Originally Posted by WilbornGuitars
When I was a wee lad, I would hang around in the basement where my dad had his woodshop. He allowed me to lurk around, and sweep. After some time, I earned the right to sand. Progress! Eventually, I was permitted to glue and saw the various little offcuts of wood and make little lumpy wooden things. However, in the corner was a stack of guitar wood, maybe 30 sitka spruce tops my Dad had picked up at Macbeath in Berkeley. I was NOT allowed to mess with the SITKA.
The stack had an aura (and spiderwebs) around it. It was slated for the guitars that he was going to start making, soon. However, the decades passed, and it was me that ended up a luthier, and he pretty much gave up woodworking. So it was that he kindly offered me the Holy Stack Of Sitka. This wood is very, very good stuff. It is dry as can be, of course, and it has taken on some color from oxidizing. There are a couple of different discernible trees. The guitar I'm making for Tom comes from the "hard" tree. The growth rings are fairly wide, but very even. It has beautiful silking and is perfectly quartered. Under finish, it's like looking into the depths of a beautiful, uh, wooden pool. It has a great, clear, single note tap tone, and it is STIFF! Anyway, it is great wood, and I've known
it all my life, so God forbid I do it any dishonor by not making a great guitar out of it! Here we go......
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