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I'm sawing up some stock for future projects. Was curious how you guys normally determine what length to cut your sides to?

I'm all for cutting them as long as possible but I want to get as much as I can out of this particular stock.

Got a mold? Inside or out, run a strip of tape around from head to tail, peel off and stick it on the bench and measure.
Allow whatever extra you feel you need and there you go. The KISS method.
Ken

No molds, no space. Might make one and do that

Got a guitar? Do the same thing...

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

Perhaps more than you need to know: https://alliedlutherie.com/pages/faqs

A tailors tape is a handy thing to have around...

I billet mine at 32" fir regular guitars...

"I'm all for cutting them as long as possible but I want to get as much as I can out of this particular stock."

Building a number of different instruments with different size requirements I try to leave things "whole" until needed if possible. It's nice to have stuff ready to go, but does limit what you can make with it.

for the most part 32 in length will be fine for most guitars 000 to Dred you can use 30 in for 00 or smaller
Backs 8 in for dred
7 3/4 for 000
Dred 5 in wide
000 and smaller 4 1/4

this way you have some trim

_________________
John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

I have a ball of string in my shop for such purposes. Otherwise I cut sides at 34 inches to cover just about all models.

Plus one on the string. You can follow a paper outline.

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http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

Thanks gentleman

I'm with Clay on making them as long as possible, which means 36" if possible. The reason is to CYA in case of end cracks or flaws developing while you have it stored. Madagascar rosewood was notorious for deveoping checks in the ends and that extra 4" was nice to have for removing flaws that may develop.
Most guitars can be madewith 32" and I have side stock that is between 30-31". My thinking is if I can easily fit it into a normal 36" shipping box I'm happy. If you are cutting the billets and can, why not?















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If you're buying side billets, you pretty much just slice them the length they come unless it's excessive.

If I'm working with large boards, I'll rough out the billets with ample room, say 32 in" for a guitar side. But, if it makes sense to maximize the yield, I might make some as small as a minimum dimension that I think I could use as long as I avoid any defects or checking. That's for dry wood. If the woods not dry yet I would always give a few extra inches just in case.

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Pat

Pat, I'm cutting these down from 8/4 stock. cut to length, then rip and plane to thickness. I don't have any power tools so I don't like to add work for myself.

I should've mentioned that these are not for guitars. Much smaller stuff like ukuleles and tenors etc...

"I should've mentioned that these are not for guitars. Much smaller stuff like ukuleles and tenors etc..."

Even more reason to cut as you go - if you cut it all to size now you will be limited to building the small stuff you originally cut it for. Some instruments are long but not wide (dulcimers) and some are wide but not long (octave mandolins) and others are somewhere in between. There have been times I've used a set big enough for a triple O for a parlor guitar - the wood was already cut and in hand, ( a little bit of a loss). And there have been times I've had to "grow" a piece of wood to build a slightly larger instrument. It's good to have some wood processed and on the shelf, but one thing I've found is that the use I originally bought a board for often changes over time and ultimately is not what it is used for.
When processing wood from lumber what I was taught to do was to trim the end of the board an inch past any visible cracks and then give yourself another inch or two of length beyond the length of the finished piece you want to make from it. At the price of exotics there days I might be tempted to scale that back a little.

Clay offers some sound advice here. I have a lot of wood that I have cut into guitar sets to have on hand and ready. The rest of my stuff I have stored in board form. I have marked out the lines of cut for what I suspect I will use it for but have not cut it. There have been several occasions where a board ended up being used in a different way. You never know what you will be into makeing down the line.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.