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I have been busy with #173. I can't describe this maple short of saying it is a sideways birds eye Maple. It isn't spalted . I got the wood plank a few months back and cut 4 sets out of it. I kept this one. I used Carpathian Spruce and I used a 1/4 in forward shifted X brace with 5/15 tone bars and scalloped them. I like tortoise and abalone together. I borrowed this from Jimmie Edmonds of Galax Va. The maple required some filling as the voided area in the figure went clear through. I used Med CA as a filling agent and sanded back to bare wood. I hope you enjoy . Of course I used a dovetail joint.

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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

That is a very unusual figure, John. It will be interesting to see it with finish.

Max

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Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan

Wow, 173 that's very impressive John. I really like that one. Is that Evo fret wire? It looks kinda gold in the photo. Also, is the neck maple?
Steve

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

That is a very interesting pattern. You won't find that in the guitar store. I like it!!!

Freak-o-rama and very cool!

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wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

Thanks for posting that John. Some much needed distraction. I would dare to say that might be "bark inclusion". It's a pretty cool anomaly and I have know idea what causes it. Maybe the all knowing WIKI knows. I've never seen it in Maple but did a very cool kitchen out of Hemlock that was loaded with it. I've seen in in a couple other woods also.

I'd love to see it when you get it finished.

I like tortoise Purfling too...

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

that is german silver fret wire. Like the detail on the binding Steve. If you ever get a hold of snake wood , that is dynamite.

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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

I would guess that it is ambrosia maple, caused by a fungus from the ambrosia beetle.
Pretty cool looking!

Brian

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My memory is so good, sometimes I remember things that never happened.

no it isn't , the maple isn't ambrosia , it is an inclusion . Much like birds eye only sideways. This isn't a beetle but it is possible it may be caused by another bug of some sort or any deviation from the norm. It is an interesting piece

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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

masur birch Howard Klepper Identified it. Pretty much looks like the picture

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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

173 is indeed an impressive mark, congrats!
i have a swedish Berg chisel with Karelian / masur birch handle and it is close in looks to that back wood.

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member of the guild of professional dilettantes

Where do you get the tortoise binding/purfling? I don't recall that being available from the big mail order companies.

I got my tortoise binding from Martin. LMI sells it be they charge a hazardous material fee the Martin doesn't (or didn't use to...). I sliced the binding strip in a jig with a blade to make the narrower purfling...

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

I've never seen anything like it. That's gonna pop something fantastic.

From another site:

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

I get this made . It isn't the red stuff martin uses , this is a darker tortoise much like what was used in the old days.

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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

Reminds me of the "cat's eye" maple headplates at RC http://rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store/headplates-c-9/cats-eye-maple-burl-hp-p-3124.html

The figure looks a lot like Masur Birch,
but the wood itself looks a lot more like maple than birch.
Also, the orientation of figures is something I have not
seen in Masur Birch before, it usually is more random, and I have seen a lot of it, made a guitar out of it,
so it is possible it is it, but I would not say it for sure.

The wood has a sealer coat on it. So the natural wood color may be different. It is more yellow that the maple but only slightly.

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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

I haven't posted here for very long time, but this is interesting. I process Masur birch (Karelian only if it's from Karelia, Russia) and this doesn't look like it. Looks way more like simple bird peck. Generations of birds often return to the same trees and work them over leaving scars similar to this. Patterns vary, of course. Karelian birch is largely controlled by the Russian mafia these days. Often produced by grafting with orchards in Sweden and other places.

Mafia? yikes!... some parts of karelia lie outside of Russia right? well, maybe they don´t produce enough timber to be considered. Since i´ve already went into Off-topic turf (and since you seem to be in the know), hope you don´t mind if i stretch it a bit further... Larry, can you tell me if it´s a special population of Betula pendula that produces masur birch, or if it´s a more scattered thing, like bird´s eye in maple?

sorry for the off-topic

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member of the guild of professional dilettantes

interesting

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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

According to Auburn University's Ag Experiment Station Bulletin 486, Jan 1977, Masur (Maser) figure can be transferred by grafting, by seed (genetics) and the figure is caused by gene-controlled disturbances in the cambium area. In the wild, figure is associated with slow growth and/or deformed trees.

thanks.

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member of the guild of professional dilettantes