The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    I have a source for 120 year old spruce that was part of a tone box for a very old pump organ. It is just under 2” thick. Thought about making a Tele body out of one chunk. I’ve never worked with Spruce before and wanted your thoughts and feedback, even if you think it’s a bad idea. Hate to waste a piece of wood like this. Will be getting approximately a 2’ wide by 4’ long board.

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  3. #2

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    I would go for it. Can’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work well and it probably has some decent mojo being so old and part of an old pump organ.

  4. #3

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    Fender made many Tele bodies from pine, which is closely related to spruce.

  5. #4

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    Seems like a waste of old spruce on a Telecaster body; pine is plentiful and cheap for that experiment. Spruce for a Telecaster won't sound appreciably different from pine. Bandsaw it into billets for tops for hollowbody guitars.

  6. #5

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    I've built a couple solid bodies from chunks of spruce and have been pleased with the results. I'll second Jabberwocky's thought in that I look for the highest use of a piece of wood. If the spruce is exactly quartered, straight grain, no knots or other major defects like lots of run-out, then it might be re-sawn into several tops for archtops or acoustic guitars. If it's not fully up to these standards, then I would use it for solid bodies.

  7. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
    Seems like a waste of old spruce on a Telecaster body; pine is plentiful and cheap for that experiment. Spruce for a Telecaster won't sound appreciably different from pine. Bandsaw it into billets for tops for hollowbody guitars.
    I’ll tell you what, if it’s good, quartersawn spruce, I’ll list it for trade for a tele body

  8. #7

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    I would guess it is not flawless and not quarter sawn. So go for it.

    Even if it is perfect quarter sawn. There still should be enough for a few archtops after using one chunk for a tele body, and think how great it would look with a clear finish.

  9. #8

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    Got the wood today and it is not quartersawn and it simply too thin to make a guitar body out of. It’s only an inch thick, not 2” as was estimated by my friend. But at 6’ long it should make a decent standing desk.

  10. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by zcostilla
    Got the wood today and it is not quartersawn and it simply too thin to make a guitar body out of. It’s only an inch thick, not 2” as was estimated by my friend. But at 6’ long it should make a decent standing desk.
    Glue up 2 pieces with a walnut, maple, walnut veneer in the middle.

  11. #10

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    Exactly, double it up.

    That's how fender did the rosewood tele, I think.

  12. #11

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    That was my immediate thought, but to do it right you need to run the board through a planer to get the sides perfectly level and smooth. Without doing that, the joint is going to be iffy. I rather doubt that zcostilla has one sitting in the garage. It might be possible to find one that could be used, though. I think some home improvement stores might do it, or lumberyards, or maybe a friend.

  13. #12

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    This piece won’t work. There’s a lumber yard in town with it’s own mill that I’ll probably call to see what they have in stock that might be suitable. I had custom maple 1x3s made when we did a remodel, and they’ll cut and plane it to my specifications. Then it will only need a pattern cut and routing work done. But this will be a long-term project. Not in a hurry at all. Still enjoying my new Hamer and my Godin too much to rush into another guitar.

    Zac

  14. #13

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    I recently saw a clip about a luthier from NYC by the name of Rick Kelly and he makes solidbody guitars out of re-claimed old timber he finds in the city, sells them for top-$ to stars like Lou Reed, Dylan, etc ...... he even sandwiches boards when the stock is not thick enough. His pitch is the historic value of the wood .... you might want to check this out before you give away your lumber.


    and another inspiring story :

  15. #14

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    Q
    Quote Originally Posted by gitman
    I recently saw a clip about a luthier from NYC by the name of Rick Kelly and he makes solidbody guitars out of re-claimed old timber he finds in the city, sells them for top-$ to stars like Lou Reed, Dylan, etc ...... he even sandwiches boards when the stock is not thick enough. His pitch is the historic value of the wood .... you might want to check this out before you give away your lumber.

    and another inspiring story :
    if I had access to a planer I could maybe make this work. At a current finished thickness of 1”, I could hope for a finished thickness of 1 3/4 if I’m careful and a little lucky. Hmm. Anyone with a planer machine near St Louis?