Anyone interested in a guitar built using a 2"x4" ?

[printer2]

Originally Posted by perttime

No maple or birch planks handy, for use as neck, back and sides?

Lots. But then it won't be a 2x4 guitar. Actually the guitar started out as a quick ukulele build. Glued some wood together for a neck and thought it better used for another project. Pulled out another board that had a scarf joint already done. Not sure why I grabbed the 2x4... ... oh yeah, I was thinking of doing it as an archtop. Looking at the wood and where the knots were I thought it could make a pint sized guitar and then I started thinking of a scaled down Gibson L1. Doing the math told me I could make a 00, maybe even something bigger.

But part of the inspiration on doing a 2x4 guitar is the following, jump to 8:26.



I would think a 2x4 could sound better than that. But only one way to find out.

[redir]

Yeah Trevor's guitar comes to mind also Todd Stock built octave mandolin out of 2x4, a carved top instrument. I believe it sold in under a day. So yes people are interested in this stuff but you will find a much smaller market.

[perttime]

Originally Posted by printer2

Lots. But then it won't be a 2x4 guitar.
....

I was sure I'd seen 2x4 birch at a construction materials store.... Must have been a timber specialist instead.

[Alan Carruth]

Doesn't pine have sap channels? That looks like spruce to me. Not that it matters much except in terms of finishing. The lengthwise Young's modulus of all softwoods correlates with the density in the same way, since they all have similar structures, so you can swap out freely so long as you pay attention to the density.

I've seen spruce with 'indented ring' figure, as well as white pine. It's good wood.

[printer2]

The wood gummed up my drum sander like no other. If I did not have time constraints I would have cooked some of it out.

Managed to get the pieces all joined without too much stress. Being that I had many joins to make and I did not have much in the way of extra to sand out if they were not close to perfect I modified my process. They turned out fine so now the next stressful operation, bending the sides. Softwoods do not like to bend much and will crease and crush on the inside turns. SuperSoft II really helps out from the one time I used it. Don't know what the proper temperature for using it is for me, not like I know where my thermometer is. I'll just listen for the water sizzling.

Some up to date pictures. Might as well take them before disaster falls upon me. What I have to work with.



I need to build a bender.



Thought of something while sitting here. Should thin out the cutaway side some.


Well no cutaway today.



I think I have enough for a normal side. We'll see if it was the cutaway or the wood does not like to bend.

[Truckjohn]

Spruce backs don't need to be heavier - they generally need to be braced stiffer so their frequency is well above the top frequency.. I have heard the 4 semitones rule bandied about...

It can take some pretty tall back braces to push them up high enough with the usual 15' back dome...

Given all that - Most spruce is pretty low damping stuff.. So all else being the same - I would expect a build more towards zingy/metallic overtones with plenty of attack.

[printer2]

We'll see how the stuff responds. I built a couple of cedar top and pine side and back guitars. I did not brace them any different than you would with hardwood back. Don't recall them being much different than hardwood back and sides in frequences or sound.

Bent up a sides today. Did it by hand on a pipe being paranoid from breaking it yesterday. Seems Tightbond Original did not like the amount of heat or steam I had to use in bending the side.



Once I had it clamped this much I was not going to give it a chance to spring back on me. Put a wet rag on it and used an old iron to steam it down.



The Supersoft suggests letting it sit for a day after application. I am not one to argue with them. So far so good, can't wait to get the second one bent.

[John Arnold]

I am 99% sure that it is lodgepole pine....particularly after your experience with sanding it.
Pine has resin canals, but so does spruce. In general, resin canals are a bit larger and more numerous in the pines, but lodgepole is fairly slow-growing (for a pine), and is more like spruce in the appearance of resin canals. While dimpling can be present in Sitka spruce, it almost never occurs in Engelmann. Engelmann is the spruce that is classified S-P-F.
Pretty much all softwoods (conifers) are a challenge to bend. One of my adventures was with Eastern red cedar, which would spring back much more than any hardwood I have tried.
I have heard that Titebond III survives the bending process fairly well.....much better than Titebond Original.
On the cutaways I have built, I selectively thinned the sides right at the sharp bends of the cutaway. A thickness of 0.055" to 0.060" seems to work well, and the sharp radius means that it is still pretty strong once it is bent.

[stormin1155]

Some years ago the local woodworking club had a contest where everyone was given a single 2x4 and could make anything they wanted. Lots of doll houses, model trains, etc... One of the contestants was a luthier who had bought his shop from a retired, seasoned luthier, but who was himself just learning the trade, and was himself not even a guitar player, but a cabinet-maker by trade.

So he built an OM-sized guitar completely out of that single 2x4... every single wooden part. I was looking it over, and he encouraged me to play it. Soon there was quite a gathering of on-lookers, and I ended up giving a short impromptu concert.

Now it wasn't the best sounding guitar by any means, but not bad at all, comparing quite favorably with most $300- $500 range guitars you would find. He did a nice job quarter-sawing the top pieces... not sure how many pieces it took because he did such a good job matching the grain. I was very impressed!

[printer2]

Well it is good to know I was bending the cutaway too thick, 0.070", oh well next time. Clamped up the ends.



A quick rosette.

[Truckjohn]

Making good progress.

[printer2]

I'm trying. Started on the neck and cut some strips for the linings.



Had to drop the exposure, even then it is hard to see how I cut the kerfs in the linings. I use a piece of wood with a slot cut in it to limit the depth of the cut. You have to have all the pieces the same thickness to get the same depth of cut. I dimension them on my drum sander before this stage.



And the linings glued in and the neck glued up.

[jonfields45]

I played that Taylor recovered construction wood guitar back in the 90s. The sawed through nails made the most memorable part of the visuals, which you guys are missing :~). Interestingly enough, it's custodian at the time, their North East US sales manager who was my neighbor at the time (she went on to run all of Taylor sales after she moved to CA and interestingly enough was divorced from a former Martin exec.), did not bother to keep fresh strings on it and it sounded terrible, which I felt defeated its main purpose.

[printer2]

I have the pallet department covered, baked Birch.



I'll get back to this one in the summer.

[Truckjohn]

Birch is fine stuff... Hardly gets any respect.. Its a real shame.

Looks like you are making great progress on this one. I am interested to see how it comes out.