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helo ... i want to ask something . i want to know the materials for the guitar kerfing. what kinds of wood or can I use MDF (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium-density_fibreboard) for making the kerfing ? thank you . sorry for my poor english

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Twitter : @martinbandung
www.martinbandung.blogspot.com

I would not use MDF. Any other wood is fine.


Posted using something.

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http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC

MDF is great at deadening sound waves, not really what you want in a guitar.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

skip the deadening of sound waves...only the outer layer of MDF is actually hard (yeah, not actually a layer, but I hope you get my drift) and many times that's not even 'hard'...the point being the stuff has almost no structural integrity and unless one can count on the binding to hold the top to the rims I wouldn't be surprised if the top would pretty easily just pull off if MDF was used for the linings...

Martin , not sure what wood you have access too , but a light mahogany or similiar soft hardwood that bends easily will work, until you find your favorites.

Given your location, Jelutong would be well worth considering.

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Cheers
Pete

So far I've used mahogany, Spanish cedar and spruce. All worked well, but the mahogany was the easiest to bend (I used solid linings). Basswood is another popular choice.

Cheers,
Miguel.

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member of the guild of professional dilettantes

i favor spanish ceder (cedro). stable, a little lighter then hog, and smells nice.

but it tastes awful... my (limited) experience with cedro was that if the grain was near-perfectly quartersawn and straight it would work rather fine, but if only slight interlocking was present it would crack rather easily. maybe it´s my poor technique´s fault...

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member of the guild of professional dilettantes

This luthierie thing has hooked me pretty hard. Whenever I see this, I think about the inside of a guitar.

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Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement.

feh... everyone knows crown molding is superior!

It just hit me that if I ever end up finishing/re-finishing another basement, I need to put up oversize reverse kerfed linings in place of molding and maybe some decorative scalloped beams on the ceiling.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Scolloped coffered ceiling... I like it. May require curved walls. Sound port for a window... Maybe we could test the look in the Oval Office.

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Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement.

Sounds like a hobbit house

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I'm surprised nobody has said this yet. And I mean no menace in bringing it up. But, kerfing is a verb, the act of making a kerf (or saw cut). In guitar terms, lining is the material placed around the edges of the top and back to attach them to the sides (actually, it's placed around the top and bottom of the sides to attach the back and top). Kerfed lining is lining with repeated cuts (kerfs) in it to make it easier to comform to the guitar's curved shape. And then there are those blocks, cantalones? Little triangles. Can't remember the name.

Kerfing has come into colliquial use and most understand what is meant by it.

Just thought I would throw this out there.

Mike

Oh, and to answer your question, I like spanish cedar mainly for it's scent. But I have started buying this red cedar from John Hall that I REALLY like. Fine grained, easy to flex, reversed and standard. Nice stuff. The closest MDF gets to one of my guitars is the bench it sets on, and the spreaders used to square up the sides.