Persimmon wood for back and sides.

Tnfiddler · #1 03-24-2019, 06:47 PM

I just cut down a pretty good size persimmon tree in my yard today. I turn 50 in July and I think I’m gonna have me an OM sized guitar made with it. Short Mountain guitars is my local luthier and I’m giving him a call tomorrow. Now I just have to figure out how I want it done. I don’t have a clue if I should put an Adirondack top on it or a lutz top. The one thing I do want done on it is nice binding around the soundhole and body. I can’t wait to get this big log sawn up and see what kind of grain I’m gonna get to look at all the time! Please throw in any suggestions that you would recommend or think would look and sound good.

The Bard Rocks · #2 03-24-2019, 09:17 PM

Joe Mendel out of Missoiri has built from it - he is a very friendly fellow and might be able to five you some ideas on what has worked for him.

mercy · #3 03-25-2019, 07:24 AM

takes a long tome for wood to air dry after being cut

Tnfiddler · #4 03-25-2019, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mercy

takes a long tome for wood to air dry after being cut

I know! It's gonna be a long wait!! I'm going to have the log cut into 1" slabs and stack and store them properly to get it done.

perttime · #5 03-25-2019, 08:03 AM

If you are calling the luthier anyway, ask how he/she thinks you should cut and store the wood. He might have ideas about top wood too.

Steadfastly · #6 03-25-2019, 08:36 AM

This kind of wood is stored with spacers in between so air can get at the wood on all sides.

ruby50 · #7 03-25-2019, 08:43 AM

Shouldn't be all that long to dry - the guys who cut this stuff like to cut it wet to reduce any checking coming in from the end of the billet. With a fan blowing on the stickered (spaced) pieces for a couple of weeks, then let it sit for a couple of months, I bet it would be good to go. I have used green ash that I stickered and put in an upside-down cardboard box with a light bulb (120° or so) for a month - the pieces stopped changing dimension after 2 weeks, and that guitar is now 3 years old with no cracking.

Ed

Tnfiddler · #8 03-25-2019, 09:30 AM

Well, that didn't go quite like I'd planned! Talked to the luthier and he said that you can build a guitar out of persimmon, but it's very heavy because it's so hard and that it's a very bright tone wood. After just getting rid of the most beautiful guitar I've ever seen because it's too bright, that's not a trip I want to take again. So, I'm just going to go sit down with him and plan out me a build for my 50th birthday using his wood stock that he has on hand!

rstaight · #9 03-25-2019, 09:43 AM

You may still be able to use it for accent pieces.

If you do use the persimmon when drying paint the end grain. Most of the moisture is lost through un-treated end grain. This will help prevent checking and cracking. Will take longer but you end up with a more stable material.

redir · #10 03-25-2019, 09:44 AM

They don't call it 'white ebony' for nothin.'

It's actually got more in common with rosewood then ebony at least in terms of density. So you could lump it together with 'rosewood' sounding guitars.

What was the diameter of the tree at breast height? If I was your local luthier I'd be interested in it for sure.

Skarsaune · #11 03-25-2019, 09:47 AM

Good for fretboards because it’s so hard

Tnfiddler · #12 03-25-2019, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redir

They don't call it 'white ebony' for nothin.'

It's actually got more in common with rosewood then ebony at least in terms of density. So you could lump it together with 'rosewood' sounding guitars.

What was the diameter of the tree at breast height? If I was your local luthier I'd be interested in it for sure.

Around 14" across. It was a big tree and would probably make a cool guitar. He didn't seem to have any interest in it at all. He told me that he'd built one guitar out of persimmon in the past, so he may have had a bad experience with it. I'd still like to have it slabbed and keep it to see how it looks when it's dry and see if I'd like to use it at a later date.

Skarsaune · #13 03-25-2019, 09:48 AM

Good for fretboards because it’s so hard.

Middle TN isn’t so far......hmmmm...

perttime · #14 03-25-2019, 10:05 AM

Certainly take care of your wood.
I've never seen persimmon wood, personally, but images that I found show that it can look very nice. If nobody wants it for backs and sides, or fretboards, somebody might want to make tops for electric guitars out of it. I see increasing interest in figured fretboards....

AndrewG · #15 03-25-2019, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by perttime

Certainly take care of your wood.
I've never seen persimmon wood, personally, but images that I found show that it can look very nice. If nobody wants it for backs and sides, or fretboards, somebody might want to make tops for electric guitars out of it. I see increasing interest in figured fretboards....

Laurel seems to be making an appearance also. Now that rosewoods and mahogany are becoming more scarce in decent quantities, and with the inevitable price hikes that scarcity and demand produce, we'll be seeing more and more interesting substitutes.