Official Luthiers Forum!

Looking for Spruce neck block wood. Anyone know of a supplier?

Thanks, Peter

Go to Shane !
Highmountaintonewoods!
If he does not have it-NO one will !
Mike

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Mike Collins

Not trying to take business from Shane but think you could find this at your local building materials store.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

yes -but will it be correctly cut for musical instrument use?

That is the difference!

Mike

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Mike Collins

Spruce from a lumber yard can be used for neck blocks and bracing. You'll have to pick through quite a few boards to get enough knot free length with straight grain. Look at 2"x6" and wider boards. Also, you'll have to let it dry, construction lumber is around 12% to 15% moisture content.

If you don't feel like waiting, get it from Shane or other luthier wood supplier.

Chuck

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I sent Shane a note. I'll see what he has..

Thanks

I have QS red spruce from the Ted Davis stash. Personally, I use all cuts from slab to quarter for neck blocks, but IMHO a center cut is not suitable for instruments. Most building supply spruce 2X lumber available around here is from minimal size trees, with the heart of the tree included. It also tends to be full of pin knots.

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John

I agree with John, do not use a center cut piece, that's why you need to look a 2"x6" or wider. As I said, you'll have to pick few many boards to find a possible candidate. For example, I am in the homebuilding business which gives me access to plenty of spruce. In some instances the most good instrument wood that I will find (and I am always looking) is enough to brace a few guitars from an entire house package. A lot of it looks good, nice straight grain and knot free, but won't pass the split test.....too much runout. Good luck.

Chuck

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One big drawback to lumber stock , is that it isn't dried as far as you need. Most construction lumber may be above 8%. For the cost , you really are not saving much plus you do not know what species of spruce you may be getting . Having to put so much work into a guitar , why risk it for a few bucks . I don't use spruce I use Mahogany but you can use most any wood as long as it is stable .
I tried this once and it was on my 2nd guitar . I since burned it . Too many problems from not knowing .

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

The 'spruce' construction lumber available locally is mostly marked "S-P-F". Back when it was available in wider boards, I cut my guitar tops from the occasional piece that had the heart offset enough to make quartered tops. At that time, I learned that "S-P-F" stood for Engelmann spruce, lodgepole pine, and white fir, three species that grow in the Rocky Mountains. With a little studying, it is fairly easy to learn how to pick out the Engelmann from the other species. A few years ago, the local building supply was selling Euro spruce from Germany and Lithuania. It was marked "N. Spr.", for Norway spruce. The mill name was Klausner. I cut some bracewood and block material from the 2 X 4's and 2 X 6's.
In the 1980's, I could find 'spruce' in 2 X 10's and 2 X 12's. But today, the largest I see are 2 X 6.
The moisture content in construction lumber can vary widely, but I seldom see it below 10%.

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John

John: Maybe in your area SPF stands for the species you quoted but here in N.S.it is spruce, pine, and fir. The type of the woods can vary depending on what is being cut locally. I certainly could be corrected on this but that is my understanding.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

The species I named are spruce, pine, and fir.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_spf_lumber
Since the SPF lumber I see comes from the Pacific NW, Engelmann spruce dominates over white spruce.

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John

Peter,

If Shane doesn't have any, I have received some from the Simeon Chambers Tonewood Store on Ebay or his site www.rockymountaintonewood.com. He definitely stocks it can can help you out. Phone number is 303-507-5225.

Hope it helps,

Laurie

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Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.

John : I knew they were spruce pine and fir but you quoted specific types. Here in Nova Scotia it is whatever is being cut. Not much lodge pole pine here, nor alpine fir,we don't have engleman and cut more red spruce then white. Just did not want to confuse the issue re: what SPF means. Here in Nova Scotia it means Spruce Pine and Fir not specific types.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

Very interesting. I would love to see a grading stamp from your area. We never get construction lumber from the Northeast.

Construction lumber is separated into groups of species that have similar properties. The question is what species of pine and fir native to the Northeast would qualify. Balsam fir, most probably. But what pine species?
In Europe, Scots pine is often grouped with Norway spruce. Those two woods are easy to separate.

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John

John: See if I can get a picture of one. May have to e-mail it. Will check it out.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

The SPF designation in Canada is a species combination defined by the National Lumber Grading Association (NLGA), grouping softwood species with similar sturctural properties. It can include any combination of: white and Englemann spruce (and their hybrids), red and black spruce (and their hybrids), lodgepole pine, jack pine, alpine fir and balsam fir. The NLGA designations are referred to in the National Building Code, and SPF is by far the most common structural combination as a subset of these species is found in every Canadian province.

Note that the SPF group does NOT include: eastern or western white pine, red pine, grand fir, or (or particular interest to luthiers) Sitka spruce.