Official Luthiers Forum!

Most solid body blanks are offered as 1-3/4" thick.

When used as a book matched back with a 1/4" thick drop top is 1-3/4" thick necessary?

I am cutting body sets from our Peruvian wood and would like to hear your opinions of the actual thickness needed.
It seems to me that 1-3/4" thick is correct for a solid body without the drop top plate?

So please tell me your opinions and what you prefer. I don't want to cut thicker than needed.

Just as an example here is a set I recently cut. What you see represents the back of the guitar.

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Lance Peck

Umm, i think that piece of wood would be a cap.
It's lovely.
I like thin guitars,
1- 7/16", so, if I had that piece, I wouldn't bother laminating it.
Wish I had some money.
What is it, anyway?
I would say, for me, if I wanted body filler, for the back,
1-1/4" would be good 4 me.
Too nice for a back.
I'm strange though.

The wood is Spalted Yellow Pashaco.
This set is cut at 1-1/2" thick.

I agree it is pretty enough for a top but I am thinking that guitar backs should be pretty too!
This species is light weight at about 36 pounds per cubic foot and has a good tonal response.
So my idea is a nice light weight body capped with an even more beautiful plate of a denser wood.

Thanks for the input on thickness at 1-1/4".

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Lance Peck

So, how much do you want for that piece of kindling?
Also, what is the length and width?
I went to your web-site, and couldn't find it there.

I would use that for a back and if you had quartered lumber necks too. For a Les Paul style guitar it would need to be 1 5/8ths inches thick.
For joined and finished blanks ready for bandsawing I would make them 1 3/4ths inches thick for teles and strats and 1/58ths thick for Les Paul blanks ready to receive caps. For lumber I'd leave it at the 1 7/8ths surfaced 2s 8/4 thickness.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

Yeah, we want um pretty coming and going!

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Lance Peck

I have not had time to get the new batch listed on the web-site. I can either cut wood or sit at the computer, and I am having way to much fum cutting this spalted wood.
I would imagine it will price at about $150. If you are interested in it pm me.

It is oversize for a solid body set 17" x 22" and just shy of 1-1/2" thick. Plenty of room to play with.

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Lance Peck

We have some quartered neck blanks. Mike Baranik has carved some necks from it and likes it a lot. I'll see if I can find a picture of one.

And then on the 1-5/8" thick back you would add 5/8" thick plate for the Les Paul style?

I don't think it would be good for bodies without a top plate because the back sides often don't come close to matching. Here ia a picture of what the back side looks like.



Actually now that I look at it, it might make a pretty interesting face, kind of a split personality.

We won't be offering this wood as lumber, everything is milling into Luthierie sets and blanks

Thanks for the 1-5/8" thick reference. This is the kind of info I like to hear. I don't like cutting everything to a standard size and then having you builders have to waste wood to get it the thickness you need.

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Lance Peck

Asymmetrical wood/finish is definitely cool...


http://www.ritter-instruments.com/item_info.php?i=375

Absolutely beautiful!
Thanks for that link, I'll have to keep this in mind, I like offering unique wood selections.

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Lance Peck