is a 2" thick slab thick enough to mill into a guitar body?

[naneek]

I have a project in mind and I'm looking at materials locally. I found a slab of burl that might be suitable.

There's a slab of burl 2" thick (thicker in some places, but minimum 2" thick), 3 feet wide, and 4 feet tall.

It was milled to these dimensions at some point in the 20th century and presumably would need more milling to get it precise enough for use as a body blank.

Is 2" too thin?

If I remember correctly, teles are 1 3/4" thick. That's only a quarter inch less than the thickness of the slab. is a quarter inch too little to get the wood planed down smooth?

Can telecasters or other guitars be made from this slab? I am thinking of either a telecaster or maybe a solidbody in the same shape as an old Kay thinline.

How many guitar bodies are we talking from a 3 foot by 4 foot slab? I'm thinking that's enough for two bodies?

I wouldn't be doing the heavy duty carpentry work, just trying to figure out if this burl would be viable material to hand over to a builder to make the body for a project I have in mind.

Is it too risky to buy an old piece of reclaimed wood?
It seems like the most environmentally friends choice, and it seems like the wood would be nice and dry and stable after sitting around for so many years.

 

[trev333]

sure can.... even down to 1 5/8" at a minimum..... old wood is best, it's not going to move any more.

the depth of the 3 way switch with some wood under is the main thing to watch for....

 

[ghostchord]

I believe Esquires are 1.5" thick and some guitars even thinner. So you should be fine. As to whether you'll be able to get it down to 1.75" or not depends on the state of your wood, how you cut it, etc. Having 0.25" to work with is better than nothin'. If your thin spots are in the off-cuts or in a pickup or control cavity then they don't matter. One man's thin spot can turn into another man's arm carve (if you're into that on Teles) or a belly carve (if you're into that on Teles)...

Also photos!

EDIT:
16" x 13" seem to be the minimal body blank dimensions. Depending how the grain is running through that 36" x 48" slab you could get 4 bodies out of it you'd think, or even 6? It's hard to say without seeing the wood, the grain direction, any imperfections, how flat it seems (really you care about local flatness within each blank). How are you planning to mill it?

 

[Peegoo]

Yep! You're good!

If there are any voids (air gaps) in the burl, fill them to level with the epoxy color of your choice before planing to rough dimension.

The reason is the planer can snipe out around the edges of an empty void and damage the wood.

Also, burl has convoluted grain--which does not play well with planer blades. You need super sharp blades and a very slow feed speed.

If you can't do that, rough plane it with a router and a planing jig, and then take the slab to a cabinet shop and have them take it to final dimension on their thickness sander.

 

[natec]

You can get 4 bodies out of that. Maybe more depending on which way the grain runs.

If the price is decent, I'd buy it.

I'm in Portland. Shoot me a PM if you want to split costs / break it up. I've got saw(s) and a planer.

 

[trev333]

body blank is @ 17x14 inches.... with a bit to spare..

 

[tomasz]

Just to add some thougts: I would consider hardness, density and weight before milling a whole body out of burl. You may end up with a very fragile body, if it is brittle or a very heavy one. The structure of a burls is pretty crazy, so it is hard to tell how it would resonate as a slab.

Being very decorative, burls are often used as tops over a more common wood, you could consider this to mill more guitars out of this slab.

 

[NoTeleBob]

Just to add some thougts: I would consider hardness, density and weight before milling a whole body out of burl. You may end up with a very fragile body, if it is brittle or a very heavy one. The structure of a burls is pretty crazy, so it is hard to tell how it would resonate as a slab.

Being very decorative, burls are often used as tops over a more common wood, you could consider this to mill more guitars out of this slab.

I think Burl is actually very stable due to the interleaving pattern. They use it for pipe bowls that are endlessly heated and cooled with few issues.

 

[tomasz]

I think Burl is actually very stable due to the interleaving pattern. They use it for pipe bowls that are endlessly heated and cooled with few issues.

Yes, that may be the case, but it could depend of the kind of burl the OP is looking at. Usually it should be a solid material, but it also is all over the Janka hardness scale, starting with as low as 350 for buckeye burl, which is lower then basswood or poplar:
https://www.bellforestproducts.com/info/janka-hardness/

So I thought it might be maybe worth considering some other aspects

 

[guitarbuilder]

Well mathematically yes but possibly no depending on the board. Is the wood warped and twisted and look like a potato chip? The reality of using a one piece blank is that you may have to cut more off both faces in order to get it flat and parallel on both sides. Ideally you have a jointer that wide, but most do not. You can set up a planer sled to help with that, use a hand plane, or build a router planing jig. Any wood theoretically can be used for a body. Hardness is only an internet issue. Obviously a less dense body will dent up faster. A denser body will make for a heavier guitar.


If you are using an SG type switch or a slide switch you can go thinner than 1.5". Using a typical Tele CRL type switch limits the depth somewhat. SG guitars were about 1-3/8 and Hagstrom I and II's were even thinner.

 

[Ronkirn]

it all depends on how flat it it... if it has a ¾ inch deep cup to it, or twist, you're gonna have problems..

r

 

[Asmith]

If you are using an SG type switch or a slide switch you can go thinner than 1.5". Using a typical Tele CRL type switch limits the depth somewhat. SG guitars were about 1-3/8 and Hagstrom I and II's were even thinner.

A decent cut of wood will be more than strong enough. The limiting factor is the electronics and hardware you use. You can get a guitar to be thinner than an SG but as @guitarbuilder said the electronics and hardware limit are generally the limit.

I got this guitar down to 1-1/8", not on purpose but because I got a little carried away with my hand plane trying to level it. The hardware and electronics are not standard as a result though, I had to cut the ends off the neck pickup screws, swap the bridge mounting screws for shorter ones, hack saw 3/16" off the bottom of the selector switch and the output jack sticks further out the control plate than what I would prefer.

But it's a feather weight and considering your timber is burl, you might want to consider going thinner to relieve some weight.

 

[PCollen]

I have a project in mind and I'm looking at materials locally. I found a slab of burl that might be suitable.

There's a slab of burl 2" thick (thicker in some places, but minimum 2" thick), 3 feet wide, and 4 feet tall.

It was milled to these dimensions at some point in the 20th century and presumably would need more milling to get it precise enough for use as a body blank.

Is 2" too thin?

If I remember correctly, teles are 1 3/4" thick. That's only a quarter inch less than the thickness of the slab. is a quarter inch too little to get the wood planed down smooth?

Can telecasters or other guitars be made from this slab? I am thinking of either a telecaster or maybe a solidbody in the same shape as an old Kay thinline.

How many guitar bodies are we talking from a 3 foot by 4 foot slab? I'm thinking that's enough for two bodies?

I wouldn't be doing the heavy duty carpentry work, just trying to figure out if this burl would be viable material to hand over to a builder to make the body for a project I have in mind.

Is it too risky to buy an old piece of reclaimed wood?
It seems like the most environmentally friends choice, and it seems like the wood would be nice and dry and stable after sitting around for so many years.

Burled redwood, or...? Depending on the density of the wood, i.e. oak vs pine for instance, you could probably go down to 1.5 inches safely. The only area of concern, as I see it, would be the depth and strength of the neck pocket if you're using a bolt-on neck.

 

[MickoConCarne]

Ea

I have a project in mind and I'm looking at materials locally. I found a slab of burl that might be suitable.

There's a slab of burl 2" thick (thicker in some places, but minimum 2" thick), 3 feet wide, and 4 feet tall.

It was milled to these dimensions at some point in the 20th century and presumably would need more milling to get it precise enough for use as a body blank.

Is 2" too thin?

If I remember correctly, teles are 1 3/4" thick. That's only a quarter inch less than the thickness of the slab. is a quarter inch too little to get the wood planed down smooth?

Can telecasters or other guitars be made from this slab? I am thinking of either a telecaster or maybe a solidbody in the same shape as an old Kay thinline.

How many guitar bodies are we talking from a 3 foot by 4 foot slab? I'm thinking that's enough for two bodies?

I wouldn't be doing the heavy duty carpentry work, just trying to figure out if this burl would be viable material to hand over to a builder to make the body for a project I have in mind.

Is it too risky to buy an old piece of reclaimed wood?
It seems like the most environmentally friends choice, and it seems like the wood would be nice and dry and stable after sitting around for so many years.

Easily get several bodies out of that. Sounds like you are good to go

 

[Freeman Keller]

Don't know what part of the PNW you are in, I'm in Wenatchee and would be happy to look at your wood. I have several templates that we could lay on it and see how they fit. Also I have built out of reclaimed wood so I have a pretty good idea of what to look for, including possibly the need to stabilize your burl.

 

[88 asat]

I can't speak for everybody else, but I "wood" love to see a pic of burl that large. I don't think I would be making bodies out of it. Talk to your builder, am certain he would be able to give you some good advise.

 

[old wrench]

That's a big chunk of wood

I know, because I have a big redwood burl table that is about that size

For myself, there would be a lot to think about before cutting up a piece of burled wood of that size, especially if it's a really nice piece.

It doesn't take a very big piece to make a Tele shaped guitar - the approximate body dimensions are 13" wide X 16" tall X 1-3/4" thick.

You'll find plenty of smaller Tele-sized burls out there, but not too many that are 3' X 4' X 2"

Burled wood besides being pretty, is generally pretty inconsistent in texture and pretty dog-gone heavy as well.

The guitars I've seen made from burl usually have a fair amount of epoxy fill and are definitely on the hefty side.

If the chunk you have is a real prime specimen - it might be worthwhile to give it some thought before cutting it up into small pieces .


.

 

[crazydave911]

Well mathematically yes but possibly no depending on the board. Is the wood warped and twisted and look like a potato chip? The reality of using a one piece blank is that you may have to cut more off both faces in order to get it flat and parallel on both sides. Ideally you have a jointer that wide, but most do not. You can set up a planer sled to help with that, use a hand plane, or build a router planing jig. Any wood theoretically can be used for a body. Hardness is only an internet issue. Obviously a less dense body will dent up faster. A denser body will make for a heavier guitar.


If you are using an SG type switch or a slide switch you can go thinner than 1.5". Using a typical Tele CRL type switch limits the depth somewhat. SG guitars were about 1-3/8 and Hagstrom I and II's were even thinner.

Yep 1 1/4"

 

[TN Tele]

Don't know where you live, but I'd be happy to help you saw, joint and plane your wood to the right size if you are anywhere near Nashville, TN. I have a 16" jointer/planer with a helical head that should make easy work of getting the burl to the size and thickness you want. Everything the above posters said is also true: make sure to fill any voids top and bottom with epoxy and that depending on how you lay out the burl you could get up to 6 bodies out of it. Good Luck and post a photo with a tape measure on it.

 

[eallen]

Good input above. I use a lot of rough sawn slabs & one significant thing I have learned is you can start with 2.5 & barely made it to 1.75" depending on the twists and cups.

On MAJOR suggestion I have is not to try to thinckness level multi blank slabs all at the same time. The variation between corners & sides over the distance can eat up a lot of wood. Instead, section your large piece into individual blanks 1st. Then when you level each you are only going from side to side and corner to corner over that 13"x17" span needed for a tele, or 19" for a strat.

Eric