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Wow, that's nice Todd. You do such nice work

Sorry, I don't have an answer for you on the flat sawn stability of the sapele.

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its very common for figured sepele to e flet sawn for guitar sets.
it seems to be very stabe.
i have some set that were sawn about 8 months ago and i have ha no movement in the sets.
i have not built with it myself but i have good repots from the people who have built with it.
it seems it bends well with minimal cupping and ripple.

i would have thought bob c or larry would have more experience with this type of wood and should be able give more detailed advice.

i was a bit disipointed in how unpopular it is as a guitar wood though i dont seem to sell much of it.

i say go for it espesialy if the wood is well priced,

Joel.

The deep quilt that people go so ga-ga over is only seen on a flatsawn surface. Like maple in that regard. I think that sapele, like most woods, has greater tangential than radial shrinkage, and so it would be more stable in a quartersawn orientation. Does it end up mattering in practice? I dunno.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

I have had quite a few students use plain sawn Sapele. I have had no problems at all with it
(except the one back that got left in the shop while I was away for a week when it turned very humid (not climate controlled) and it curled like a potato chip)

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John Ressler

The only significant issue here is how the customer will care for the guitar. Exposure to high or low humidity will certainly be more of an issue for flatsawn woods than quartersawn woods (at least, for most species); however, for the customer that takes proper care of the instrument, using these highly figured flatsawn sets will be perfectly fine. For what its worth, I cut up several billets of highly figured flatsawn Sapele and it has remained exceptionally flat and stable. I would have no hesitation using it.

I have cut many sets of quilted sapele. The quilt figure only shows on flat sawn wood. i also have found the sets to lay very flat and stable with no effort or special care. I sold quite a few sets to Martin Guitar with no complaints from them. Todd I wouldn't hesitate to buy it.

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The flatsawn sapele that I got at a local hardwood store was very stable. It was easy to bend except for the tight venetian cutaway section, which was more cooperative once I thinned it to .078. No cupping or rippling. The guitar had that nice sapele tone too, a little more punch than mahogany but still warm.

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

I built an 000-12 fret several years ago with a set from the Zootman. It has remained stable and beautiful and sounds great with its Adi top.



Todd...if I were you, I'd buy up all I could find. And if you're not interested, I'll bet the Zootman would be!

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Todd,
Sapele seems to be very stable and not prone to trouble. I have cut quite a bit of the quilted figured Sapele similar to what you have in the pics. After it is dry it seems very stable(during initial drying it can be all over the place). Quartersawn is just about always extreamly stable. It seems to bend well with very slight faceting(quilted stuff that is). More extream Pomelle(the little tight quilt, looks more like marbles) seems to be a little more unstable, but really depends on the grain and figure(sometimes it is really inconsistent).

Rich

That's a handsome guitar, JJ.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

WOW...I just now saw your post, Howard! Thanks...coming from you, I'm extremely flattered!

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com