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Phew...

Finally got my stack of Lutz, and not a day too soon...

RJ is pleased!


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Nice pile or 3 Ed. From Shane?

Niiiiiiiiiiiice!

Ok then stop meddling around and git to work... fool!

Nice looking pile of wood there!

Tomorrow's worry, methinks.

I've been experiencing technical difficulties with my jointer. (As in, it doesn't work for anything). I have convinced the store to take it back and let me have a third one, because I do NOT want to tackle that stack with the # 7 Stanley.

I very much want a jointer like at the old Larrivee plant where you can just walk up, take two passes, and glue. No more helical blades here, back to the three knife set up, and please please please, just work properly for crying out loud!

FWIW, these are all A grade tops. Most will live, some will die, and some will be better than expected. I am very grateful to Shane for helping me out, cause now I don't need to worry about this for a few more months....

And here's hoping that the new peeps are as merciless in their grading as Shane was, and that Shane enjoys his new life!

Nice stash!
You could joint one of those stacks with a no.62 in the delivery time for the new planer!

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

I wish. Jointing with plane can be done, but it is 'invigorating', while I wish to remain placid...

Got to be in the zone man!

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Nice stash of tops!!!!


Just for my understanding:

You got these tops fresh delivered these days and now, or in the next days you are planning to join them?
How old are these tops?

Cheers, alex

Good question.

My understanding is that these have been hanging about for quite some time. They are certainly dry to the touch, and 'feel' good to go, for what that's worth.

It is also my understanding that, beyond working with green wood, it is ok to joint panels, as the glue joint is long grain, as in both panels of a set will expand and contract at the same rate.

Still, needs to get them all surface sanded to the same thickness so I can see what I'm looking at, then some data collection, then some jointing, after I negotiate, receive, and test a new jointer.

So it's not going to happen before lunch will, anyway...

Yep i'd be happy with one of those stacks in my Houseman. Nice

Steve

Anybody heard anything yet from the guys that took over Shane's business? I contacted them several months back, as Shane suggested, but no news yet.

I'm jaleous, Meddling...

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Alain Moisan
Former full time builder of Acoustics, Classicals and Flamencos.
(Now building just for fun!)

Ed . I bought a chiu ting 2 hp industrial 3knife jointer in vancouver in 1987. It/s still going strong but with a 2hp baldor motor instead of the original taiwanese motor. My drill is to take 1 pass on the jointer which is abt a 1/2mm cut. and then use a homemade 18in fore plane circa 1979.It uses a lee valley ECE blade and a vy tight mouth, and with the shooting board takes abt 15 -30 seconds to achieve a tight glue joint. IMHO one cannot get as smooth of a joint right off the 8in jointer unless the blades are fresh. Enjoy the lutz stash. Even if the wood is slightly green. The lower humidity of june july /aug will quickly dry out the soft spruce if you hang it up on a clothesline inside and clip it so that air surrounds it on all sides.

I just can't help believing that a well set up jointer should make short work of the job. I'm used to a different environment I guess. At the Larrivee shop, that stack would be jointed and glued up by lunchtime.

I am trying not to develop wood envy :mrgreen.
I have used my Rigid joiner with good success on my tops and backs, and I share your belief that a well set up joiner could make fairly quick work of the process.

At every guitar producing company this stack would be joint at a machine and glued up till lunchtime....lunchtime? till breakfast this has to be done....

but I will always do the final joint with my Clifton plane by hand. The surface will be straight, a joiner will always leave a surface with valleys and hills.

cheers, alex

Me too. Waited a year and a half and never got a stick of wood nor any word from the new owners.

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Thank You and Best To All

Sweet! Okay, get to work!

Personally I would sticker them for at least a year. Acclimation is a big deal IMO. As big as humidity control. Great pile of great wood though, congrats.

T

Hey meddlingfool how thick are those tops?

The tops vary a bit...

Larry H, the new owners only took over a few months ago...

timoM...

These are dry already. A lot of them will be around for a year. Nevertheless, you'd be surprised at how fast thin spruce tops dry...

It is not about being dry, it is about loosing internal tension and stress, about lowering internal damping. This takes years.
I do not use a top not being at least 10, better 20 years old. A top being 5 years old is fresh fo me.

Cheers, Alex

Fair enough, but...

Gimme some science:)

I'd love to build with nothing under 10 years old (my favorite scotch age), but I can't wait that long, as tomorrow, I must work...

That being said, as much as I rely on scientific data, which I am very much into, I rely on my intuition or physical judgment first. I've handled so many tops and side/back sets in my time it's not even funny, and eventually, you just get a feel for when things are relaxed and ready for working. These tops are giving me good vibrations, I'm picking up good vibrations.... Crickey, I just started dancing to the beach boys!

Fair enough, but...

Gimme some science:)

I'd love to build with nothing under 10 years old (my favorite scotch age), but I can't wait that long, as tomorrow, I must work...

That being said, as much as I rely on scientific data, which I am very much into, I rely on my intuition or physical judgment first. I've handled so many tops and side/back sets in my time it's not even funny, and eventually, you just get a feel for when things are relaxed and ready for working. These tops are giving me good vibrations, I'm picking up good vibrations.... Crickey, I just started dancing to the beach boys!

Don/t want to rain on your parade ed, I tend to agree with mr dalbergia abt older spruce being better. The scientific proof is written more by the violin folks , just read their journals. FWIW they think new is 10yrs old. I get your drift, the need to earn $$. There is a happy medium somewhere for gtr makers. I/m guessing abt 5 yrs as the plates are much thinner than your typical arch top vln.