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A friend of mine, who I'd not heard from in awhile, emailed me a week or so ago saying I needed to come down and see him. Something about wood. So I drove out to the Chehalis Valley, and after a nice visit returned with these:



And a little planing reveals:





It also reveals my plane needs sharpening...

So a couple of questions. I've already painted the ends, and suggested my friend start doing the same. These have been sitting in a covered barn for around two years.

How long should I let them sit in the shop before I do any sawing?

The billets are 20" - 24" long, 7" - 8.5" wide and about 3" thick. What are these things worth in billet form? He's been selling to a middle man who sells to Gibson, et al. and would, perhaps, like to begin to sell directly to smaller luthiers. (Both billets and resawn wood) The billets he's been cutting are sized for drop-tops for electrics, but future billets could be sized as needed.

BTW, these are legally harvested.

Any advice or suggestions would be welcomed!

Thanks!

~Mark

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Pullman, WA

The more I know, the more I know I don't know.

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I couldn't answer any value questions but can give an opinion on painting the ends. I personally think painting the ends of billets is never a bad idea no matter how long wood has been sitting around seasoning. And he should def be painting the ends, wax being a better method. Using the right paint is important as well.

Oh and it may be that your plane is sharp and the figure is causing you trouble. Set your chipbreaker a couple thousandths of an inch away from the edge and you should eliminate most tear out. This is something that has been lost over the years and recently has had a resurgance. No more high angle blades are needed, just prepare a nice surface on the leading edge of your chipbreaker and set it as close as you can get it and tear out will be a thing of the past.

Well the first thing you do is put it in the mail and ship it to me

Now that that's out of our system ...

Is there a good reason not to saw to final rough thickness right away as opposed to leaving in billet form?

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Nice score! I see you are on the west coast, I assume this is bigleaf maple? In addition to drop tops for electics, a possible market for this wood could be among the mandolin and violin people. I can't say what it is worth; the market decides the prices, of course, so you will have to know your customer's preferences well, (they can be quite picky!) as well as the current market prices, and charge accordingly.

One highly regarded supplier for nice mandolin wood on the west coast is Bruce Harvie, at Orcas Island Tonewoods. There is a price list on his web site http://www.radiofreeolga.com/tonewoods/stocklist.html

Old Standard is mostly known for their red spruce, but they also sell some big leaf maple. The price list with pictures of different types of maple figure is comprehensivehttp://adirondackspruce.com/mandolinwood2.htm

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Wow, that curl is insanely curly!
Lucky Duck!

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wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

Beautiful stuff. Who is this guy and how do I become friends with him??