Birdseye maple is only cut flat sawn as the eyes run perpendicular to the grain. If cut 1/4 sawn the eyes would only appear as a streak as you can see on the sides. I would 100% use carbon fiber rods in the neck to add a bit of stability.

Eric, the maple is plenty strong enough in the flat sawn orientation. And like you said there figure or curl shows better in the flat sawn way. I still will cut billets to vertical grain orientation and glue them up that way just for GP. You will find carving hard maple is much more challenging than carving mahogany. Just finishing up a 12 fret mahogany neck carve right after a maple Tele neck. Huge difference. I will add to look out for what I call slash grain. The grain whether flat or vertical/QS needs to run straight thru the board. I had a Fender neck that was like rubber and the grain had extreme runout top to bottom.

@EricSchaeferGuitars

6 ай бұрын

I addressed your comment in a new Q and A episode: kzread.info/dash/bejne/iZiAzLyzkaWYfZM.htmlfeature=shared

Good show..Thanks for what you do.

I prefer quarter sawn but then Fender have been using flat sawn maple since the late 40s. Great video!!!

BEM is fine flatsawn and I have seen many BEM flatsawn necks - as another commentator has said, only flatsawn has the eyes. There are also many examples of BEM classical guitars with both neck and back and sides (flatsawn, of course).

Ken parker got this new series on his channel about his neck production. Actually this material would be awesome for veneering the neck bottom side. So just for looks. He fills up a void with carbon fiber and the main structure is douglas fir. So very uncommon materials, yet it still looks like a classic guitar neck. I feel this material, because it is one flatsawn so prone to cupping and its figured through the dimension, so less strong.

@thijs199

6 ай бұрын

but he's got this precision mold made, and yeah you gotta be a machinist to get that thing. But usually he provides ways to get it done anyway without, so I'm really curious on this new series

Awesome vid, I personally like the chicken diversion. I have used birdseye maple several times for electric necks. However I built an all maple parlor guitar last year for myself the back & sides are Highly figured Ambrosia maple the neck birdseye. It seems to be very stable no issues 👍🎸🎹🎼🇺🇸👨🏻‍🦯👨🏻‍🦯

I would only use harder flat sawn woods, like maple and frankly Fender does it for ages on their electric guitars of which i own a Custom shop one. No issues so far and it looks beautiful. For less rigid wood, like mahogany or cedar i would never use flat sawn, it just isn't stable enough without the fibre support structure. Btw. i am more and more going local and eco in terms of guitar building. I use fish glue for everything, well, except the bridge, i polish the guitars with French polish although its a pain in the butt to apply and takes ages to harden and i use European woods, like walnut, roasted oak, cherry and of course Swiss/German spruce. It gives me a good feeling about my ecological footprint and the guitars sound wonderful.

Good video. I have experimented a bit with orientation and timber species. IMO quarter sawn and or laminations are really only necessary (for strength) if we use softwoods (which most people wont anyway). The issue with softwoods isnt strength its movement. So, far, they seem to move move with weather changes (ie tuning changes more)

@EricSchaeferGuitars

6 ай бұрын

I addressed your comment in a new Q and A episode: kzread.info/dash/bejne/iZiAzLyzkaWYfZM.htmlfeature=shared

I guess it will be OK to use flatsawn Maple. One of the best sounding, and also over time very stable classical guitars I ever made, had a flatsawn African Padauk neck. Padauk is close to the hardness and fine grained Maple, specially birds eye pieces. I have a birds eye neck (head already glued on) for one of my next guitars, and that one too is not quarter sawn. When i use softer neck woods, like Mahogany, Ceder or even some beautiful 2-colored Black Limba (for a guitar with 2-colored Black Limba back and sides), i use perfect quarter sawn or with a strip glued in between 2 or 3 pieces to make it quarter sawn. Maybe, my fretboards also add to the stability of my necks. I mostly use Snakewood, (Piratinera Brosimum guianense) for my fretboards. That is about the most stable and hardest hardwood i know of, to use as fretboard. Insanely expansive and hard to work with, but the most beautiful i have seen. ( to my eyes ) Good work asking around for info 👍👍

Hey,,nice chickens. Yes, I had problems with seasonal humidity swings,,,,, with the flat sawn expanding a few thousands unevenly and kind'a ruined it. It was ok, in summer but not winter. = instability and is now junk on the wall.

@EricSchaeferGuitars

6 ай бұрын

I addressed your comment in a new Q and A episode: kzread.info/dash/bejne/iZiAzLyzkaWYfZM.htmlfeature=shared

It should be very pretty! Mahogany is a more stable wood, but maple is harder and less prone to breaking. Your guitar will live in climate controlled environments mostly so it will be fine. The finish patina on the neck will be lovely. Your Shinto rasp will get a workout carving the neck! My first ukulele build used some hard maple for the neck and though not figured, it is a beauty!

@EricSchaeferGuitars

6 ай бұрын

I addressed your comment in a new Q and A episode: kzread.info/dash/bejne/iZiAzLyzkaWYfZM.htmlfeature=shared

I've always believed one of the reasons for acoustics having quartersawn necks is historical and dates from when nobody did scarf joints and stacked heels. On a 1 piece neck you undoubtedly need quartersawn. With a good truss rod and three piece construction I've always thought that you have much more flexibility

@EricSchaeferGuitars

6 ай бұрын

I addressed your comment in a new Q and A episode: kzread.info/dash/bejne/iZiAzLyzkaWYfZM.htmlfeature=shared

With well aged lumber I doesn't any difference, unless you're going for figure. A large item, tables, panels etc, you want quartered material if possible.

@EricSchaeferGuitars

6 ай бұрын

I addressed your comment in a new Q and A episode: kzread.info/dash/bejne/iZiAzLyzkaWYfZM.htmlfeature=shared

Take the drift out of your bandsaw and it will re-saw accurately with less waste and without the need for that cylinder. Bandsaws do not, of their own nature, have an inherent drift . They drift because they are frequently poorly assembled and adjusted during manufacture, the blade is tracking incorrectly on the upper wheel, or the teeth on the blade have lost their set. Removing the drift is a simple matter of loosening the trunnion bolts and rotating the table. kzread.info/dash/bejne/qIKY1M2mqJnLmKw.html

Take the flat sawn and turn it up 😂😂. Quartered. Boom.

If you have a truss rod it probably won’t matter. For a classical guitar with no truss rod, I think you should turn it and laminate the neck. In 5 years, the owner will thank you.

@EricSchaeferGuitars

6 ай бұрын

I addressed your comment in a new Q and A episode: kzread.info/dash/bejne/iZiAzLyzkaWYfZM.htmlfeature=shared

I wanted to see the chicken aftermath. Thats sucks man.