Question about workability of wood

[jeastman]

Hey guys,

Well I'm still in the planning (and semi dreaming stages) but I recently found out that there is a wood supplier right outside of Istanbul that (according to their website http://akustikwood.com/ at least) carries several varieties of b&s woods. I'm thinking about going to make a visit in the near future and see if there's anything that catches my eye. As I've never build anything even close to a guitar, I'm wondering if you could give me a little advice on which wood would be the easiest for me to work with. The types they have include:

Maple (not a huge fan)
Walnut (like it)
Movingue (never heard of it but kinda purdy)
Sapele
Bubinga
Wenge (I know it has a lot of splinters but I would LOVE a wenge guitar)
Lacewood

So anyhow, obviously I have my favorites, but these are based solely on sound/looks and this would be an exercise in building and if the thing was even half playable there's a good chance I'd give it away so my wood preferences come second.

Any thoughts?

[SCGib68]

out of those you listed the Walnut and Sapele would be the easiest to work with.

[Kitchen Guitars]

Yep. I'd do Walnut.

But your in Istanbul!!!!! Ya gotta have something cooler than Sapple, Walnut.... laying around!

[Rod True]

I agree, the Walnut will be easiest.

[jeastman]

Actually in Istanbul, you're lucky to find an inch of green in a mile I'm sure there is more wood around, but I'm trying to stick to the basics for now. Seems like every couple of years they find Noah's ark somewhere out in the east of the country, so maybe I'll do a gopherwood b&s

[Kitchen Guitars]

Originally Posted by jeastman

Actually in Istanbul, you're lucky to find an inch of green in a mile I'm sure there is more wood around, but I'm trying to stick to the basics for now. Seems like every couple of years they find Noah's ark somewhere out in the east of the country, so maybe I'll do a gopherwood b&s

You would have the Praise and Worship Guitarist all stirred up

No 700 year old beams in dead buildings huh?

I wonder if LMI would send you a serviced kit? They will bend your sides, Radius and cut your fret slots.... They have a checklist of services. Pick the stuff you may not want to mess with on a first build.
Just a thought.

[naccoachbob]

The closest I've been to Istanbul is riding up the Bosphorus into the Black Sea. It sure looked beautiful from the water. Can only imagine the exotic woods available in Turkey. Maybe something James Bondish.

[jeastman]

Originally Posted by naccoachbob

The closest I've been to Istanbul is riding up the Bosphorus into the Black Sea. It sure looked beautiful from the water. Can only imagine the exotic woods available in Turkey. Maybe something James Bondish.

Well the Bosphorus divides the city right in half (Europe side/Asia side) so I'd say you got pretty close

I would love to do some more exploring to learn more about indigenous woods (Carpathian Spruce is from here) but I'm taking my time with the thing.

I have thought about a kit, John and I'm sure it would save me a lot of headache, but shipping stuff over here is really a hassle, costly, time consuming and not 100% reliable. So while I'm sure this is probably the smarter option for me, I'll throw a few bucks at this and see if I can make it work. If it falls through I'll probably wait a couple of years until I come to the States for a visit.

By the way, open invitation to all AGFers I'll happily play host to any and all guests who come to play (or build)!

[Hodges_Guitars]

+1 for walnut

[jeastman]

Alright, well looks like when I can make it over there I'll be browsing walnut!