Necessary Wood For A Solid-body Guitar
I’m sometimes asked by people who are starting out “What wood should I use to make my guitar and just how much of it do I need?”. Well the short answer is that there are a lot of woods you can use – especially if you’re making a solid-body guitar – and that you don’t need very much of it at all. Here is a quick, hard-and-fast rundown on the basics:
1:- A body blank (e.g. maple, alder, mahogany, swamp ash, basswood or poplar) 45mm (1-3/4″) thick. The size depends on the desired length and width of the body (350mm x 500mm / 13-3/4″ x 20″ will be sufficient for the majority of guitars). Tthe blank can be glued up from two or more narrower pieces.
2:- A neck blank (e.g. maple or mahogany) 25mm (1″) thick; the length depends on the desired scale length and the width on the desired width of the headstock (690mm / 27″ long and 100mm / 4″ wide for a guitar; 860mm / 34″ long and 115mm / 4.5″ wide for a bass). If you glue “ears” to the headstock the width of the neck blank can be smaller. Try to get quartersawn wood wherever possible.
3:- A fingerboard (e.g. rosewood or ebony) 6mm (1/4″) thick; the neck blank must be 19mm (3/4″) thick in this case. If you’re having a one piece neck then you can disregard a separate fingerboard.
4:- A headstock veneer (any beautiful hardwood) 2mm – 3mm (3/32″ – 1/8″) thick.
So there you have it! Not much wood and as far as costs go you can spend anywhere from about a few dollars right up to a few hundred dollars or more! It just depends on what woods you want your guitar to be made from.
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CURLY TIGER MAPLE:WOOD/LUMBER 13/16" x 5-1/16" x 39-1/2" US $6.00 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Monday Feb-06-2012 18:15:51 PST | Watch this Item |
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Birdseye Maple Burl Craft wood Lumber 13 x 13 x 3.125 US $49.95 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Monday Feb-06-2012 18:29:14 PST | Watch this Item |
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Curly Maple Lathe Wood Turning Lumber 11 x 11 x 3 US $19.95 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Monday Feb-06-2012 18:41:32 PST | Watch this Item |
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Quilted Maple Lathe Wood Turning Lumber 10 x 10 x 4-- US $29.95 (1 Bid) Auction Ends: Monday Feb-06-2012 18:52:32 PST | Watch this Item |
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Quilted Maple Lathe Wood Turning Lumber 12 x 4.25 x 4.25 US $9.95 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Monday Feb-06-2012 18:57:27 PST | Watch this Item |
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TOP GRADE 5A CURLY MAPLE BILLET /QUARTER SAWN, CLEAR & CLEAN/ LUTHIER LUMBER US $109.00 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Monday Feb-06-2012 19:03:38 PST | Watch this Item |
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Quilted Maple Lathe Wood Turning Lumber 14 x 6.5 x 6.5 US $37.04 (4 Bids) Auction Ends: Monday Feb-06-2012 19:08:34 PST | Watch this Item |
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Quilted Maple Lathe Wood Turning Lumber 16.5 x 5.25 x 5.25 US $29.95 (1 Bid) Auction Ends: Monday Feb-06-2012 19:12:41 PST | Watch this Item |