Official Luthiers Forum!

I have been a member of another sawmill forum for a good while and have developed a friendship with other sawmill owners all over the world. Now that my back is in such bad shape, I cant run the mill any more, but I still enjoy talking to other millers.

I have kept them updated on my progress in the musical instruement business and posted some pictures of the guitars I have built over there. Some of those guitars, like the Ash dread I posted a while back, were made from wood I got from sources of that forum.

Today, I got an e-mail from one of those friends. He told me that he had been saving this piece of wood for years and didnt quite know what to do with it. After seeing some of the guitars I have built, he decided to send me this piece of wood, for FREE , to build a guitar with. My only cost is to post some pictures of the completed guitar when I get around to building something with it.

By the way, this slab is 26" wide and 30" long and 1 1/2" thick. I should be able to get quite a few guitars out of this one piece of wood!





I never expected to be given this wood, nor did I ask for it. It is a true blessing to get this and I am in awe at the generosity of this individual for thinking of me when he saw it in his woodpile.


I have another story similar to this one that I would like to post also, if anyone is interested??

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Reguards,

Ken H

split, no, quarter sawn, yes. It came from one of those HUGE redwood trees in Northern Califormia. No idea of the age of this piece of wood, but it has been passed down over several generations.

I'll know more about it when I have it in my hands in a week or so.

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Reguards,

Ken H

Wow! Its gorgeous. Do sides and back... harden it with some epoxy stuff.

Mike

Ken - That is some seriously COOL redwood. I know you will do it justice. You are blessed!

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Steve Walden
Aspiring Builder,
Bartlesville, OK

Woah! Some serious figure there!
These Sawmill guys must like you!!

As I understand these highly figured woods are hard for furniture guys to use consistantly, never the less, it a gorgeous piece of wood!

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

Sweet! I know you'll build something great with it. About the other similar post you spoke of, I'd sure like to hear about it. This kind of stuff is great to see.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Sweet! I know you'll build something great with it. About the other similar post you spoke of, I'd sure like to hear about it. This kind of stuff is great to see.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

I'd definitely like to hear the other story.

Beautiful wood. Seems more appropriate for an electric bass or solid body stage acoustic than a soundboard.

ok for the other story:

I have been buying woods from all over, trying to cure my Wood Acquizition Syndrome. I have built up friendships with several of the vendors because of the volume I have bought. Some of the vendors are OLF sponsors, some are not.

One such vendor is Mario DaCosta, who sells Lutz spruce. I have bought a LOT of wood from him, mainly through his live auctions that he runs on friday and saturday nights. I prefer to buy billets of spruce and then saw my own tops out of those billets when I need them. The reasoning is that billets are easier for me to take care of and easier to store.

When Mario heard that I was buying some special tops for my Miami show guitars, he refused to send me the wood I had bought, but instead sent me several sets of his Best wood..... for FREE!! After I got the free wood (which is drop dead gorgeous), he then sent me the wood I had paid for. Mario has a heart of Gold and to him, this business of selling tonewoods is more than a business. He wants his customers happy and wants to get to know each one of them and what they build. Mario is the guy selling his woods that he names each tree.....names such as "Kermodie", "Red Bear", etc...

Again, it is wood that I got for free. The reasoning is because we have become friends through our business dealings, and because he wanted his best woods shown at the show.

As the title of this thread says, Being Kind to others pays off. I try to be kind to others, no matter what. I cherish friendships and expect nothing in return. When something comes along like this, it only strengthens my resolve to be kind to others. I will be showing pictures of the guitars built with Mario's woods in the next couple of weeks. Knowing where this wood came from and how I got it only makes me more proud of it and I am surely glad to be able to tell others of generosity of this vendor and his heart of gold.

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Reguards,

Ken H

Ken,

Blessings do come in all shapes and sizes. In this case, zoot too! Sounds like the concept of 'paying it forward' lives strong in the circles you travel - keep it going!

Rick

Great stories, Ken. That Redwood is really staggering in it's figure. You obviously leave a trail of respect in your circles!

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Great thread Ken and I cannot think of anyone who deserves to have some kindness returned to them more than you do my friend.

I hope that you do not mind me mentioning this but folks Ken has also sent me unsolicited wood, very cool wood, as a gift. He really walks the walk when he talks about being a good guy!

Absolutely beautiful redwood! You obviously are well respected by your peers. This is the "Golden Rule" at work! I'm sure you will build a fine guitar from it.

Mark L.

Ken, two great stories, and LOTS of great wood! I'm happy for you.

That Redwood is about as 3-D as it gets. It looks like cloth in an old master's painting. If you determine it is somehow unsuitable for acoustic tops, then it will certainly make a bunch of gorgeous drop-tops for electrics.

Great!

Dennis

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Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia

Ken,
I'd suggest a double top for flamed redwood of this figure.

I have some just like this. Kick this around in your mind.

Every big wave or flame in the grain, runs in and out of the plane, multiple times.

Drying this wood, it's very common for it to crack inward from the edges at the valleys of the flames.

That reveals the problem with large flames in redwood, repeated runout all over the top. Unlike straight grained wood, flamed wood such as this is inherently problematic.

I like what Peter M is doing with his redwood double tops. There is absolutely no more beautiful top than flamed redwood. So seduced by the beauty, don't fall victim to it's inherent weaknesses, counteract them by using your noodles.

Nice hunk of wood.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Wow... that wood looks pretty sick.. O.O Sweet stuff.

Mario DaCosta is indeed a class act. All of the vendors I have dealt with are. BobC and Shane are the same kind of guys that really care about what they sell you being useful and what you had envisioned.

After one purchase from Bob, I called when I got the shipment. His wife answered and I know she thought I was going to complain. Instead, I was really elated at the wood I had just got and I wanted to thank him personally for the great job he did in suggesting it and selling it to me.

It never hurts to let these vendors know that you are happy with your purchases. When one goes above and beyond, it doesnt hurt to let everyone know what a class act they really are.

Joe White is another one of these "Class Act" kind of guys. I just got back my 2nd guitar from him today and I am blown away at the great job he did. I'll post some pictures in a few days after the guitar is assembled, but I can tease you now that this guitar is over the top when it comes to finishes.

All in all, I am more than pleased with every business deal I have ever made with any of the forum sponsors, and even some of the vendors that arent sponsors. Mario was one of those unexpected blessings that I just HAD to share.

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Reguards,

Ken H