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#1
11-19-2015, 10:01 AM
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Southern Pine for Tops???
I have some very old (~50 - 60) pine that I reclaimed from built in book cases in my childhood home. It has never been painted. It is stamped in places (ends) with the year and supplier. I think it is southern yellow pine. I have been "seasoning it" for over a decade. It spent 10 years in the rafters on an unheated detached garage. It got very hot, very cold, very dry, very moist.
Each is ~ 3/4" by 10" Lengths vary. I had been planning to have it build into finger-jointed cabinets to house "tweed" fender-style combos. My good friend who was also my amp guru passed unexpectedly last December. I'm evaluating if that took the wind out of my sails for that project as we were to undertake it together, each winding up with a cool bandmaster (or whatever). MIGHT the wood be useful as top-wood for acoustics? Or is pine in general just too soft? Thanks for the opinions. I posted this here instead of "general" because of the concentration of expertise in "custom" relative to the salient question. All best and thanks. Chris
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The Electrics check The Acoustics Tom Doerr - Trinity. Flamed Maple under Swiss Tom Doerr - M/D. Braz under Red 
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#2
11-19-2015, 10:27 AM
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Instruments have been made out of all kinds of stuff - even gourds. Taylor made a point once by building a pretty nice guitar out of pallet wood.
Having said that, I don't think of Southern Yellow Pine as an instrument wood. It is quite strong and is striking to look at, making it a beautiful wood to work with. I don't know of anyone who has tested the material scientifically for suitability, but a guitar top isn't on the long list of things I would use that wood for. I'm quite a fan of southern yellow pine, but I can't see it on a guitar.
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Taylor 815C '59 Gibson LG2 Washburn J4 jazz box, ebony tailpiece Gold Tone open back banjo Anon. mountain dulcimer Creaky old Framus 5/1 50 About 1/2 of Guitar One completed; currently intimidating me on account of the neck geometry. Stacks of mahogany, spruce, maritime rosewood, western red cedar Expensive sawdust
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#3
11-19-2015, 10:58 AM
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Sugar pine has seen some very limited use for soundboards but I would pass on yellow pine due to its density and weight. It makes great vertical grain flooring though.
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#4
11-19-2015, 11:17 AM
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You have not mentioned the orientation of the boards. You will most likely want to use only material that is within a degree or so of quartersawn across its entire width. Also, you ought to want it to be fiber aligned with the surface of the soundboard. If you don't have these qualities, the top will likely be inadequately stiff nor stable enough to achieve the delicacy required for an acoustic top plate.
Also, you mention wildly varying humidity conditions in storage. These fluctuations raise the likelyhood of subtle checking degrade in the material. A single such flaw not discovered until the finishing process can be quite depressing.
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#5
11-19-2015, 12:07 PM
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Chris, we live in Southern Yellow Pine forests here in East Texas.
Lots of experience with the wood, and lots of appreciation for the tree. It is striking, and strong, but very heavy. It has a tendency to move, and in thin pieces grain orientation would be critical. I have often thought, that given a really fine piece, SYP would work nicely for back and side material. But for soundboards? I feel it is too dense. Steve
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#6
11-19-2015, 12:09 PM
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Let's see some pics.
The above responses encapsulate why SYP isn't used for tops and is used for construction. My guess is that it could make a fine top, if not a "great" one. I've seen examples from hobbyists that were passable, but as we're building a mango top instrument right now, you can top a guitar with just about anything. Whether you want to spend the money on an experiment is the rub.
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#7
11-19-2015, 12:10 PM
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Ha! Guess boss and employee need to talk more during lunchtime. We're posting past each other.
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#8
11-19-2015, 12:12 PM
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Yeah, you've been hitting the DQ again.
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#9
11-19-2015, 12:27 PM
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You know.....that's a pretty amazing and impressive resource you've got there (and we should never take for granted) - you ask a technical question about a soundboard and three replies in a row encapsulate as esteemed an expertise as there is.
I love AGF
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Fazool "The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Potter" Taylor GC7, GA3-12, SB2-C, SB2-Cp...... Ibanez AVC-11MHx , AC-240 Last edited by fazool; 11-19-2015 at 12:42 PM.
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#10
11-19-2015, 12:38 PM
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Quote:
After the first couple of posts, anticipating consensus, I placed a call to Mark Baier. He was out but I'm calling back. Perhaps a 6G7 or 6G7A still lurks....
__________________
The Electrics check The Acoustics Tom Doerr - Trinity. Flamed Maple under Swiss Tom Doerr - M/D. Braz under Red
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#11
11-19-2015, 01:39 PM
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Quote:
Given the board lengths are only 10" is another [possible] negative I missed earlier. Properly machined and glued finger joints can be stronger then the wood itself but I question how this joinery would react in carrying long grain vibration modes and possibly encourage some unwanted nodes?
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#12
11-19-2015, 01:46 PM
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i have built 8 or 9 out of Southern Yellow pine and they all are stable and sound great. Have done a resonator with a SYP top but not any pull on it. I can tell you it is hard as nails to bend. 350 degrees and twice in the blanket just to get it to hold a shape. It was perfectly quartered though. I would not hesitate to use it for a top on one.
  
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#15
11-19-2015, 01:51 PM
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Quote:
Mark is talking to his "guy."
__________________
The Electrics check The Acoustics Tom Doerr - Trinity. Flamed Maple under Swiss Tom Doerr - M/D. Braz under Red
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