Official Luthiers Forum!

A major UK supplier state re it's German Bear Claw Tops that the 'bear claw' figuring adds stiffness to the top. True?
The merchant is Madinterbob J39113.4593055556

Hi Bob,

I use bearclaw spruce sometimes, and while all I have on hand or have used is very stiff, its no stiffer than other high grade soundboards. In my opinion its difficult to attibute stiffness to the bearclaw figure.

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Instagram: @jfrenchluthier
Web: https://www.jfrenchguitars.com/

Wood is such a variable as to stiffness that I don't think it would be possible to give any definitive answer as you can't test the same wood with and without bearclaw!

By the way Madinter trades out of Spain not the UK.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

Sorry Colin, my bad.l
Do use this supplier?Quality, Value?

Yes I buy some wood and stuff from them, their stuff is very good value for those of us in Europe as shipping is only a fifth of the price from the USA. They are always willing to help you out when needed.

I have always bought my WRC from them, though they're out of the stuff I get at the moment, it is the best WRC I've ever seen (I don't know who their supplier in the US is).
The main things I've bought from them are B&S sets and cedrela neck wood,

We do have some very good suppliers here in the UK that I deal with more, especially for Euro tops.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

Bob,

I think that tere is a wide belief that Bearclaw is typically stiffer. Cumpiano actually told me that some of the older classical builders will select the bearclaw just because of that. All I can say is taht one tree harvested had some bearclaw in it that was most prominent near the top of the tree. All of the bearclaw sets were less stiff than those without bearclaw. Now typically, you will see a tree that either has bearclaw figure throughout or will have very little bearclaw. This tree was a bit of an anomoly in that regard so it was interesting to see a direct comparision in the same tree. But, please remember, a sample of one is not really much of a sample but just an observation!

Shane

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Canada

[QUOTE=Colin S]

We do have some very good suppliers here in the UK that I deal with more, especially for Euro tops.

Colin[/QUOTE]


Totally agree!

The Euro top I bought from a UK supplier is wonderful to work with, nice grain with fantastic silking. Time will tell how it will stand up under playing conditions and wear and tear.

I came across a couple of bearclaw tops that were very stiff. I don't know if it was because they were bearclaw though. I'm pretty sure I got them from Larry Davis at Gallery. Still have one left, gotta build something soon I guess.....

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

Hard to say .. I have some thats stiffer than most, even adi, and others that are floppy - the top on my Dragonfly is about as crazy a bearclaw as you wil find and I stoped thinning at .135 because I didnt dare go any more - certainly hasnt hurt the tone ...

Its like any other wood species +- 15-20 %, you never know till you get it in your hands.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

The larger the bear the stiffer the bearclaw!
Sorry, guys, it's been a long day.

How could any figure possibly make a wood stiffer along the grain than a perfectly straight grained piece?

I have not tested much 'claw myself. IIRC, Brian Burns, who tested a lot of top wood of all sorts, said that, on the average, bearclaw wood was a bit less stiff along the grain, and stiffer across the grain, than straight grained wood of the same species. It also tended to be a bit denser, which is normal for figured wood. Again, this is a broad average, for a material that can vary plus or minus twenty percent or more from 'average' for any given piece. In the end, you have to work with the piece, not the species or the grain.

[QUOTE=npalen] The larger the bear the stiffer the bearclaw!
[/QUOTE]

Oh Yeah!