Official Luthiers Forum!

Does anyone use Douglas Fir for laminating the sides of their Classical Guitars. I have several pieces that have been sitting around for years.

Thanks
Ken

I hoped I would be the only one here willing to waste my time with this wood.
I really like DF(not sure why). I would be interested in any info you are willing to share, if you try anything with DF.
Robert

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It is better to try and fail, than never try at all

Robert-
I'm not sure of my ideas either!
I think of DF as a 'tough' wood as long as you don't have a piece that has a tendency to 'splinter' - sometimes I've come across separation along a grain line.

I like it for things like the 'Upper transverse' brace (between soundhole and neck block) and also the 'A' braces in steel-strings. It is a bit on the heavy side, though.

I don't think of DF as being a very easy wood to bend, but I've never really seriously tried it. I've made a few laminated sides with yellow cedar as the inner layer. It has a very 'neutral' grain structure (reminds me of basswood a bit) for me, and bends very nicely as well. That said, some folks hate the smell.

Cheers
John

What comes to mind when I think about douglas fir is that it can be prone to splitting. I've used it on back braces with some success.

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Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com