Roasting wood , should i buy or do it my self , how did you do it ?

[mkster]

I am thinking about roasting Poplar , mainly to get rid of the green heart wood , i believe there are other up sides to it but since poplar is so hard to finish it would save me time .

I have safety concerns obviously , as for improvement on tone or weight i think its fair to say its better to do it .

It starts at about minute 14 there is a quick demo of the Les Paul vs the roast Paul .


They call it thermal treatment .

Once roasted poplar looks like walnut , i do not see any down side . If there is please enlighten me.

Best regards

Mark

 

[ebb soul]

Try an apricot glaze, let it carmelize.
Yummy.

 

[richa]

If it's actually torrified (and I'm assuming it is) this is not the same as just throwing a chunk of wood in the oven. It's done in a vacuum chamber because they heat to the point it would burn if there were oxygen present. However, I have seen threads about drying wood at home in an oven. But that is not the same process and the wood never gets hot enough to burn.

 

[mkster]

Yes torrified , i tried to edit the title its not possible with this new software , i am having a hard time with bugging scripts every time i have tdpri and youtube running on firefox at the same time...

It seems everyone is calling it differently but i want it brown inside and outside .

I guess i could try it its not going to cost me much unless i burn the apartment .

Some say its done in a vacuum so no air equal no fire , some say at 100 humidity its easier to accommodate i wonder how something could dry in those circumstances , it seems there is different points of view on the matter .

Mark

Thanks for your inputs guys .

 

[TRexF16]

Apologies but I gave up trying to find anything about roasted or torrified poplar in that video. I saw a very brief reference to a torrified maple fretboard early on. Please tell me if there is a place they discuss poplar. I'd frankly be surprised if Gibson even admitted to using it. And that is absolutely no hit on poplar - it's perfectly fine for solid bodies. Maybe a hit on Gibson or their perception of their customer base.

I have roasted maple in my home oven and as far as I can tell I have achieved its supposed advantages despite the lack of an oxygen-free environment. My very limited understanding is a fairly high sugar content in the wood may be important to achieving the desired effects. One of our members mentioned that, as much as we might love to do the same roasting with cherry, it wouldn't respond the same way as maple due to the chemical content of the wood. I wonder how poplar will do? I'd love to see that it responds well to the treatment and may give it a try as an experiment.
I am sure you have seen these threads if you are interested in this subject but here they are just in case:
http://www.tdpri.com/threads/anyone-try-to-roast-wood-at-home.567051/#post-6451708
http://www.tdpri.com/threads/anyone-try-to-roast-wood-at-home.567051/#post-6451708
http://www.tdpri.com/threads/roasted-curly-maple-quilted-sapele-custom.531784/page-2#post6168790
http://www.tdpri.com/threads/roasted-curly-maple-quilted-sapele-custom.531784/page-2#post6168790
Please share any lessons learned on roasting poplar (or any other wood)

Rex

 

[mkster]

Sorry guy for the misunderstanding in the Gibson video its not about poplar , but at the end he strums a les paul with torrified wood and one without and the difference is quite noticeable .

Sorry again .

And i will keep you guys in the loop .

Mark

 

[Rock-Ola]

Torrefied poplar is used in Finland for sauna interiors. Here's what it looks like:

http://www.stark-suomi.fi/fi/laudelauta-28x90-mm-haapa-lämpökäsitelty

In the text they say that torrefaction makes it more dimensionally stable, but obviously their goal is not instrument-grade wood.

 

[src9000]

Three or four years back, I took a guitar setup and repair course at NCC in Bethleham, Pa. They have luthier classes as well. The instructor gave us a tour of the shop and show us current projects. One was a Uke with torrified popular. If I remember right it looked more like "low grade" fretboard rosewood - light and dark brown mixed. He said it was brittle, but sounded great.

Don't burn down your apartment.

Post lots of pics.

 

[DrASATele]

I use the "at home method" strictly for looks. I haven't tried poplar since I have an allergy to it but I have maple, walnut and cherry. Cherry was the quickest to darken. Usually between 275 and 400 is a good place to start, longer lower temps seem to provided more even color change where as rapid heat tends to darken drier areas faster. Do a few small test pieces, pay close attention to time and color, stick with a temp don't keep changing it. Oh and flip it like you would food even in a convection oven the heat is not balanced. For me the key has been making sure I leave the piece in the oven over night after I have finished "roasting" it to let the wood return to normal temp with the stove and not any faster or the piece will check quickly. & for the love of all that's good, Be very careful!

side note: a reference I used when I started was maple at 350 for about 4 - 5 hours this turned out to be great for 1.25 inch thick stock. I've done 2 inch thick pieces at 400 for 5 hours and the color is beautiful.

 

[ebb soul]

You would actually want to bring it up to temp as slow as you cool it off. There's every chance it will crack if your piece is not already cured.
Tying up an oven for what I'd recommend, gradual start to cooling,...will most certainly piss off a wife.

 

[richa]

Regardless of whatever differences result from the home process vs industrial I have been thinking it would be fun to try this on thick rough stock. My primary interest is dimensional stabilization (and the curtiosity of the elephant child) though it is pretty. I'm thinking I might try it in a pellet smoker though. Better temperature regulation and tends to be a dryer cooking environment. At least for pork.

The smoke would probably damage the exterior but that all gets removed anyway and I don't think wood would develop a smoke ring. I feel an experiment coming on.

 

[Ira7]

Tying up an oven for what I'd recommend, gradual start to cooling,...will most certainly piss off a wife.

Your wife actually cooks?

I've heard this urban legend once before during my 26 years of marriage.

 

[BorderRadio]

 

[DrASATele]

HA!...that's where the fails go

You would actually want to bring it up to temp as slow as you cool it off. There's every chance it will crack if your piece is not already cured.
Tying up an oven for what I'd recommend, gradual start to cooling,...will most certainly piss off a wife.

Double ovens my friend ...but if she plans on making cookies ....oops

Regardless of whatever differences result from the home process vs industrial I have been thinking it would be fun to try this on thick rough stock. My primary interest is dimensional stabilization (and the curtiosity of the elephant child) though it is pretty. I'm thinking I might try it in a pellet smoker though. Better temperature regulation and tends to be a dryer cooking environment. At least for pork.

The smoke would probably damage the exterior but that all gets removed anyway and I don't think wood would develop a smoke ring. I feel an experiment coming on.

It would be cool if you could get that smoke ring on ...well I guess it's actually in, isn't it? I guess then you'd have to slice into the guitar body to see it
I find my up right smoker using chips hard to control...care to share a few pics of your pellet smoker? I'm thinking about upgrading

 

[richa]

care to share a few pics of your pellet smoker? I'm thinking about upgrading

If I do the experiment (to keep it on topic) I'll be sure to have pics. A pellet smoker really is just and outdoor woodfire oven.

 

[Barncaster]

Hi Rex,
I toasted my 2013 Challenge maple guitar neck in my oven at home successfully. It deepened the color beautifully and increased the frequency of the tap tone in comparison to the other neck blank cut from the same board. The wood also worked differently afterwards.

We had a discussion about this about 8 months ago and some troll showed up and didn't like what I had to say. Could have used the Vulcan 20 at that point but I digress. But in my Challenge thread I have posted the Arhennius equation so you can roughly calculate the time and temp needed to roughly simulate years of ambient aging. Toasting maple just looks so much more natural to my eye as long as you don't go overboard to bacon color. Nothing wrong with bacon mind you.
Rob

 

[DrASATele]

^ Yup I remember that convo. Rob I believe I got my stats from you, come to think of it.

 

[ebb soul]

I'm no longer married, but it wasn't whether she cooked, at all, just that they seem to want to be pissed about something, and, I'd rather just buy a proper torriefied piece of wood than go thru the whole demon face thing.
More of a 'heads up'.

 

[jimdkc]

I'm thinking there may be some roasted maple fretboards in my future...

 

[mkster]

Half of my living room is my studio the other half my shop , clearly there is no woman here to complain of oven misuse , Plus i need to make some dough to get a better one , he ha that's a country song !

I think its a go , should i test hummm , or should i go ..

I got five of those ... i don't mind losing one .

Its not the best cut , i will need to cut it in two and glue it back up so i don't mind some warping ...

I was thinking about finishing my supro inspired build similar to the Les Paul White top
http://www.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/2015/Memphis/ES-Les-Paul-White-Top.aspx
wow they do use poplar in the top and back Wood Species: Maple, Poplar, Maple

I can fake it but if i get the poplar to look like walnut its a win in my book .

Best regards

Mark