#126752  by Ddavis510
 
Hi folks,
I'm still researching my first JG build. I have some padauk I'm using for the body core. The neck will be paduak/maple/paduak.

My question is about the multilam top. I have some great quilted maple for the top and back. I'd like to lay it up Maple top/padauk/maple/ padauk core/maple/padauk/ maple back. What thickness do yall use for the top and backs? Mine are 5/8ths but will probably be 1/2 once they are surfaced and ready.

Do yall use veneer or something thicker when laying up that body?

What total thickness do you shoot for on the complete body blank?

Back of the headstock I'm thinking should be laid up with veneer. Any success/horror stories with that?


I hope these questions aren't to invasive. Its just that I'm dedicating some wood that is very valuable to me. The maple was harvested from a tree I used to climb as a child and I want to do right by the memory of that tree. It was a sad day when it came down. (wind storm not chain saw)

Thanks,
Dan
 #126838  by softmachine72
 
personally i would not use padauk for a center wood it is way too soft and way too oily, not dense enough for a Garcia guitar . Depending if you are building a wolf or a tiger will determine how thick your top will be . On a wolf, the top should be about .35 inch on the top and about .25 on the back. the lams should be about .020 to .030 on the body.You should use slightly thinner lams for the back of the head stock about .015-.020. make sure you glue them 1 at a time to avoid bubbling. Your core should be about .85 to .90 and your total body thickness should be about 1.75 to 1.80. To make the lams resaw the wood as thin as you can and the use a thickness sander to get all the way down to your final thickness. On a tiger you need atleast 5\8 in. probably 3/4 in. on the top to allow for carving. That is my 2 cents.
Leo
Scarlet Fire Guitars
 #126839  by Ddavis510
 
Leo,

I went with Paduak because I've got a ton of it in the shop. I dont have to use it. Thanks for the heads up. Its just so dense and bright I thought it would work well. If I go with Padauk should I treat the padauk with denatured alcohol first to get a good joint?

Thanks for the insight. Thanks for the parts as well.

Thanks,
Dan
Last edited by Ddavis510 on Fri Apr 19, 2013 6:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 #126842  by softmachine72
 
i thought you had a whole tree of maple. yes use denatured alcohol or lacquer thinner and use the tite bond III.
 #126852  by Ddavis510
 
I have a ton of maple from the tree. I kept the flitches(SP) and things that looked nice for figure. The have been sitting in the barn in WV for years now. We sold the traded the rest to the neighbor with the mill. Basically he and his crew did the work and we(my brother and I) took what we wanted. We lost 2 oaks, a walnut, and a chestnut tree in the same storm. We don't get wind storms with the rain like that very often in WV. The ground got so wet it blew the trees over roots up. The trunk didn't break or split. We'd have never thought in a million years that tree would have came down. The maple I've got set aside for this is for the top, back, and strip down the neck. We'll see how it works out. I love the look of the Padauk and Maple together. Its harder that sugar maple but not as hard as purple heart. I didn't think about the oil factor giving it that Les Paul feel until you brought it up. We'll see.
 #126855  by tcsned
 
What part of WV? I'm about 25 miles from Princeton/Rich Creek on the Virginia side. Wrote my master's thesis on he March on Blair Mountain in the Mingo Co/Tug River area.
 #126857  by Ddavis510
 
I grew up in Barbour County. Philippi, my hometown,was the site of the first land battle of the civil war though it was more of a skirmish. Bull run was the first real battle. I reckon I don't need to tell you that...lol. It's 30 minutes south of Morgantown WV. I've been living out west for the past 10 years though. I miss it back east though. There is something about it I can't really explain. The first buds of green on the trees in the Cheat river canyon. Cool clean rivers to jump in on a summer night. Crisp fall with technicolor hardwoods. Mild winters. A picking circle is never more than a phone call away. No matter where I go WV is home.

Some friends of mine playing an old Hazel Dickens tune(warning bluegrass content):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBFcoaRBL6I
 #126862  by tcsned
 
I know of Philippi - I think it's about 3 hours from me in the New River Valley. This is some beautiful country. Everything's starting to bloom despite that stubborn winter.

Nice tune, I've heard the band name. I think I've seen them playing somewhere on the Crooked Road. I've been playing in a bluegrass band for almost 20 years too, we do a couple of Hazel's tunes - Coal Tattoo is one of my favorites.
 #126864  by Ddavis510
 
The Hillbilly Gypsies were part of my regular picking circle back in college. They weren't a band then. We just all showed up at the WV brewpub on Wednesday night and pick until they stopped bringing the free beer. Great times. I used to work on the New in Fayetteville WV. I was a raft guide through school. In retrospect I probably should have done alot more school when I was in school.
 #126865  by tcsned
 
I drive over the New every day, even our rivers are backwards :)

Are you a Mountaineer? I'm a Hokie, been up to Morgantown a few times for football games. Wassup with the sofa burnin'? :)

The Dead did my favorite UJB ever at Morgantown in '83.
 #126866  by Ddavis510
 
I wasn't going to bring up your 'Hoakie'-ness. I'm trying to make friends here. I'm a Mountaineer but I was 9 in 83. No shows for me till 91 and then I had to sneak away to Pittsburgh.
 #126869  by tcsned
 
Ddavis510 wrote:I wasn't going to bring up your 'Hoakie'-ness. I'm trying to make friends here. I'm a Mountaineer but I was 9 in 83. No shows for me till 91 and then I had to sneak away to Pittsburgh.
lol - it's all good. I love my Hokies but hate no one, it's all in good fun. I have always wondered what was up with the sofa burning tradition. You guys definitely got the cooler team name. :cool: It is bummer that there are no more VT/WV games.

Anyway, the Appalachian Mts are the most beautiful place in the world and Colorado may be a close second.

Can't wait to see how your guitar progresses.
 #126870  by Ddavis510
 
At least your nor a UVA fan. I miss the rivalry games as well. Its seems ridiculous that WVU/VT and WVU/Pitt aren't on the schedule any longer.

I'm going to try and get out to the shop and layup the neck today. Leo has me second guessing the padauk choice. Its harder than sugar maple but its definitely oily. That could definitely cause a rounder sound and that's not what I'm after. Purple heart is not that expensive and its proven. The padauk I have has the great long ribbon grain. I'm torn. The hard part is that there are 2 sets of epic quilted maple hanging in the balance.