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I decided to replace some old shelves in my work shop area made of bricks and boards with another work table to hold the WorkSharp 3000 I got from James and possibly a future binding jig. There were four shelve boards and they looked like they've been there a long time. Each board is one inch thick, 12 inches wide and six and a half feet long. The idea was to use these boards for the work table surface and under table shelf.

Anyway, I got the frame built for the work table and started disassembling the shelves. It was the first time that I took a look at the wood from which the shelves are made. I think it's mahogany. So now I'm reluctant to turn it into a work table. However, not being much of an expert on wood, I don't really know if it has much value as guitar wood or how it could be best utilized. Assuming it is mahogany, can anyone advise me on how to get the most from it? For example, is it possible to band saw a one inch thick board of appropriate width and length into four slices suitable for backs or sides? Does the wood need to be perfectly quartered before it is useful? Any tips or suggestions welcome.

Thanks,
Pat

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There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.

you can find quite a bit info on what is suitable for guitar building in the archives but to answer your question in breif,

It is very likly that the shelves are mahogany or sapele and yes they would probaby be suitable for guitar building in some form.

if they are 12 wide they are more than wide enough for back and side billets or maybe you could use them for scarfe jointed/stacked heel necks if the boards are quarter sawn.
i would have thought that at least a proprtion if the wood will be within 25% on quarter and you would be very unlucky if they were all completly slab sawn.

however if they were you could use them for solid body electrics.

I hope this helps a bit,
joel.

Pat, Mahogany in my neighborhood runs around 8 - 9 bucks a BF. Even if you clean it up and don't care for the appearance or grain orientation, you might keep it for blocks, lining, binding, and setup pieces for necks, etc. Buy some poplar for the bench.

Dan

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Dan
http://www.acme-archtops.com

Hey Pat,
Interesting find! Depending on how the boards were cut you might luck out and get some usable guitar wood. If you need a hand resawing those boards you're more than welcome to come by and we can fire up the bandsaw.

Cheers,
Chad

Several years ago a neighbor was throwing away boards from an old shelf unit. Quartersawn ribbon figure mahogany, 4'x10"x3/4", now in my stash awaiting resawing. Seems that solid mahogany shelving was not a big deal back in the day.

With perfect sawing and going thinner for the sides, you could get 6 cuts from a full 1" thickness. Best not to try for more than 5 unless you really know things are working right with your resawing system. 4 should not be a problem.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.