Official Luthiers Forum!

I am contemplating a build based on a Gibson L-5 CES.....(17" lower bout). As I peruse around the web looking for a maple back/side set I notice that there are not that many. I see a couple of sets that advertise 8-1/2" wide halves here and there. That seems to be cutting it a little too close for me. I need wiggle room in case I have to do some tweaking to get a good center seam. In other words, I need room for error. I have pretty much looked at the usual domestic sources that supply tonewood for guitars, mandolins, and the violin family. Maybe I'll have to buy a cello set and make something cute with the leftovers. I have e-mailed some inquiries to a few popular sources for tonewood to see if they do special requests. While I am waiting on responses, I thought I'd see what all you archtop makers are using for back/side sets.

I do have an 18" Jet bandsaw and a 1" 3tpi blade. Resawing could be an option for the right piece of wood. BTW, not looking for "master grade" because I have been known to smoke a brisket or two with maple wood.

Thanks.............

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"I need to hurry up, the years are going by far too fast"

You could do a skunk stripe on the back and a matching one on a three piece neck.

That certainly is an option seein' as I am leaning towards a laminated maple/_____ neck.

Thanks for the suggestion!

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"I need to hurry up, the years are going by far too fast"

I recently did a double neck electric guitar and was able to get extra wide (and stunning) quilted maple from

https://nwtimber.com/

One additional thought, be sure you can find a case to fit whatever you are building - custom cases are expensive and very long delivery

The actual width will be less than 17 inches because you have the banding, and purfling. If you run out of width, you could make it 16 7/8 inches. Are the stats police going to come and put you away? I don't think so.

Or you can just add wings on one or both sides of the lower bout. It's easy to do, and they've been doing it for centuries. I did it on one a couple years ago that I'm revarnishing. It won't be noticeable.



I made my arch-top from a large slab I bought in Ohio. It just fit in my Crosstrek. I can get another out of it. Cost about $100.

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Why be normal?

I'm not a hard core stickler for specs per say. Since I am in the planning stage of this project, I'm trying to work from "true to spec", and then downward if I have to. I know that board is out there, I just have to find it......Looks like if I stay away from AAAA or AAA, a cello billet isn't that bad on cost. Still waiting to hear back from a few other inquiries.

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"I need to hurry up, the years are going by far too fast"

The stuff is getting really hard to find....

.Stew Mac sells some nice European maple back and side sets.

Also there are sellers that only advertise on Facebook.

I am waiting for a gorgeous set of Bosnian maple (from Bosnia) that I found on facebook.

Hey Curtis, the advertised sizes often reflect the minimum that you will receive. Have you tried contacting the suppliers and telling them what you need? They might have something, especially since what you need is only a bit larger than their advertised size.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I have cut a fair amount of archtop sets, mostly red spruce. I always cut with the 17" Gibson pattern in mind, figuring it was the archtop equivalent of the dreadnought size flat top.

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

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John

I just ordered a real nice red spruce top from Hampton Bros.............NWTimber looks to have some interesting pieces that I might be able to make work. StewMac responded saying that their widest (halves) were 8-1/2" spot on and did not recommend them for a 17" bout.

I'm in no hurry so I'll keep digging around.

Brad, could you share where you sourced your European maple back(s).....?

Thanks

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"I need to hurry up, the years are going by far too fast"

The Woodwell.

So let me preface this with the fact that I have not received the wood yet.... it's been 10 days since I ordered it.

The guys name on facebook is Mevla wood..

The curly maple is 2-1/8" thick X 9" wide X 24" long and the side billets are 2-1/8" thick X 5" wide X 34 " long. so you would easily get 4-5 sets of sides from this billet

So it needs to be resawn

He says it is kiln dried

The shipping from Bosnia is very expensive-about $90 USD, but the wood is very reasonable.

So for example I got the 2 pieces described above for $350.USD with shipping.

He also has some insane fiddleback ash.

Here is the wood...

https://www.facebook.com/maple.wood.5872

Is that from Mevla? I've gotten a few things from him before he's a good guy. It costs a fortune to ship to the States but his prices are so good it's worth it.

yes.

......I guess I will finally have to sign up for a Facebook account....although I've resisted all these years..........

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"I need to hurry up, the years are going by far too fast"

I just looked in my stash and I have some maple that was cut about 2 1/2 years ago. It has no figure though but it is perfectly QS. The boards are 1.1in thick and after trimming would easily be 9in wide in the lower bout. If interested I will take some pics. It's actually pretty cool. The tree it came from was estimated 350 years old. The poor thing fell down all on it's own and a bunch of local wood workers were invited to come and harvest it. I cut it in the field with an Alaska chainsaw mill and then resawed it into 1in boards. But again there is no figure outside of what you see with QS wood and it seems most archie builders like the curl.