Posted by Ryan Murray on August 28, 2013 at 7:42pm
My name is Ryan, I started making CBG's and Cookie Tinjo's for about a year now. I never knew such a fantastic group of folks existed!
I have always tried to "build a better mousetrap" but this is a whole new world of possibilities and seems that the simpler the better. The rigs I have seen so far are truly inspiring and look forward to Stalking you! :P
I have been trying my hand at carving some necks and was wondering if anyone has an opinion on best wood varieties? ei. Strength, longevity, availability to location?
Nice to meet you all, have a great day!
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Welcome to group therapy! We all have an addiction here, and I hope I'm never cured!!!
Poplar seems to be the most common wood used. Your can pick it up at Lowes or Menards or anywhere. It's a hard wood, but not so hard that it's I possible to work with. It's also a fast growth hard wood, so it's more Eco-friendly than some woods. Also, since it's fast growth, you get wonderful color variations even on the same piece of wood. The minerals get absorbed quickly into the wood grain.
Sometimes I like using maple. It's a beautiful wood but it's harder to find and more expensive. People use all kinds, oak, cedar, mahogany, rose wood, hickory, etc...
Have fun and see what you like!
Nice to meet you Ryan, I just made a cigar box violin neck, scroll out of hickory. I don't recommend it as it is very hard and hard to carve, but I think it is really strong. I believe hickory is what they make baseball bats from. It has a nice pattern to it.
Pretty sure baseball bats are commonly made from Ash, but close enough.
Harder wood, harder to work with, fact of life goes back to.......
Fire, anyone know how to make fire?
LOL!
Best answer I can give to the OP is to just start building, learn from your first and build again. Great playing builds have come from a piece of yellow pine. Dont obsess on any single point, build and learn, gain experience and keep experimenting. I dont know whats available to you or what your ability level is or what tools you have, but what you use for materials isnt as critical as the effort and talent of the builder. If you experience an epic failure, build a fire.
Replies
Poplar seems to be the most common wood used. Your can pick it up at Lowes or Menards or anywhere. It's a hard wood, but not so hard that it's I possible to work with. It's also a fast growth hard wood, so it's more Eco-friendly than some woods. Also, since it's fast growth, you get wonderful color variations even on the same piece of wood. The minerals get absorbed quickly into the wood grain.
Sometimes I like using maple. It's a beautiful wood but it's harder to find and more expensive. People use all kinds, oak, cedar, mahogany, rose wood, hickory, etc...
Have fun and see what you like!
Nice to meet you Ryan, I just made a cigar box violin neck, scroll out of hickory. I don't recommend it as it is very hard and hard to carve, but I think it is really strong. I believe hickory is what they make baseball bats from. It has a nice pattern to it.
Pretty sure baseball bats are commonly made from Ash, but close enough.
Harder wood, harder to work with, fact of life goes back to.......
Fire, anyone know how to make fire?
LOL!
Best answer I can give to the OP is to just start building, learn from your first and build again. Great playing builds have come from a piece of yellow pine. Dont obsess on any single point, build and learn, gain experience and keep experimenting. I dont know whats available to you or what your ability level is or what tools you have, but what you use for materials isnt as critical as the effort and talent of the builder. If you experience an epic failure, build a fire.
My, arent I feeling philosophical tonight!
Sleep, maybe I need sleep.