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Just thought I'd share. Maybe some day these tree's will make some fine guitars This is a Red Spruce forest starting upwards of about 4,500ft in West Virginia. If you ever need a vacation recommendation I would highly recommend the Marlinton area of West Virginia. Pics don't do it justice. But here you can go visit and appreciate some of the trees that we prize for our work as they grow in the wild.

I'm in Charleston, WV. It is definitely beautiful up in the mountains here in the Mountain State.

Beautiful view. Makes me want to go put on my lederhosen.

Almost heaven, West Virginia, blue ridge mountains, Shenandoah river....
My mother grew up in Wheeling

It is a place of great natural beauty, and people with a strong sense of hospitality.

Of course, it is also a place where a large chunk of the people face immense challenges, both in their own well being and in their understanding of how they should interact with the larger community (defined at any scale).

I have a real love/hate relationship with my adopted home state (I'm originally from Kentucky). West Virginia is a place of wild extremes and incongruities. There are wonderful things and people; but there are also terrible things and people. I try hard to be around the former and avoid the latter, and try to help the overall situation as best I can, where I can.

But yeah, the mountains are awesome.

There are wonderful things and people; but there are also terrible things and people

Having lived in several foreign countries and all over the US I would say that applies to everywhere.

As far as the Red Spruce goes, yep, love em!

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

We road are bicycles down the Greenbrier bike trail from Marlinton to Cass. Just incredible scenery and wild life. Saw, snakes, bald eagle, all kinds of birds, black bear, white tail deer, and very few people (my favorite part). And the Cicada's are really cool too. Everyone we met was friendly too. We had pulled over on a bridge and this guy rolled up in a golf cart and started talking to us like we were all friends

In a former life I was a Geologist too so it's fascinating to see formations and even plants that you only normally see in northern glaciated states. It truly is a very unique thing up there in that part of the state. I've never seen so many Red Spruce too. They are very beautiful picture perfect Christmas tree like conifers.

j

Is there any logging of red spruce? Could you get 24" Piece?

ED

No logging up there. I believe it's preserved now. Last couple centuries they cut just about every one of them down. So those trees are probably no older then 50-80 years but I am guessing.

I live a couple miles from the south end of the river trail, it is an great resource. The north end of the trail, Cass was the source for the spruce the Wright Brothers used for there first gliders and airplanes There is still some hight quality red spruce tone wood being produced I have several sets I sourced from John Preston of Old World Tone Woods who lives nearby. He recently sold the domestic tonewood side of his business I dont have there contact info, but if I remeber correctly they are based in NC.

The Hampton brothers are another good source for Red Spruce from this part of the country.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I think it’s American Tonewood. https://americantonewood.com

I’ve purchased a few tops and walnut B&S sets. The walnut sets were so big and thick I considered resawing it into two sets.

Brad


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Oh so that's what happened to Old World... I bought mostly Carp spruce from them in the past and was bummed when I heard they stopped selling guitar wood.

It’s possible if left be for 200+ and a forest grows up around them, and crowds out the limbs. But if growing like that with no crowding, they will just be trees with lots of limbs, we call grouse ladders. No soundboards there.

Yup those will be way after our time. Hopefully people will still be playing guitars 200 years from now and maybe even some of the ones we build today will be vintage classics then. But unless the laws change those trees will never be cut as they are in a preserved forest.