what local wood is similar to USA pine .... for a partcaster

Keira-WitherKay

in last few years i have been meddling with partcaster builds ...and enjoying finding exactly what i want out of an instrument

i been reading and seeing a lot of pics of usa muso's using pine from old floorboards or barns to build guitar bodies...for a telecaster even leo fender used pine on a few original tele's in 50's

***and fender is currently offering a reclaimed series...so piggybacking on that idea

BUT then chatting to a wood fundi locally he mentioned SA pine is nothing like USA pine and the grain is very different .... he suggested morrante (how do you spell that) being closer ....i would think oregan pine as the name indicates to be closer as surely that is usa pine or derived from it ....

so what do you think..... as the idea is to identify wood that commonly is used in furniture or building houses/barns and that can be used for a guitar body .........then seek out a piece from either an old historic site being renovated or antique furniture ....e...the idea is to use "old" wood and with a history would be awesome .....

? imagine the vibe/mojo of having a tele body made from floorboards of an old Kimberly brothel from the historic diamond rush days.... something pretty unique ....

so not interested in buying a new slab of alder or ash .... or anything new ...

partcasters have become somewhat of a hobby for me .. .and looking for something special or at least interesting to me

and lastly it's for a tele body so not interested in it being pretty or boutique looking....

so what wood should i be looking for ??

and any suggestions where i could find some old "reclaimed" wood that would be suitable for guitar bodies?

suggestions???

AlanRatcliffe

Meranti is closer to mahogany than it is to pine - it's the standard wood you see used for doors, window frames and the like.

Oregon pine is pretty plentiful locally and I think well worth a try. Tight straight grain, harder than SA pine and very few knots.

Otherwise I've seen more than a few "knotty pine" teles recently, which would be similar to bog-standard SA pine. You'd just have to make sure that whatever you get is properly dried and seasoned, which is usually the problem with SA pine - it's all to often used while it is still green so it warps, twists and splits after it is used.

Chocklit_Thunda

Meranti seems a whole lot more like mahogany to me. Very similar grain. I don't know about the tone though.

Close to US pine? Oregon pine. Spruce and Douglas fir and birch work as well ? softwoods make for very resonant bodies.
SA pine makes an amazing body though. Don't write it off because it's cheap. The 3 most resonant bodies I've ever cut were from SA pine. Acoustically loud and with a very wide spectrum of tones.

Technically your best bet would be Oregon pine roof rafters and beams from old houses etc.
floorboards would be too thin and have to be laminated together in probably 3 layers.

Manfred-Klose

I have used local low quality sa pine for a build, and the guitar sounds awesome. (the wood is just prone to dent easier)

i have used Oregon pine from offcuts that i glued together, and also sounded lekker.

go to an exotic wood supplier and see what you can find in the offcut section.

it doesn't have to be pine either , you can look at other available woods, the key is for it to be cheap and easy to work with for a partscaster project

AlanRatcliffe

Also, if you can find some poplar, that works well too. Often used as a cheap alder substitute. Sounds more-or-less the same, just not as good looking.

Keira-WitherKay

thanks guys...

Bob-Dubery

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: Also, if you can find some poplar, that works well too. Often used as a cheap alder substitute. Sounds more-or-less the same, just not as good looking.

And in this country it's an invasive species, so you get green karma for chopping it down and making stuff with it.

Mervyn Davis offers poplar as an alternative to the usual kiaat for those who want a different look or want to take a hatchet to an invasive plant.

peterleroux

Go to Queen Street in Kensington and find yourself an Oregon Pine beam from one of the antique building yards.should give you the look and tone.

deebee

I've made 4 guitars recently using pine, one being a bass, and three strat shapes. The one is made from two pieces of pine that i glued together after lying outside in my junk pile, left over woods, etc from construction jobs, for seven years. I wasn't fussed about the knotts or cracks, i sanded the finished job, and covered it with clear varnish = result = one geetar with lotsa mojo, looks and sound. Nothing wrong with pine, it's cheap and very easy to work with in all aspects - use it ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? :?

Papa-Smurf

"... a tele body made from floorboards of an old Kimberly brothel from the historic diamond rush days ..."

I grew up in Kimberley - I never knew about any brothels otherwise I might be more help on this topic ?

Wildaker

I fancy a Tele made from (sustainably-farmed, obv.) yellowwood...

Chocklit_Thunda

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: Also, if you can find some poplar, that works well too. Often used as a cheap alder substitute. Sounds more-or-less the same, just not as good looking.

Or better looking! The poplar from my friends farm in natal displays some of the nicest Birdseye and flaming (sometimes in the same piece of wood!)
I actually prefer poplar to plane jane alder but it is a (rude word for ex girlfriend) to work with! ?

DaFiz

Methinx you choose the wood for it's looks if you're building a Telecaster...
The prettiest grain wins... Dunno what difference it would make to the sound ? :-\

Attila

May be Tele's are not meant to be pretty. IMHO of course

Xx

Stoffeltoo

Mmmm! Poplar very nice wood. No sandie mumsahib, use a draw blade to smooth. Difference in density between pith and wood is quite substantial. Lamination would be the best option IMHO

AlanRatcliffe

Mike wrote: I fancy a Tele made from (sustainably-farmed, obv.) yellowwood...

That's a hardwood and will work out heavy as hell. I knew someone who built a Les Paul with it once (and regretted it).

Poplar often has a greenish tinge I'm not fond of. I've also often seen it with green or grey mineral streaks...

Bob-Dubery

DaFiz wrote: Methinx you choose the wood for it's looks if you're building a Telecaster...
The prettiest grain wins... Dunno what difference it would make to the sound ? :-\

There'd be implications for the sound, and also for weight. Those rosewood teles look great but weigh a ton.

Keira-WitherKay

well pretty is NOT what i'm going for..... earthy? or rustic? is more the description

and as for weight it must be light to medium weight ...no les paul weight tele's for me thank you

also to me i'd like to as stated in OP , want the wood to be old as in 60 - 100 yrs old or have some history for this build i have zero interest in new wood ...i already have two new and pretty tele's

basically i want a "barncaster" ?

Stoffeltoo

Keira, just an idea. Old SA Army 88mm mortar cases would prolly suit the requirements. Made of decent pine and aged for many years. You could look in antique shops

Bob-Dubery

Check out Creston Lee's "old wood" range. The wood comes from old barn doors etc.
http://www.crestonguitars.com/guitars/old_wood