Official Luthiers Forum!

As I mentioned in another thread, I just received a sample bolt from
Alaska Tonewoods. As I mentioned in yet another thread, I'm very tactile,
hands-on; I wanted to see what sitka was like 'on the hoof', and I
thought I would ask folks to help me orient myself to this big block of
wood.

It is 26" long, 9" across the widest part of the outside arc, 3.5" across the
inside arc, and 12" between the two arcs. I'm making the terminology up
- are these what're called the wide & the tight?





It is sort of a dark-balsawood, light-cedar color - not *that* dark, but
certainly not creamy white - on the outside; the end I've exposed is
waxed; the cardboard sheathing inside the outer wrapping is damp to
the touch, and it's quite heavy - 60#, easy - maybe 75. Sizing it up
visually, it looks like maybe 40#

What is the best way to proceed with a rough bolt w/ so much water in it?
leave it as-is for the next year? Cut it into bolts now? Tops?

When I exposed the end, the was a small sliver I was able to detach from
the outside surface; after a few passes w/ the vegetable peeler, I was able
to tell there are 5 dark ring-lines in a sliver 3/16" thick, implying a grain
count of 24-27 @ the outside edge. Does this tell me anything about the
quality of the wood? Does it tell me anything else about the wood, or
what I can expect from it?



It looks to me like there's 1 billet in here, 5" x 9", which optimally would
yield 10 sets. Is this a reasonable (or even a valid) way of estimating
yield? What's the best way to square up the bolt and trim the billet for
resawing?

I havent taken any more photos, as I don't know whether I can close it
back up properly & want to hear opinions before uncovering the the bolt
completely (the rubber bands in the pics are mine, I didn't want it drying
unevenly).

So, gentlemen: where am I off-base? What am I not looking at? What's
the proper terminology? What do I need to learn to process this bolt
efficiently and effectively? What can I look forward to?

Charlie,
I have been cutting billets for about 4 years, off and on, now and am still learning. I have a 24 inch re-saw where I run 1.5" blades made of .045" bands. THe school is certainly out on sawing billets. I prefer to saw wet, others prefer to dry their billets first. I have cut dry engelmann billets and they cut like butter, my Lutz (a sitka/white hybrid) is a b*tch to cut dry on my set up.

Anyway, you need to do one of two things, either makke a carriage where you can fasten in the billet and then run it through the saw (that is how I do it, pictures coming very soon or visit my website) or you are going to have to square up two faces with planes. Once you have two faces that are square to each other then you can set your fence (should be long and tall) to your thickness (just over 3/16") and start slicing. Pay very close attention as you will get sets that start to wander off your fence and then you have to square and straighten your block out again, at the lose of a set or so.

It ain't as easy as it seems (probably why a lot of people aren't really doing it!) but you can do it by taking your time.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Shane

_________________
Canada

Good morning, Shane!

So I should keep it wrapped up, I guess, until I know how I'm going to
prepare it for sawing; I'll replace the outer covering & stick it away until I
have a saw and a place to set it up.

I'll be watching your website for hints on how to either cradle it or square
it.
Can you suggest other resources for learning about the process?

I don't have any desire to go into the resawing business: this is just a
student exercise for me, to help me understand how the wood gets from
the tree to the guitar, learning to read the wood.

Can you tell me what you gather about the wood from the sample photo?

Should I have made private enquiries, instead of posting to the board?
I guess I thought there would be interest in looking at a big chunk o'
spruce, that others would have similar questions & curiosities.

Now I'm wondering if I've stepped on any toes in my eagerness....