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I'm looking to make a bulk order of bracestock. Somewhere between 1/2 to 1 cubic meter. Does anyone have a source that can sell this that's in Canada?

I found a source on the island, but they will only ship a full pallet, 2.5 CM, a bit rich for my little basement shop.

Alternately, anyone wanna split a big pile of bracestock?

Thanks,

Ed

Shane Neifer has been cutting lots of tops, and brace wood is a byproduct of the process, so maybe he can help you out, Ed. There is a seller in Quebec or the Maritimes that sells Adi tops and brace wood. I can't recall the name right now, but it will come to me. Maybe Fraser Valley Fine Woods?

Alex

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

I think you might be referring to Boucher Guitars, Alex? I bought a couple of sticks of bracewood many years ago with a bunch of other luthiers, and unless you don't mind extreme run-out and twisting, most of what I got was unusable after splitting it to check the grain.

Not from Canada, but Alaska Specialty Woods sells boxes or half-boxes of bracewood with one face split, and the quality is very great, I won't need to worry about bracewood for a very, very, very long time.
Just make sure to get the split bracewood. They also sell sawn bracewood which is less expensive, but you won't know what you bought until you split it.

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Not much but at least it exists : http://jbluthier.com/

Try Graham at Kootney Tonewoods or Bow River Woods, both in BC. I have ordered lots on Engleman tops from Graham at Kootney and the wood was very good and well priced. I can't speak for Bow River though, they're on my list to try out.

Jamie

Hey Ed,

What type of bracing stock (sitka?) and do you know what the price is for the whole pallet?

I really like Shane's bracewood and have been using it for years. I'm hoping that the guys who continue to offer the lutz tops will also offer the bracewood.

In ontario A&M woods and Exotic woods in Burlington both have bracewood. Google them to find their websites.

Josh

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Josh House

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Finally remembered. It is www.adirondackredspruce.ca in Quebec.

Alex

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

You might try track down Acoustic Tonewoods in Port Alberni.

Just re read your post. Maybe that was who you talked to. If so, talk nicer.

If you are looking for a large load Ed I am sure that the new guys who are taking over for me can look after you. A cubic metre is indeed a guid stack of bracewood though!

Shane

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Canada

They be called spruce 2 x 6 's and come 8 feet long...cheap like borsch...local lumber yard... about $3 to 4 a stick...Now 15 min. flippin boards and me gotts enough braces to last a few years...like real simple no brainer and me do mean simple dudes....not to mention cheap...Did I mention cheap...If I didn't...ya spruce 2 x 6's x 8 ft...cheap like borsch.

But ya know...experience tells me non of you gonna listen to the ol' ?adma and go spend a whole shift load of your $'s for a box of kindling, from some sawyer on the other side of the continent that can be had just down the road from you for the price of a six pack...go figure.....and why ...because it came for Alaska or B.C. or the Gobie Desert. Right. Is your money, Do as you wishes. Ya gonna any ways.

blessings non the less.

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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Hate to agree with the guy, but I also suggest the lumber yard. Skip the 2x6 section and go straight to the 2x10 and 2x12 section, and start flipping boards. Just tell the folks to go away and let you work... You need to be able to read the grain in all 3 orientations, but if you're building enough guitars to require a cubic meter of bracewood, then you should be able to do so by now.

Personally, I hunt-down old wood, everywhere. Old lumber is seasoned beyond seasoned and has a tone all its own. Yeah, it's a lot of work whittling braces from an old 1x6 that was pried-up from someone's cottage floor, and often times I will split and saw an entire board and get nothing usable, but other times, I'll score a real winner!

Of course I want it to come from the Gobie Desert. Sheesh, I assumed that was obvious.

I guess it's possible that the 2x6 and 2x10's are a higher grade? The last time I went shopping for lumber to frame up the second shop, it took over an hour flipping through two lifts just to find enough 2x4's to build a wall and benches that weren't riddled with knots and pine beetle bluing, and we're reasonably straight.

Nevertheless, next time I'm there I'll have a look with an eye towards that. In the meantime,

Timbretonewoods.com in abbottsford is going to sort me out....

Yes, the larger timbers will be higher grade because they must come from larger trees, where 2x4 and 2x6 are often cut from little trees that are still full of branches. And yes, you DO need to look for the good stuff and be prepared to walk away without anything Also be prepared to waste a lot of what you do buy, but consider the price, and it's still a bargain. Score just one good 2x12 and you're set for a long, long time.

What region/province are you in?

Who, What......in Abbotsford you say??!! post me a real link (google came up within Timbre tonewoods in Nanoose Bay)

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Here ya go Rod,

http://www.timbretone.com/index.html

We're heading out Monday afternoon to buy a stash.

Right, that's what I found too but all the phone numbers and address in the contact section are 250 area code and Nanoose Bay....

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My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

If you live in a rural area, look for blow downs in the forest. Lots of them are already dry and seasoned. Some still standing have no needles left. So they are good candidates too.

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Under Compensated Nut!

Well, we're heading out Monday unless the forecast blizzard appears. I'll let you know...

There you go. Stanley Park. Anything should be well seasoned after the big blow that went through there a few years back.

Not only that, but a large proportion of the 'spruce' 2X4's available here in TN are not spruce. Lodgepole pine, white fir, and Doug fir are the current favorites. And for many years now, there has been no 'spruce' larger than a 2X6....the big stuff is SYP. One 'plus' (at least for a while) was that Lowes and HD had Euro spruce 2X4's and 2X6's from Germany or Lithuania.

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John

Not only that, but a large proportion of the 'spruce' 2X4's available here in TN are not spruce.

Dimensional lumber is always sourced from the nearest mills, so what you have access to is always dictated by where you live. In this case, the original poster lives in BC, which is spruce(and fir) country, so it stands to reason that he has a very, very good chance of finding spruce, and high quality spruce at that, in his lumber yard.....

I'll have a look next time I'm there, though for 80$ this afternoon we picked up what I'm guessing will be close to 40-50 guitars worth, which is cheap enough for me. It's not terribly great stuff, but now that he knows I'm looking for it, he'll start stashing some of the better stuff for me instead of shipping it out bulk to lands far away...