Official Luthiers Forum!

Has anyone here had experience with the exotic woods on our sponsors website? It's hard to find any info, never heard of most of these. Ishpingo? Achichua? I'm interested in getting a solid body blank from them but I have no idea what to compare it to.

I may just have to get one and find out for myself.

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http://www.tinyhouseandland.com

I dont have much experience with any of these guys but stewmac. I bought a compound radiused ebony fretboard from them for my current build. They are a godd supplier. They are kinda pricey but you get great materials from them. I try to get my wood locally. I HAVE bought online, but its usually ALOT cheaper and easier to get it local. Check craigslist and look in you newspaper for auctions that will have lumber. I recently picked up a nice slab of korina for $10 from an auction. Im thinkin it will turn into a strat (or two )!

Very nice. Do you just search on craigslist for lumber?

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http://www.tinyhouseandland.com

Try a variety of words. Mahogany, maple, lumber, pine, wood, tree, rosewood, ect. Really anything that relates to wood. You'll probably have to poke around a little bit. Sometimes there will be a great deal, sometimes I cant find anything. Just check around every once in a while. Also, when you type in regular guitar woods such as "alder" are "mahogany", you'll usually have to sift through a bunch of guitar to find actual wood (if there IS any of that particular wood). I'll also combone words like "mahogany lumber" or "korina wood". Just kind searching anything that I think might bring my to the wood! Ebay is also pretty good. When on ebay, do the same thing. Say you want a mahogany body, dont type in "mahogany body blank" . Type in something like "mahogany" , "mahogany lumber" "mahogany slab", "mahogany wood", and whatever else you can think of. this might take a while, as you need to be sure that the dimensions of the wood will work. Here an example, I simply type in "basswood" and found this http://cgi.ebay.com/CARVERS-Extra-Thick ... 5199fb84a8 If you look at the dimensions, you'll see that its JUST big enough to make a two piece body blank. Its 2.5 inches think, which might me a little too thick for most peoples taste, but this is only an example. It COULD also be thinned out with one of these with a surform but be aware that this would take a bit of elbow grease). It might take a while to poke around and find what your lookin for, but its worth it! When buying wood like this, please be careful! Always check to make sure your buying from a quality seller with alot of good feedback, and that the lumber is well-dried. There is a little bit of risk with when buying from ebay and site like it, but if your careful, you can avoid bad wood! Hope this helps!

And you can check your newspaper for local auctions. If the ad for the auction or the auctions website says anything about wood, its wise to call the or email a few day before the auction to see what wood will be auctioned off be so you can make sure its not garbage.

Good tips. But I'd still like to hear from someone who's built with Ishpingo or Pasacho and the like. Anybody? You'd think since it's right there in the headline of every page...

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http://www.tinyhouseandland.com

I'd forgotten about them!

Sorry, couldn't resist!

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http://www.presnallguitars.com

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Lance Peck

Lance, could you give us a brief description of some of these woods?