Pink beechwood

breuban

Hi all, i finally found a timber place here in bloem. I was suprised that they even had swamp ash! Anyways i told the lady there that i was going to use it to build a solid body and she said that there have been a couple of guys there who had come to buy wood for the same reason. She said all 6 of them had bought pink beechwood. It was more expensive than swamp ash but i decided to get it anyway. Did i screw up? I have not seen any mention of pink beechwood on this forum or anywhere else. Do any of you have any experience working with this wood?

AlanRatcliffe

I think the wood seller was confusing guitars with desks. ? I don't know "pink" Beech, but beech generally is quite a hard, bright wood, so could probably be used any place you would use rock maple (necks, fingerboards). I wouldn't use it for a body or even a top.

breuban

? thanks for your reply alan. I feel terrible now. She told me she has been in this business for 20 years so i took her word for it. She said its a light wood. Do you think maybe this species of beech is soft ? Im going ahead with the build and ill see what happens.. Why wouldnt you use this wood? Will it affect the tone quite a lot or is it because it is hard on tools and machinery?

AlanRatcliffe

OK - I've done some research. "Pink" beech is a (mostly South African) name for Carpathian/European beech - the same stuff some drum shells are made of instead of maple or birch. It's the same hardness and density as hard ash (which falls smack bang in the middle between hard maple and sugar maple).

So it's going to fall more or less where hard ash does. Which means relatively hard, heavy and bright when compared to common body woods (I'd estimate a Strat body made of beech will weigh in at around 6 - 7 lbs, while alder weighs in at around 4-5 lbs and Swamp ash 3-4.5 lbs). On the bright side it works fairly well.

BTW - most local wood merchants don't know the difference between southern "swamp" ash and northern "baseball bat" ash and assume it's the same thing (or flat out lie). They may say they have swamp ash, but I've never found anyone locally who stocks it.

[deleted]

Alan Ratcliffe wrote I'd estimate a Strat body made of beech will weigh in at around 6 - 7 lbs

Dam that is heavy for a strat body... I'm getting cramps in the shoulders thinking about it

Add all the other parts and you would have a strat weighing as much a a LP right?..

breuban

Thanks for your replies. I guess i was lied to. Anyways ill be cutting the body shape later today. Wish me luck

[deleted]

breuban wrote Thanks for your replies. I guess i was lied to. Anyways ill be cutting the body shape later today. Wish me luck

We need PICTURES!!!! ?

Bob-Dubery

It says on Wikipedia that Beech is an excellent firewood - splitting easily and burning for several hours with a steady flame.

So your money hasn't been entirely wasted.

singemonkey

X-rated Bob wrote It says on Wikipedia that Beech is an excellent firewood - splitting easily and burning for several hours with a steady flame.

So your money hasn't been entirely wasted.

Ooh. That's a wicked *ahem* burn...

breuban

Very funny fellas

Gearhead

You might consider chambering the body to save some weight, depending on how you feel about your woodworking skills. Chambering is done by routing larger or smaller chambers into the top face before glueing on a separate 5-7mm top. You could buy Maple for the top, or Ash, or Beech... The challenging part is bending the 'drop top'; not a good plan for a novice woodworker.

Basically the main advantage of Beech is its stability and strength, plus it bends very well when steamed. It is used a lot in the furniture industry in Europe because of the freedom of shape: it will just be pushed into any jig if steamed enough. Drop top anyone?
It is hard (just try to push a nail in and you will feel the difference with softer wood) but does not wear down your tooling a lot. Do not try routing against the grain because it will bite. Sanding is super, use lekker coarse grits like 40 and 60 3M.

My advice would be (if the piece you got is long enough) to make necks out of it. I suppose it will sound like Maple, which is used a lot for necks.

breuban

Thanks. Will take your advice.

[deleted]

Pictures!!! ?

breuban

Ive had terrible toothaches and had them extracted and ive been in bed the whole week. Hoping to start workin on the guitar this week and will post pictures.