Quote:
Originally Posted by mercy
I want even grain spacing and I dont care if its tight. I want even color of the overall top and grains. Of course with a master 1/4d and no runout. I know that physical properties cannot be pre-determined even if asked for because of the limitations of the sawyer. Hes looking at the plate not in it. Same goes for retailers it seems. What Id like is if I could get a top from a builder with empathy for my situation.
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If you want to know 100% that your plates have no run-out, buy a billet and split it yourself. That's the ONLY way to truly know. The second best way is to deal with someone that ONLY deals with top woods. There's a thread in the Custom Shop section of one individual from Germany who sells top woods in many different grades.
I've used Sitka spruce from aircraft spar stock to resaw for tops, and at that thickness it's a lot easier to see what the grain is doing. I had a special sled for my thickness planer that could tilt the board so that the grain was as parallel to the table as I could get it. Then I'd resaw from that planed side and was pretty successful. That said, I'm not too snobbish on it, and overall appearance and lateral stiffness are a bit more important to me. But yeah, I'd rather have a board that's slightly rift but very little to no runout than a perfectly 90-degree quartered board with medullary all over, with excessive runout. But if the FAA says a wing spar can tolerate 25:1 runout, then it should be good enough for a guitar!
Of course, what others here neglect to consider is that this may be a requisite of a client, and in that case, I'd do my best to accommodate that request. Educating can only go so far, and can alienate some folks. Oh well...
03-08-2018, 01:55 PM
