New project - 'Amber'

[Bent]

Thanks Mike, thanks David

[sheffield steel]

That's a beautiful piece of work Bent my friend I can't wait to see her finished.
Dave.

[richard37066]

To supplement my earlier post I refer you to the following:-

"My first attempt at airbrushing a sunburst" by Dave, "Sheffield Steel" under the heading regarding finishing. This is slab-sawn maple which yields the "Quilted" effect and there ain't nuthin' better!

Richard

[Bent]

Yes, Richard, I have read all about it. As a matter of fact, I read everything, and listen to everything that comes from Dave Wheelhouse. It seems anything he puts his mind to turns into a work of art.
It is quite tough to get hold of quarter sawn lumber, and the price is horrendous.

From this to that...there has been a change of minds again. There were things we weren't happy with- the shade of amber stain, the change to all black etc etc..so now we have decided that I build him a whole new cabinet. It might turn out to be an exciting piece:
Black Walnut front and back apron; some very dramatic birdseye maple for the top deck and Black Walnut for the neck. We chose to go with the same inlay strips.
It will all be finished in clear lacquer- nothing else.
Stand by for pics

[Farmer]

Bent, that sounds a lot better. That sounds like mine. Check out this page, yours truly viewtopic.php?f=4&t=449

[Bent]

Mike, yes, yours is a "shining" example of the beautiful combination of walnut and maple

[richard37066]

Bent and Mike -

NOW we're getting somewhere!

Mike's cabinet exudes what I might call "quiet elegance". It sorta invites one to run their fingers over it and gush at the beauty of natural wood. Mike obviously has the "eye".

I am led to believe that the "quilted" version of Maple is slab-sawn. And Bent - I think that I mentioned this to you in an email in which I posed a question as to whether one is close enough to a lumber supplier such that one might "select" pieces based upon grain structure. I gave a method used by a friend in order to temporarily bring out the grain. Would not a well-configured cabinet scraper also do the job? It would only remove a few thou in getting rid of the "fuzzies" that cloud the issue. I can't imagine a supplier objecting to such a harmless procedure.

When all is said and done it is the "personal preference" of the person buying the instrument which prevails over all other opinions. Just suck it up, Bent, and give the buyer his irridescent purple instrument with the flourescent lime-green polka-dots. Then move on in the direction of artistically superior cabinetry.

Come to think of it, that might not be such a bad combination. Or - NOT!

Richard

[Bent]

Richard,
There are 2 basic ways to saw a log. Slab sawing (plain sawing) and quarter sawing.
In plain sawing you lay the log on the table and start sawing slabs of boards
This yields the most boards from one log and also gives the plain look to each board
In quarter sawing they cut the log into 4 quarters and saw boards from each quarter
This is the least economical but yields the nicest grain and the most stable wood against warping etc.
Maybe one or 2 boards in a log will, by chance, yield a quilted or quarter sawn look. You gotta be there to pick them out as your supplier planes them.Fat chance
The dramatic look of the quilted maple and uniform grain- like in Dave's cabinets is likely quarter sawn.
Birdseye Maple is pretty even if plain sawn. That's why I LOVE Birdseye maple!

My supplier does not have any suppliers who quarter saw to order, except for oak
If he were to order any other species quarter sawn, I would be forced to buy 1000 bft at a time.

Cabinet scrapers were an old-time tool that was used on hardwoods for that finished glassy look. A fine alternative to sandpaper since it didn't raise the grain and tear it. Rather, the grain gets sheared by that fine edge in the scraper. You gotta know how to burnish that edge to get a well-performing scraper. They are great if you have the time! I never took the time to learn about it.

As far as me and my customer, there is nothing for me to suck up. We tried his first choice, amber, which turned out too yellow (nothing like the color in the picture) Then we tried jet black which didn't yield the intended result. So now we are switching to walnut and Birdseye maple, both natural.
When he suggested incorporating walnut into the cabinet, I was all ears since this has been my favorite wood for decades. The piece of Birdseye I got hold of is a beauty! Slightly tan in color with those birdseyes peppered liberally all over!
You are right in saying that the customer is always right. He is indeed. I have here a man I can work WITH, not FOR. A rarity in this day and age!

[richard37066]

Bent -

The "quilted" maple in Dave's instrument is slab-sawn. This is also known as "flat" or "rift" sawn lumber.

The classic example of "quarter" sawn lumber is in 6-string guitar tops. The grain is "on-end", usually close and affords a degree of strength not found in slab-sawn material. This indicates that the bulk of material typically sawn from a log will yield "quilted" maple since only one or two pieces - four, max - will be, in fact, quarter-sawn.

Sorry for the correction but all builders have to get their heads on straight when considering any type lumber for their builds.

Richard

[Bent]

Richard, here you see the difference between the different cuts. Rift is closer to quarter sawn as the picture shows.
I had a hard time finding your term - slab sawn. Maybe I am wrong in assuming that what you call slab sawing is actually flat sawing like the top half of the picture?
Flat (slab?) sawing is obviously the most common and economical way to yield max out of a log.
Did Dave say that his lumber was "slab sawn"? The bold quilting tells me that it is actually rift sawn or quarter sawn.

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