Wood Used by Fender

[markw51]

Is it aged? Or how do they dry it out and how long does it take? Does it need to be dried out?

[KevinB]

I don't think they dry it or age it.

I think it already comes kiln-dried and cut into body (or neck) blanks from their lumber supplier.

[Mark Davis]

http://www.guitarstop.com/tour/guitar.htm

[D.Allen]

Originally Posted by Mark Davis

http://www.guitarstop.com/tour/guitar.htm

That's great info Mark!

[Ronkirn]

the "normal" run is with kiln dried lumber, the industry standard.... I have never heard anyone suggesting it is "aged". Even if it was, the wood doesn't "gain" anything by aging until it's been doing so for a few decades at the very least.

The do make some from very old lumber and are advertised as such. If aged lumber were the norm, it would be promoted as such. ... it's that bigga deal.

Ron kirn

[Gary in Boston]

Even when you put in a wood floor the lumber is kiln dried and up north here the folooring folks bring the lumber into your space to aclimate it to your rooms, or at least the good flooring folks do.

Stability is the name of the game with wood, especially with guitars, furniture & things that are finsihed to that degree.

Gary

[Telepi]

So, the changes we see in our necks with fret sprout, etc... are based on the humidity levels in our homes?

[Old Lefty]

Didn't the custom shop use 'aged pine wood' for their 'Pinecaster' some years back?

[Picton]

Originally Posted by Telepi

So, the changes we see in our necks with fret sprout, etc... are based on the humidity levels in our homes?

Mostly. In most places, wood shrinks in winter and expands in summer. I try hard, in making flattops and archtops, to finish assembling the bodies by May. They're less likely to crack the following winter if they're put together while they're still a little bit "shrunken."

[KevinB]

Originally Posted by Telepi

So, the changes we see in our necks with fret sprout, etc... are based on the humidity levels in our homes?

Absolutely!

And fret sprout and other problems are usually much worse in areas that have warm humid summers, and cold, dry winters....like the Midwest!

Acoustic guitars built from solid woods are much more prone to problems with cracking and shrinking, but even solid bodied electrics can benefit from a room humidifier during the coldest/driest winter months.

[J.E.M.]

Originally Posted by Telepi

So, the changes we see in our necks with fret sprout, etc... are based on the humidity levels in our homes?

Fretsprout... another good reason to use quartersawn material for necks.

[cnote]

Just curious. What does quarter sawn have to do with fret sprout? Does the wood shrink in different directions different amounts?

[Arbiter]

So, the changes we see in our necks with fret sprout, etc... are based on the humidity levels in our homes?

Fret sprout is the least of it. I've seen two boutique acoustics running well north of five grand split clean in half on being sent to Colorado in the height of the dry season. I've seen another high-dollar acoustic that got sent to the Big Island, wet side. That one came back with fungi growing under the top finish. All three guitars kept indoors, but no climate control, mind you.

Nothing we could do for any of those customers. Climate control is the customer's responsibility, not the maker's.

What does quarter sawn have to do with fret sprout?

Nothin'

Does the wood shrink in different directions different amounts?

Yes. And you can't really predict what it will do, although after working with it for decades you can make some pretty good educated guesses.

OP: Fender's wood is dried but, unless salvaged (the hundred-year old pine) is not aged. They simply can't afford to keep that much wood on hand.

[J.E.M.]

Originally Posted by Arbiter

Nothin'



Yes. And you can't really predict what it will do, although after working with it for decades you can make some pretty good educated guesses.

OP: Fender's wood is dried but, unless salvaged (the hundred-year old pine) is not aged. They simply can't afford to keep that much wood on hand.

Well then, as I have been working with it for decades let me give you what you call an educated guess, or what we in the business call common knowledge -

Quartersawn does move in a different direction (vertically as oppsoed to horizontally) and does move by a different amount (much less expressed as a percentage of the thickness) - so it has everything to do with how much fret is exposed when the wood moves.

[Toto'sDad]

Fret sprout on a MIM Tele is normal, they are just growin' a mustache. I have personally only seen one MIM Tele that didn't suffer from fret sprout, probably too young to grow a mustache.

[Weazel]

Oh well. I had serious fret sprout on a 15 yrs old quarter sawn neck during the norwegian winter 2010/2011 (as cold and dry as a large building with the sign: 'Cold/Dry' on top of it)
No sprout at all on two flatsawn necks about 8 yrs old each.

Oh, and for what it's worth, all three of'em is finished by myself with oil/beeswax, all three have rw fretboard.

Mother nature (or common sense) is a b*tch, aint she?

[J.E.M.]

Originally Posted by Weazel

Oh well. I had serious fret sprout on a 15 yrs old quarter sawn neck during the norwegian winter 2010/2011 (as cold and dry as a large building with the sign: 'Cold/Dry' on top of it)
No sprout at all on two flatsawn necks about 8 yrs old each.

Oh, and for what it's worth, all three of'em is finished by myself with oil/beeswax, all three have rw fretboard.

Mother nature (or common sense) is a b*tch, aint she?

Well I won't bother to argue with you guys, it seems around here the debate goes on regarding wood movement and the benefits of using quarter cut lumber, while the rest of the world that works with wood simply understands.

I always find it funny that every type of woodworking (outside of building guitars) uses the same golden rules with good results while "guitar builders" pay no attention to the rules and then discuss fret sprout and look for the mystic cause.

[Weazel]

Well, I guess there's no Golden Rule without exception:-) (my experience posted to exemplify)

[J.E.M.]

Originally Posted by Weazel

Well, I guess there's no Golden Rule without exception:-) (my experience posted to exemplify)

Ya there's always exceptions as you say, but until you qualify your results I'm not sure we could call your experience an exception - do you know the difference between flat, rift and quartered? is your experiment based on any controls?

Empirical data collected over 100's of years (not just my opinion or 35+ years of experience) show that a true flat sawn neck will move predominately across the width of the fretboard while a quartered neck will move predominately within it's thickness - you don't need to be a rocket scientist to see then that a flat sawn neck will in general show more fret sprout than a quartersawn neck - but last time I mentioned this here the response was not too great...looks similar this time, suppose I should have learned but I just can't help responding when I'm called out by someone who apparently still has a ways to go in the learning department...

[Weazel]

I'm not arguing, I just wanted to post an experience which may explain why there's a certain unwillingness to accept Golden Rules as the only truth, especially regarding wood. So is Human nature.

And yes, I know what I'm debating. Being a builder/tech on and off since 1992, I have some experience with the 'magic' of wood and the way it's sawn and prepared. As I stated, there's exceptions to the rules, as it were. I'm sure we're really not disagreeing.