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Can't argue with any of that, and wasn't. But if you have sorted through enough ash (and I know you have) then you know how incredibly difficult it is to find good, lightweight ash.
The suppliers know this, and they know that you know this. Hence the price they are asking.
Is that the right thing for them to do? I don't have the answer to that. But I can tell you that they are going to charge what the market will bare(as you already know), and the scarcity of good, lightweight ash is why they can get away with it. Right or not.
Fillipo, I'm sorry I don't have any real answers for you. But I suspect that you have far more suppliers than I can even think of compared to me. If you can't find it, I'm up the creek without a paddle(or a clothespin). I wish you the best of luck.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

sure, there is an answer....

total loss of Freedom and going to a socialistic (totalitarian) society....

there is the side of me that agrees with the annoyance and angst about supply and demand...I hate it when I know major manufacturers are sucking up all of the supply...

hopefully the logical, freedom loving side of me will continue to win out...

i.e. suck it in and deal with it like a man...sheesh...go out and dig through pallet upon pallet of materials (IF they let you) to find what you are looking for...or pay the piper and get it from somebody who's already done that for you...

FWIW, if I had some known source of the stuff I'd relay the info for nothing...but I don't, and that's that...

as long as this thread is veering off subject, why not just use regular ash, and chamber it out a little to make it lighter?
i assume any conversation about ash involves only solid electric bodies...

+1

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http://www.tinyhouseandland.com

I have noticed a lack of continuous supply of alder as well lately, so a couple of years I bought 1/4 logging truck worth of logs and have been cutting a bit up just to see if it is possible to start to offer this product as well. I have processed a bit and I think I can offer it. But there is a lot of work when you are only cutting for guitars. All of the knots have to be avoided (cut out and thrown away) and you have to make sure that you select dimensional increments that will work. I want to be able to supply as many one piece blanks as possible and if I have to do a glue up (which I will) then I want all of the pieces at least colour/grain matched, i.e. from the same tree. There is still a bunch of work, it has to be sourced, transported to the yard, bucked, loaded onto the mill, sawn, sawdust swept off (or it stains bad!), stickered and dried. It takes a lot of space to do this as well. I have a small kiln in the plans with the parts already purchased but the alder will require 30 to 45 days in the kiln as well, with fans and dehumidifiers that cost money to run. So, at the end of the the day the price has to reflect all of this or people just won't do it. The other problem we all have is that much of your swamp ash is likely now exported to Asia, by the container load, about 40,000 bd ft per container. So the harvesters and mills would much rather deal in these volumes then find 1,000 to 2,000 bd ft orders at local hardwood distributors. I have the same issues finding spruce logs, I only want the best of the small volume that is being harvested and the log brokers find it bothersome to deal in these small volumes, even if I pay more, because they can sell it all, unsorted to Asia.

Anyway, Alder will be available soon if that helps as an alternate.

Shane

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Canada

....there must be a way to incorporate at least some solar energy into a kiln...much like a solar food dehydrator. hmm....

There are solar kilns but they only dry the wood to around 12%. To get it below that you will need to run a dehumidifier or vacuum.

Filippo I hope your new source works out well, if not maybe try asking at a sawing forum. Forestryforum.com is great , woodweb.com also has a sawing section

Hey Filippo, it looks like our local exotic lumber store in Annapolis carries 8/4 ash for under $5 a board foot.

Not sure if regular plain old "ash" fits your bill, but they have a ton of cool stuff there.

Hope that helps.
Trev

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http://www.PeakeGuitars.com

Indeed, I tend to use it for tops too

Filippo,
Have you tried these guys?
http://www.freestatetimbers.com/
They're in Baltimore, which isn't too far from you. I've gotten ash from them, but it wasn't light! I didn't sort through the stock much, 8/4 x 8" x 16' is too heavy for an old man to wrangle.
I've used basswood as a substitute, it has it's good and bad points. It's very light, but it's also pretty soft. It carves easily, but can have a furry texture, especially after sanding.

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A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon

Darn, I got beat to the tops joke. Bummer.

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http://www.tinyhouseandland.com