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I wanted to show you guys what I have access to and ask your opinion. This is the curliest ash I have ever seen and the whole tree was like this. I have access to a 10-12 log almost 3 ft at the butt cut and wanted to ask advice. The piece is from a smaller log farther up the tree and the most of this was cut into firewood before we could rescue it.

The piece shown is nearly quartered at about 10 degrees from full quarter. The large diameter trunk should yield a good bit of wood, but I need to know which would be the best way to cut it. Blanks to be made into solid body electrics or billets for re-sawing into back and side sets?

The edges of this piece, which would be flat sawn show almost no figure so the quarter or close to it is the only way I will saw it up.

You thoughts, input, advice would be appreciated.

BTW would bridges made from this be desirable? I have 4 pieces of this size....firewood size, that I can get small stuff from. Might even get a uke set or two and I think I could get a uke neck, maybe two.

Mike

Being a solid body guy.... I think I could safely say BOTH!

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oops seems like I missed the forum I intended to place this in.

Mike

both! nix the bridge.

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Yes...both. Enough said.

I'll take strat sized slab please.

Ash will stain very easily while drying. ( sticker stain, mold, mildew, etc. ) I'd try and find a vacuum kiln to dry this stock if your going to leave it in thick portions. Very nice material to let stains ruin all of it.

Blessings,

Kevin

update on the wood. I finally got to go look at the log on Friday. Sad to say the least. I discovered that this log was actually the butt cut of a total of three logs and the bottom log was indeed about 3 ft at the cut, a little over 9 ft in length and about 30 inches at the small end. The thing is, it had been laying in the elements and sunlight for over two years. I have only know about it a few months and thought it was fresh cut. The bark as slipped on the tree and you can see the curl in the wood that is showing. There is a chance I can get a 1/4 log cant that is not split all to pieces. When I bust it open I will know immediately. Otherwise, I am going to have hundreds of linear feet of binding material that is intensely curled.

I hope to get the log broken up and delivered to my shop this week. Now my question.

If the 1/4 log is still intact, what length do I cut the billet sections to for sides, binding and backs?

If all I have is binding, what length do I cut to?

Mike

Well, It took a while, but I now have the Curly Ash log broken down into lumber. Following are some photos showing the 4 quarters, and then the lumber. There is going to be some of this wood that will cut out clean, meaning no stain, but much of it will have a little stain or spalting. I will have a ton of binding material when I get this dry.

A special thanks to Kevin Waldron for taking the time to talk with me on the phone and for the advice he gave.

Gotta get me some neutral stickers!

Mike

Curly Ash log quartered




real close up



Lumber





some of my many binding material blanks, I planed these two

Well, based on the pictures, all I can say is there is still good wood in there. Cut off the end checking (I see a fair amount of it in the billets). Get rid of any bark that might remain. Stack your planks well stickered. And...because of the tendency to show sticker marks, re-stack your planks every month or two and move the stickers to a different location. Season it well.
Then cut some for acoustics and look for some you can hold out for solid body "show" wood.

Nothing sly about me......just dogged determination. I fought with the cnc machine fix for ages until I finally made the decision that "duh......I had already replaced half of the components on the machine, I will just fix it by replacing all the others!" Hey, it worked!!! Never did nail down exactly what the issue was. It would come, and it would go but it has been working very well on the tests I have run.

Chris, I think I am going to have more wood that I originally hoped for after seeing how bad the log was. I am going to clean me a place in my storage bin, to stack and sticker this and then in 3 months check the m/c. I may even build a little solar kiln to take this on down to a better m/c.

If anyone close to Arkansas has access to a quality hardwood kiln and someone that knows how to run it, let me know.

Mike

PM sent. Hope the info helps. That is very nice ash!

chris

I read Fender made about 100 Strats out of Hackberry, so I'm sure any kind of Ash would be just fine, but yeah, it would look more pleasing on an acoustic than a solid body (larger surface).

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