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Hello all, I’m hoping to get some advice on using Alaskan Yellow Cedar for my next guitar top. So far my deflection testing is telling me that this top is as stiff as a lot of the Spruce I’ve used in the past.

Do you think there is any reason not to treat this top like I would Spruce

Thanks

Looking at the "average" numbers for weight, hardness, and elastic modulus my guess is it would fall somewhere between Norway spruce and mahogany. It has a weight and hardness similar to Douglas fir and an elastic modulus similar to Norway spruce or mahogany (on average).
But those are - average - values.
Do you measure stiffness at a given thickness or a given weight?

I've only ever built a tenor ukulele with it. Top, back and sides. Bends like butter. I was surprised at how tough the stuff is. You can pretty much bend a top into a cylinder when bending across the grain. Not quite, but it feels like you could.

Funny I was just going trough my inventory this morning and came across a few yellow cedar sets I bought and forgot about. The stuff smells great! If you do deflection testing, as I do, then I would simply build to your target deflection of spruce and that should get you there.

In the last year I made a violin with an Alaska Yellow Cedar top, and one with a Port Orford Cedar top. Both seemed plenty stiff enough, the Alaska maybe had more sideways flex. I haven't strung them up, but if you took those tops, and one I made from Sitka, and one from Englemann, I doubt that you could tell which was which blindfolded. The would feel and sound about the same.

If you know how it flexes, you should get close, and then fine tune.

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Why be normal?

I built an entire guitar out of it - top, back, sides and neck. It turned out quite well, very bright. It is an early Gibson L-0, 24.9 scale, 13 frets clear. I am an amateur and don't do top testing - the top is .11" thick with conventional Martin scalloped X bracing. Here is my daughter taking it for a spin on an iPhone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NUD-bdNR0g

Ed m

Dang! Thats cool Ed. Bet it smells great too!

Here is something else that AYC does - I set the partially completed guitar on a window seat and when the sun was setting I saw this. I bet most spruce does it too, but we never know because it is the top and we don't see the inside. i guess we can put a light inside to see the braces.

Ed M

Great looking guitar Ed. Yellow cedar is different stuff but it sure is easy to work with. Here's the tenor uke I made with it quite a few years ago. Still sounds great.

Great looking uke Darrell

Ed M

I love it!
top B & S for Flamencos!
Great wood to work with!
So aromatic you want to take a taste of it!

Stable! lite in weight .

Mike

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Mike Collins

Thanks for the help all, this is one of the stiffest tops I've worked with in a long time. I'll try to post some pics of the Guitar when it's done.

Thanks again