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RE: I am thinking to use cherry inst... (in reply to Ahmed Flamenco)
quote:
ORIGINAL: Ahmed Flamenco
guys I am thinking to use cherry instead of sycamore so what do you think.I'll try to find quarter sawn wood.what do you think?
Good luck finding quartered cherry. It would have to be a very big tree. There's nothing wrong with sycamore. If it's properly cured (some age) and dry flat sawn wood can work fine. I have a 40 year old plank of Cocobolo that is flat sawn which I wouldn't hesitate to use as back and sides. I just don't like Cocobolo.
Posts: 1108
Joined: Sep. 29 2009
From: Back in Boston
RE: I am thinking to use cherry inst... (in reply to Ahmed Flamenco)
ahmed, I concur with john's comment. cherry trees are very thin. sweet cherry trees are less than a meter in diameter and black cherry trees are a little over a meter in diameter. I would imagine it would be very difficult to get quartered wood large enough for a back. Sycamore (maple variety) is a good wood. Tulip tree Poplar is another good wood as an alternative to cypress.
RE: I am thinking to use cherry inst... (in reply to Ahmed Flamenco)
English Sycamore , much better than cherry. I love English Sycamore. Get it if you can.
Cherry is also, hard to explain, has kind of softness or bending quality that has damping I don't like. My unscientific opinion. But I'll retract it if someone posts numbers. Cherry maybe better for lute staves than guitar backs.
But if you find 5" wide cherry that is vertical grain you can make a three piece back.
RE: I am thinking to use cherry inst... (in reply to Ahmed Flamenco)
Ahmed Can you get good quality African mahogany also called Khaya...
Its not the prettiest of woods, but i have tried a few guitars with it and I beleive it has very nice tonal qualities and is very stable. Krichards from here has built with it and like it. Besides, its very cheap.
African mahogany (Khaya), have some and think it is kind of pretty. A Mahogany substitute.
A small Cherry guitar I made, back was flat sawn.
Cherry seems to be more forgiving to humidity changes, it bends well, glues and finishes easily and is a good wood to start on. Still think you should continue on with the sycamore, make your mistakes on that one.
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Joined: Jan. 14 2007
From: York, England
RE: I am thinking to use cherry inst... (in reply to Dudnote)
English Yew I've never used it myself, but I've seen it used in a flamenco that was pretty good.
My favourite alternative woods are the ones already mentioned. English Sycamore (Acer Pseudoplatanus) for blancas and African Mahogany works very well, although its appearance is not so good imo.
The problem with all alternatives is that, customers are very traditional and prefer cypress and rosewood, so alternatives are harder to sell.
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