Official Luthiers Forum!

I am interested in the baked top discussion but am having trouble finding it, as mario suggested, in the archives.

Can someone help me out, a link maybe?

Here are a couple:

Baking 101

Baking 102

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David White, Toronto

"All my favourite singers can't sing."

Here is my schedule - Bake (stickered stack) at 180*F for 30 minutes, flip stack, repeat and let cool to room temperature. Let tops rest (in temp / humidity controlled room) for 2 weeks and then they are ready to join and brace up.

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tim...
http://www.mcknightguitars.com

I bake my tops very much like Tim except that I don't turn them over and bake in a pre-heated 200F oven for one hour.  I also sticker them and then leave them stickered for 2 weeks, join and use.

Be sure they are trimmed enough to fit in the oven, I had some that did not fit in my oven until I trimmed them.

When Hesh says in a pre-heated oven he really means it.

Make the mistake of stacking two tops in the oven then turning it on. The head rising from the burners caught the wood on fire.... ruined both tops and almost burnt the house down.

I still bake my tops... but in a pre-heated oven.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

What's the recipe if you use a convection oven?

What's the recipe if you use a convection oven?

I would stick with the schedules recommended regardless of it being a convection oven. I think a convection oven would be better because of the consistent heat, and there being less likelihood of hot spots in the oven that would be caused by the wood restricting air flow. I use a convection oven at 195 for 2.5 hours, which seems to be longer than some of the more experienced builders.

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David White, Toronto

"All my favourite singers can't sing."

Man Joe that sounds scary!!!  Glad that you and yours are all OK.

It probably would not be a bad idea to place a cookie sheet on a rack at the lowest position and then place the wood on another rack higher up.  My wood is on a cookie sheet, stickered, so the stickers don't fall through the racks.  The additional cookie sheet in the low position might act as a heat shield and help avoid hot spots.

I think that David is right too and that at least the same amount of time would be fine in a convection oven.  We all probably could go longer too in as much as 200F is not very hot and one hour is not very long.  But I would recommend testing on scrap first.

I've done this for tops intended to be used within a month's time. Prior to that time, the top may have been stickered and at 45% and RT for years.

So I essentially have 3 top baking sessions annually. Prior to each session, I go through the self-cleaning process on the oven to make sure that all grease and oils and food odors are gone. I've thought about baking a stack of 3 sets at a time but have settled on the single top for now since it reminds me to clean the oven!

My questions:
...Does anyone do this as a first step upon receiving their tops?
...Is it best to acclimate and age slowly prior to baking?
...How long after resawing should baking be considered?

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

I don't know the answers to your questions JJ bro but I know who might......



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