NZGuitars.com

Just curious if so where is the best place in NZ to shop for body blanks?

I came here to talk about my little procedure, but wrong thread.

Delayman wrote: ↑Mon Aug 08, 2022 3:34 pm I came here to talk about my little procedure, but wrong thread.

Dont be shy, a little nip and a tuck here and there and it will look like a new one ;-p

No worries bruv

Back to body blanks, Ive seen European Spruce on Ebay, so is NZ producing affordable Pine Blanks? I guess its not hard to source Pine. But clearly an art to the join for aesthetic reasons.

Head to a timber yard. The only difference between a body blank and decking is marketing. All my guitar timber comes from regular timber yards.

As long as you appreciate not all "pine" is created equal. Stuff grown here is usually a lot less dense than many species grown in the colder climates of e.g. North America due to it growing a lot quicker. But agree, head to your nearest timber suppliers and see what they have.

Where in NZ are you???

ChAoZ wrote: ↑Tue Aug 09, 2022 4:58 pm Where in NZ are you???

Currently north of Aucks.

When looking at Pine for blanks, at what point do you know the wood has dried out enough to be used as a guitar blank ?

I dont know why but I consider Pine a better wood than Poplar which at the moment is popular ;-p. Maybe because Poplar just burns like its paper where pine makes a much better fire stack etc.

There seems to be some cheaper Poplar blanks on Ebay. I so wish we had Ebay and not Trademe, how hard would it be to revolt? I miss having Ebay as the default to buy and sell anything.

Our pine is not the same as USA or European pine where the growth rings are closer together and the wood is stronger.

You can get poplar from a bunch of places domestically as it grows here, it just might be called something else like tulipwood.

Give TimSpec a call if you need something specific. They ship if you're not local. I've also had good luck at Rosenfeld Kidson, another timber dealer.

NippleWrestler wrote: ↑Tue Sep 06, 2022 3:37 pm Our pine is not the same as USA or European pine where the growth rings are closer together and the wood is stronger.

You can get poplar from a bunch of places domestically as it grows here, it just might be called something else like tulipwood.

Give TimSpec a call if you need something specific. They ship if you're not local. I've also had good luck at Rosenfeld Kidson, another timber dealer.

Will they sell me short lengths, clearly Id want value for money so at least a few blanks, I need to glue 3 sides regardless.

Im still not sure about when the wood is dry enough for use?

Also Id like to get a pre cut full length maple neck to do a neck through at some stage. I might look for something like ash for that project though.

Gitar wrote: ↑Tue Sep 06, 2022 4:14 pm

NippleWrestler wrote: ↑Tue Sep 06, 2022 3:37 pm Our pine is not the same as USA or European pine where the growth rings are closer together and the wood is stronger.

You can get poplar from a bunch of places domestically as it grows here, it just might be called something else like tulipwood.

Give TimSpec a call if you need something specific. They ship if you're not local. I've also had good luck at Rosenfeld Kidson, another timber dealer.

Will they sell me short lengths, clearly Id want value for money so at least a few blanks, I need to glue 3 sides regardless.

Im still not sure about when the wood is dry enough for use?

Also Id like to get a pre cut full length maple neck to do a neck through at some stage. I might look for something like ash for that project though.

Sometimes... Timspec by their own policy only sells entire planks, but they've sold me 500mm lengths plenty of times.

You'd need to ask your local timber supplier how they do things.

Hardwood will be kiln dried meaning it's taken down to around ~4% moisture content. Then it gets back to around 10-12% in its own time but siffuce to say if it's for sale in a timber yard and isn't listed as green, it'll be ready to go. It's not in their interests to sell timber that can't be used for 3 years.

But again, ask them. It's their job.

A maple plank would be easy to get. Most likely you'd need to get something wider and rip it down to the width you want.

Anyone selling Baltic birch ply in NZ? I suppose with the Russia sanctions it would be harder to come by?

blackstratblues wrote: ↑Tue Sep 06, 2022 6:02 pm Anyone selling Baltic birch ply in NZ? I suppose with the Russia sanctions it would be harder to come by?

Plyman will have something equivalent, you really want void free ply it doesn't matter which country or sea it comes from

Bg wrote: ↑Tue Sep 06, 2022 6:17 pm

blackstratblues wrote: ↑Tue Sep 06, 2022 6:02 pm Anyone selling Baltic birch ply in NZ? I suppose with the Russia sanctions it would be harder to come by?

Plyman will have something equivalent, you really want void free ply it doesn't matter which country or sea it comes from

Oh and the glue in either gives the same tone!

I’m definitely producing blanks after I got the snip years ago.

NippleWrestler wrote: ↑Tue Sep 06, 2022 4:22 pm
A maple plank would be easy to get. Most likely you'd need to get something wider and rip it down to the width you want.

Good info man. Just on the above comment, is that in reference to me wanting to try a maple neck through? Are you suggesting building the entire guitar from a maple cut? (sorry if I got that wrong, is easy to misread stuff when its just text etc)