Official Luthiers Forum!

Filippo-
I organized a group buy from Gurian a couple of years ago. My impression was that they had 'stuff' that wasn't necessarily listed on the website. It might be worth an email/phone call to them with your shopping list to see what they have.

Also, if you post a list of your desired/intended purfling sequence here at OLF, you'll probably get some informed advice on possible substitutes. I have found that some of the natural wood purflings are quite fragile, but on the other hand, some people do find the white fiber too 'stark' for use.

Cheers
John

Are the veneers sold at Woodcraft thin enough to make purfling lines at least ?

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It's this new idea from recent decades that everyone gets a participation award. - MUX

My performax 10-20 will thin anything down to .01 with a sled for it to ride on. I find resawing thin strips and thinning them easier to handle than trying to thin veneer down from .022, even with supersoft. I also glue everything up first and install it as one piece instead of trying to get glue on 5 or 6 separate pieces and fit them all in the slot. Once it is glued up, nothing chips or cracks like it does when you are trying to cut a single thin line.

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Burton
http://www.legeytinstruments.com
Brookline, MA.

John:
I bought a bag of flamed maple veneer from Woodcraft to use for purfling about three years ago. Best thing I ever did, used about half of it now (20 guitars) and still finding new ways to dress up stuff. When you put the flamed maple on edge it makes an interesting pettern in the purfling kinda a light, dark variation that is very (IMHO) attractive. Try it! Mikey

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The Biggest Little City, Nevada
www.hammondguitars.com
I love building guitars!

Most veneers you see these days are 20-22 thou . thats the industry std. You might find thicker in some woods, but usually not thinner (at least thats whats always at the local suppliers here).

In the quest for thinner stuff, and more colours, I started using the LMI stuff, but even then I had to make up stuff and there is always some waste as thing dont line up and stay that way when gluing up.

So in the last couple years Gurian has been my firend - its not cheap, and you get lots of each purf type, but you get what you want ( a typical layup yeilds about 54 pieces per 6 inch wide, cut into .100 tall). They do have more stuff than whats on the web builder - like green and blue wood veneers .. and the prices havent been updated either (or werent last time I was on) for the bridge pins ...

Check the specials page .... sometimes interesting stuff, and less than if you had it made to order.

The minimum order is 200 US, and it doesnt take much to get there (2 layups and a gross of pins will do it) .. so you order up some different stuff ....but when the bill arirves for purfling, and its 600 bucks ...

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

I can't get a consistent .01" using the sled and sander, I know others do but I haven't been able to make it work. So for .01" I use plane shavings, very accurate, quick and cheap but it takes some practice and a board that will cooporate. For thicker I use standard veneers.

If you want to thickness your lines here is a thickness and compression jig that I got the idea from Eugene Clark. If you are so inclined as to make your own lines and dye them then check out the must read artical by Eugene Clark in AL# 71 & AL#73.
viewtopic.php?f=10117&t=23475

Chris, I wish you lived down the street from me. I love your tools.
A lot of talent here at OLF for that matter.

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Ken

Filippo,
Check out this store as they have some nice quarter sawn veneers at about .024" too.
http://www.theveneerstore.com/
As far as the trans tint I don't thing they will soak all the way through the wood evenly and possibly leave you with patches of uneven color when sanding them flush. Eugene Clark has to boil the maple strips some times for a day or more to get the dyes to go through. I think if it was that easy he wouldn't go through that process. But you are welcome to try.
I think he uses a lot of Rite dyes too.

Filippo-
Using a pressure cooker to get good dye penetration has been a traditional technique- I think I read about it in a GAL DataSheet years ago.
http://www.sapfm.org/archive/index.php?topic_id=1401
http://www.alliedlutherie.com/veneers.htm

It seems like a lot of trouble if you can find what you need pre-dyed, but might be worth a shot otherwise.

Cheers
John