Official Luthiers Forum!

God help my marriage if some of the tonewood vendors read this and respond favorably...

Well, I drew up my own crazy guitar design with a deep S-shaped cutaway. But, jumbo-bodied guitars with cutaways must have the same problem: length of sides. I know I need 33.25" as a final dimension on the cutaway side, which means that probably about 34.5" is a good comfortable minimum for the raw sides. It seems as if most tonewood vendors have accepted 32" as a new "standard" length for sides, as well as for binding strips. (Luthiers that make harp guitars, acoustic basses, and Weissborns must have an even harder time acquiring side material and binding strips.)

Whenever my wallet is bigger than my willpower, I look around for "zoot." The idea is that I will get it when it is available, and have all the wood I need to build during retirement. (Any wood around my house will likely be part of a funeral pyre, in the event that my wife and my wood stash outlive me.)

Anyway, I do not "need" any wood right now, but if someone wants to tempt me, they have to start cutting sides longer. Am I alone, or do any of you see 32" as a limitation, and wish that sides and binding strips were 35" long?

Dennis

_________________
Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia

Hi Dennis,
I always try to cut my sides and bindings 35" long and backs 8-1/2" wide. About 80% of the stock I have the sides are 35" long.
Of course sometimes it's just not possible.

Brad,

Thanks for the heads-up. I see that you have some very nice sets, and that you cut your binding strips long as well. I have sent you an email.

Dennis

_________________
Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia

Brad,
That's great! I appreciate the "extra" wood and often find other uses ( as I am sure most do). By the way, Got the Ivory...Thank You!

_________________
Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

Dennis,
Like Brad, I cut my sides (when possible) to a length of 35-36". In most cases it's not a problem to custom cut sets to any dimension a customer wants.

Steve

ps
I'm starting a half way house for displaced woodaholics--line forms behind me :)

[QUOTE=Colonial Tonwds] Dennis,
Like Brad, I cut my sides (when possible) to a length of 35-36". Steve
[/QUOTE]
Thanks, Steve.

Now, to find a good marriage counselor...

Dennis

_________________
Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia