Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jerry Jordan on February 4, 2020 at 10:28am

Woodcraft is not cheap, but they may have something you like better. H Despot n Lowes used to carry Maple, and I have seen them carry Walnut for short periods of time.  You can look for lumber yards and suppliers close to you, and it would not hurt to run a Craigslist ad, plenty of people mill wood for personal use, or have a stash or access to boards., I have cut down salvage (table tops n furniture) for straight wood.,,. I have bought wood online, but it's not cheap.,  where bouts are you located.,? 

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Permalink Reply by Mark Ballard on February 4, 2020 at 5:51pm

San Antonio area....

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Permalink Reply by T-Gripped on February 4, 2020 at 11:00am

I have been able to sort thru the Big Box stores and find some oak and poplar that was straight. But I often have to pull everything out of the bin to do so. Keep checking. 

I have also used oak tongue-and-groove floorboards for a few sliders. Used a hand plane to take off the tongue and the groove.

In the upper Midwest there is a Big box store called Menards. When I travel through I have been able to find aspen, hickory, maple, alder, and mahogany. Again, with a fair bit of sorting. I thought about ordering from them online since I don't get up there often, but the fear of warped boards has prevented me.

I also have found some decent neck material in a couple of junk stores, quite a pleasant surprise. 

My old boss was a gifted woodworker. I gave him an instrument and he thought it was cool. Suddenly he started giving me 1x2's left over from some of his projects!! Way cool. Keep your ears open for local woodworkers and find out where they go, or try the same thing.

Part of the joy is in the hunt. 

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on February 4, 2020 at 11:14am

A lot depends on where you live. Usually, you can find decent Oak at HD if you are willing to work through the bin and ask for specific cut from longer pieces. Also, if you take two 1 x 4 oak pieces and glue them together (wide fact to wide face) and clamp it well. You can then cut the piece in half lengthwise and get two 1 1/2" wide pieces and the grain is facing up and down instead of left and right. That is a strong design and should be straight and stay straight.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Ballard on February 4, 2020 at 5:53pm

Good idea!

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Permalink Reply by Jim Saraceno on February 5, 2020 at 2:39am

I always use maple for my necks and I get it at my local Home Depot. It varies from time to time, sometime there's not one straight piece in there and other times there are multiple pieces. I make it a habit to check out their maple stock every time I go in there and will often spend 30-45 minutes going through their entire stock of 1x2s. If I see a 6' straight section in a 12' piece, I take it over to the molding section where they have a saw and cutting table, cut off what I want, buy the straight section and put the warped section back.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Ballard on February 5, 2020 at 5:53am

Wish my HD carried maple

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Permalink Reply by Fantacone Box Works on February 5, 2020 at 6:46am

Ha, I do the same thing!

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Permalink Reply by Myron Joe Hickel on February 5, 2020 at 5:35am

Online,  the best I have found is woodworkers source.  com  They have live chat in the lower right corner and if you let them know what you want ( HI ,I am looking such and such wood and it needs to be straight I am making guitar necks). They will help with selecting your order. Decent pricing small orders or large does not matter.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Ballard on February 5, 2020 at 5:52am

Awesome, thanks for the info

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Permalink Reply by Fantacone Box Works on February 5, 2020 at 6:43am

I live near 3 HD's, a Lowes, Rockler and Woodcraft. The HD's carry different stock of 1 1/2 x 3/4 and I have to hit each to see what they have. Between the big box stores Im able to get cherry, red oak, maple, walnut and mahogany. 

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Permalink Reply by KOOL DOG HOOCH on February 5, 2020 at 9:46am

I get the straightest pieces of oak, laminate face to face with the cupped side facing in. Trim to size. Also check with local cabinet shops.

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