Posted on June 13, 2024May 14, 2025 by Dale Phillips Solving the Maple Problem Solving the Maple Problem by Rolfe Gerhardt Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Quarterly 6, #2, 1978 Finding a good and consistent supplier of find fiddleback (or of other kinds) of maple has been one of the greatest problems in my mandolin building. The solution to the problem was the country’s best gunstock suppliers — Kenneth E. Thompson of Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. I used to buy the prohibitively expensive imported violin wood for backs, but even the most expensive pieces just did not seem right to me in terms of character or figure. And finding pieces large enough to make necks out of was something altogether else. I started buying maple muzzleloading gunstock blanks, the “tiger-striped” ones as they call them. They were good wood; they had to be for these custom guns, and they had to be dried just right for a gunstock where warp is as critical as in a musical instrument. I started checking the sources of these gunstocks, and after several months worked my way back to Ken. That was four years ago, and one heck of a lot of wood ago. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on June 13, 2024May 15, 2025 by Dale Phillips Kiaat and Tambotie Kiaat and Tambotie by Ron Bushman Originally published in American Lutherie #90, 2007 During a trip to South Africa in 2002, I was fortunate to spend some time with Rodney Stedall, president of the Guild of South African Luthiers. Rodney gave generously of his time and took me to a local lumber dealer where we climbed atop huge stacks of indigenous woods. I selected several planks of kiaat and tambotie which he helped me prepare to carry back to California. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 3 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on June 13, 2024May 15, 2025 by Dale Phillips Kiaat Kiaat by Rodney Stedall Originally published in American Lutherie #90, 2007 Kiaat (Pterocarpus angiolensisis) is found in south-central Africa. It is from the same family as padauk (Pterocarpus soyauxii) which is known to be a good tonewood with sound properties somewhere between Brazilian and Indian rosewood according to the LMI catalog. It does not have as intense a red coloring as padauk but varies in color from a pale uniform brown to having irregular reddish/orange streaks and occasional flame. It has a fairly large percentage of oatmeal-colored sapwood of an inferior quality. This is generally eliminated when building guitars. Grain can be quite variable, from wavy to straight. It has excellent drying properties and dry weight is about 640KG/M3. Its strength is generally about 30% lower than padauk. It cuts, sands, and bends easily. It is moderately porous and takes any finish or polish well. Kiaat is freely available in lumberyards in South Africa but it is very seldom quartersawn and of the necessary guitar back dimensions as is required for guitar making. Luthiers spend hours searching through piles of wood stock to find suitable size, grain, and cut. The sap of the kiaat tree has cultural and medicinal significance. The red sap is mixed with fat and used as red face paint in tribal rituals. It has been believed to have magical healing powers especially concerning blood disorders as well as other medicinal uses. ◆ Seeking lutherie wood in southern Africa. Camel thorn trees in Botswana. Both photos courtesy of Mervyn Davis. Crossing the Zambezi River.
Posted on June 6, 2024May 23, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: North American Wood Questions: North American Wood by Mark French, Ned Steinberger, and Alan Carruth Originally published in American Lutherie #94, 2008 See also, Questions: Nontropical Fingerboard Materials by Tom Theil Larry L. from the Internet asks: I’ve noticed that my choices in materials have evolved over the years to favor wood from North America. At this point I’d like to take the final step and eliminate all tropical hardwood. The two fingerboard materials that make the most sense to me are phenolic impregnated paper or cloth (Garolite, Micarta) and phenolic impregnated wood (Dymondwood, Pakkawood, Staminawood). I think I understand issues with machining these materials and fret installation, but I wonder how differential expansion/contraction with changes in humidity will affect the stability of necks with wood shafts and fingerboards made of these materials. Does anyone have experience here? Mark French from West Lafayette, Indiana responds: Any time you have differential expansion of two materials that are bonded, you have the possibility of large deformations. For example, one type of thermometer works by having a coiled bimetallic strip inside. When the temperature changes, the end of the coil moves a needle. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on June 6, 2024May 23, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: Yellow Pine Questions: Yellow Pine by Bob Gramann Originally published in American Lutherie #94, 2008 Scott Smith from the Internet asks: Has anyone made a guitar using heart pine (long leaf southern yellow pine)? I have some that was cut over 250 years ago. Bob Taylor of Taylor guitars passed on it, so I thought I might attempt to build one myself. It is a fairly dense wood with very high pitch content. Bob Gramann from Fredericksburg, Virginia responds: I made a small guitar with a top of southern pine which was recovered from a submerged crib dam that was built in 1854 and destroyed in 2004. In order to get enough close-to-quartersawn wood for the top, I had to make a 4-piece top. The pine was not nearly as stiff as the spruce I usually use, so I left it a bit thicker. The back and sides of this guitar were made with white oak from the same crib dam. The oak had turned grey from its long submergence, and the pine was green. It was a sweet sounding guitar but not as sweet as the two of the same style and size that I made from Engelmann spruce and Indian rosewood. If it were not for the historical interest, I would not have made a guitar of these woods. It was sold at auction as part of a fund-raiser for Friends of the Rappahannock. ◆
