Thanks for the pics, man!

Have fun with it.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

What a great project. I wanna learn how to work with wood now.
How cool to be able to cobble together your own guitar, The Cericaster? Wonder Boy?
Please keep the pictures coming at each stage of development. This is a great thread to keep stringing.
Thank you.

Love,
Todd

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Up is louder!

I would think the lumber from the pear that is no good becase of how it dried may be used in a barbaque. People add a lot of different fruit woods to to there grills for smoke flavoring.

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

You've hit a nail on the head there.

Even the best piece of the pear has warped and cracked a certain amount. I just moved a bit of it indoors for a few more months drying and we'll see what it's like then.

The question is, once it has finished seasoning has it also finished warping? If so, the pieces are plenty big enough to get neck blanks out of and plane the warp away. But will those blanks then twist some more?

I'd love some advice on that point. Though I'll probably end up giving it a go anyhow and see what happens...

I'm also curious as to why the ash has performed so well while the pear has done badly. Given that the pear is so much denser and harder - or maybe that's the reason?

All input gratefully received.

Cheers - C

Just a theory on the pear issue.

Could it be that with the wood being dense the grain would be tighter. When its cut the grain could naturaly expand out a little, which it couldnt do when it was a whole circular section.
If thats the reason behind it then presumably the drying period would sort it out. I'd get ready for it to twist a bit more though.
Could the planks be clamped or weighted during this period to counteract any further twisting?

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No no and no

OK, I will: here's where we're up to.

Cutting up these logs seems to me just a matter of marking out the job like any other piece of carpentry - 'cept not so easy to use set squares and marking gauges on those irregular surfaces. Pondered it for a while and here's what I've done.

We need to draw parallel lines onto opposite ends and sides of the logs. So first I used a small spirit level to draw vertical lines through the center of each end, without moving the log betimes:



Then measure off those first lines to plot out parallel markings 2.5 inches apart across each end of the log. Next, since pencil won't work on the bark, I used a cheap, knackered tenon saw to transfer those lines round onto the sides of the log:



Next, using a long straight edge, join up the markings at either end with lines carved into the bark (don't treat a decent tenon saw this way, kids!):



(Is my hair going thin at the crown?) Now it should be just a matter of sawing carefully along those lines and the log should just fall apart like sliced bread (!!!):



Good grief, I don't want to tell you how long that took: you'd think I must be made of marshmallow! Here's the first slice cut off, revealing the grain:



I suddenly realise this is going to take some time! Those logs are already starting to dry and if that happens too fast the end grain will crack, as you can see in a picture above is already beginning to happen. So rather than wait till I'm all done I think I need to get some paraffin wax onto the ends of the logs now to slow the drying:



We can touch that wax up later if needed. And that's where I've got to, guys. Streuth, at this rate I'm going to have arms like Charles Atlas by the end of three logs...!

Cheers - C

My 2 cents on this: First of all, I am a wood guy and have seen it do some strange things. As we know from our guitar necks, wood will always react to changes in temperature and humidity, even after it's cured.

Secondly, if the wood is BADLY warped when you mill it straight, you end up with a straight piece of wood that is made up of cells that don't come close to lining up straight. They are still in that warped curve, which means when a temp or humidity change happens, it would tend to revert to the curve.

This is just my opinion, but it makes sense to me that a basically straight, cured peice of wood is more stable than one that's gone..........Wonkey?

Gridlok

♪♬ On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

A guitar made from a Pear Tree! ♪♬

Oh, come on, you know you were thinking about it too.

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“All music is folk music, I ain't never heard no horse sing a song.” Louis Armstrong

Sorry I cant help it, do you know how many necks can come out of this beautiful piece of wood!!!!!




By the way that wood looks really nice !! I know nothing about wood but in the wood world I would think that piece is gold

Excellent, thanks very much. Sounds like that's worth a lot more than two cents!

What you say makes good sense and I'm sure it's right.

Still gonna try cutting blanks from that pear in the fullness of time - but see what it does before wasting energy carving out necks. I was very interested in what Jol Dantzig at Hamer does: he says they leave their necks for weeks or months between each step of manufacture to let any movement in the timber occur before they go to the next stage.

From what you say about the fibres though I wonder if that achieves much? If there was instability there in the first place maybe it remains regardless?

Be great if you felt like keeping an eye on this thread, Gridlok. I've a feeling there's lots more questions you could help with. And I wonder if StephenR66 is around...?

Cheers, guys - C

Be happy to hang around. This is a really interesting thread for me! You've got some amazing hunks o' wood there. I have no idea what qualities pear wood has. I mean it's not like I go down to the lumber store and say, "I want two 1x6s of mahogany and, let's see...yeah, gimme a couple 2x8s of pear wood."

You've taken such care with it, stacking and stickering and waxing. I'm sure you're going to get some awsome material out of it. And you cut that slab by hand! YOU"RE A MANIAC!

Gridlok

Wow, don't tell me that you are doing that by hand!

Oh no you didn't!

....

Good luck with that, ceri.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Yes, really!

And it's the wrong saw, too. I apologise to any proper carpenter types here for my abuse of an innocent panel saw. I should be using some kind of hand rip saw - but I can't get hold of one locally right this moment and I can't be waiting around to mail order one.

I'd hoped to have a photo for you by now of at least one log fully cut up and stacked - but somehow there always seems to be something better to do than hours of sawing. (Speak to me, arm muscles, speak to me...!)

Cheers - C

Uh, can't you borrow or rent a chainsaw? Even an electric one would do the job. You can cut a pretty good line with them if you're careful.

PLUS, you won't end up looking like Popeye!

Gridlok

Hi Gridlok. Yes, I have a chainsaw. I also get a proper tree expert to come round and do my felling for me, and between us we chainsawed up some biggish bits of spruce to make crude garden benches. Dark now: I'll post a pic tomorrow to show you what I'm talking about.

However, neither I nor the other guy (who is very experienced and skillful) is quite accurate enough with that machine to do this kind of cut, at least without losing a lot of the timber. (Or maybe I'm doing him a disservice...)

Anyhow. Dunno about Popeye but I'd quite like to look like Charles Atlas. Nobody's gonna kick sand in my face on the beach! (Does anyone remember what I'm talking about?)

Got a couple of serious questions for you about all this - shortly.

Cheers - C