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Hello, New to the forum. I have a question about Old growth sinker maple wood (some yellow birch also) I am a scuba diver by trade and recently recovered several huge old growth maple sinker logs. (2 yellow Birch) These are 2-3 hundred years old....and have been submerged in a freshwater lake since 1896. I had the logs milled and they are air drying slowly in a climate controlled room, with ends of boards sealed. I have been in contact with several guitar makers to get an opinion on the best or proper way to dry the wood. I do have access to a vacuum kiln a few hours away. My question is would the tone of the wood be different if I were to kiln dry the wood....or let it air dry for a year? I cant seem to get an answer on what would be best.....and I would hate to ruin the quality of the lumber. I know that the vacuum kiln proccess is supposed to keep the structural integrity as well as the color, grain and character intact....but will it detract from the tone??......and air drying is more prone to checking. Any insight anyone would have who has dealt with this issue would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for any advice.......Will try to add a picture.

I have some curly, some spalted, and lots of color and character. I have heard from a couple of different guitar builders that the tone would be better if the wood was slowly air dried. Some said they just wanted it for neck blanks....others for solid body electric blanks. Im happy to leave the building advice to those who build.....I just wanted to make sure I didnt waste or ruin the wood that I have by doing something which would leave it useless and was hoping someone had experience with old growth sinker maple.

You don't have to kiln dry all of the lumber. Do a sampling of the lumber, and see if there is any degrade, and how it turns out.
A combination of air and kiln drying might give you good results, as well. We'll all be waiting to see how you make out, and what process/processes you use.

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

I was thinking the same thing. Dry a couple hundred BF in the vacuum kiln and air dry some and see how each one turns out.

The advantage to a vacuum kiln would be that it dries the wood more evenly than if you were to air dry it. You also will have less of a cupping/warping/checking problem when you properly kiln dry wood, also with internal stresses within the planks. Another issue with sinker woods is the tendency to get fungus staining (blueing) in light colored woods like maple and birch if you just air dry it. If it were to be properly air dried, there is no difference tonally in wood, it is just advantageous for the other reasons I mentioned.

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Guitar Maker and Purveyor of the World's Finest Tonewoods
http://www.aaronhixguitars.com/
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My understanding is that sinker wood has slowly given up it's bound moisture content, and replaced it with free water and minerals. If that is true then no seasoning is required. Just 'drying out'. If I was you I would check with some people experienced with sinker logs and get their advice. Also as I understand it, the spalded wood should be heated/dried to stop the spalding process before it renders the wood useless. (kill the fungi)

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

I have a LOT of experience with sinker wood, hence my previous post. Yes, the sap is replaced with water in sinker wood, but the wood cells are still full of trapped water and expanded, so drying too rapidly and unevenly can cause the same problems as if you were drying "green" or freshly cut wood. As a matter of fact, water drys out of sinker wood faster than sap would dry from a newly cut tree, so the danger of degrade is even greater. And like I said previously, the kiln serves the purpose of killing fungus which causes blue staining.

_________________
Guitar Maker and Purveyor of the World's Finest Tonewoods
http://www.aaronhixguitars.com/
http://stores.ebay.com/A-Hix-Tonewood-a ... r-Supplies