Official Luthiers Forum!

i suppose the main reason i wouldn't be using hd poplar is a time factor. i would have to give it a longish time to dry, then mill it. and milling kerfed linings is not my idea of a rewarding task.

and besides, it doesn't smell as nice as some other wood i can think of.

but properly dried, it should function adequately for linings..

I used willow in my currrent build. A very pliable wood.

Using mahogany next time, purely because I was making up a Stewmac order...

I have some four foot sections of a willow tree, (2 foot in dia) that stood at the end of my driveway...
it blew down in a winter storm, and I took the base of it before it was hacked into firewood.
I was going to use it experimentally in some uke's and things for head and tailblocks and linings and such, but Im happy to hear you Sam, used it in your current build! I may use it for guitar linings yet.
Thanks for the info!
Cheers
Charliewood

Willow's kinda traditional (in Europe) as a wood for linings. I've got a block of it I'll be resawing, and I'll also be converting some cedrella I have into linings (smells so good!), ditto some limba (methinks the sapwood bits that are too ugly to use for anything else, but have plenty fine grain), and I have a bit of spruce earmarked as well...

I use solid home depot poplar linings. I like it because it bends easily, glues well and doesn't add or detract from the sound of the guitar. I used to use mahogany and basswood but I like the poplar better.

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

I use spanish cedar only because it smells so nice.

Yep HD timber wood is way too green to use.

I use Mahogany, Basswood, Aspen and Spanish cedar. HD will carry none of these except maybe Basswood in some locations. and then it more than just likely to be as green as Tom's Thumb

And just to keep My friend Bruce Dickey happy.

Any of HD's wood will be good enough for the kerfings. After all they just fall to the floor and get swep-up anyway. But the kerfed lings, HD's woods are not too good for them

Just teasing guys and gals

I've switched to Sapele primarily because it's cheap and I've got plenty of it. Makes a nice looking lining too.  Works well for neck and tail blocks, backstrips, etc. I haven't seen it carried in HD, but it's pretty easy to get, regardless.

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Jim Womack

"Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for. "
Will Rogers

Don't forget Chris, BRW was once cheap as well!!

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Don Atwood
Arlington, VA

Here is what I like in a lining. A wood with the ability to soak in the glue, a wood that is light and strong. My only concern with poplar is that it does not always glue the best.