Official Luthiers Forum!

I have an email in to them; waiting to hear back.
I bent their practice sides in preparation for my first acoustic guitar build, which is now ongoing with a set of sapele from them.
I thought at first it might be cherry, but it does not scorch near as bad as most cherry I've dealt with, and bending them went without a hitch.
I am always financially challenged, and since they bent so well I would love to build my second instrument using them with a back of same or similar wood, or one that is close enough I can stain both of them to closely match one another.
You can see them in the video below. I at first though them to be mahogany because of color, but they are fairly close grained, so I have my doubts.
Thanks in advance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKMMLZr7P0Y&t=0s&index=13&list=PLUSHTz7A7bi_ULmfTy_dA0jg4gaye6gVi

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Mike

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

Mike, welcome to the world of home built guitars. I can't help you with the exact I.D. On your sides. Does look like mahogany. I'm envious of your beautiful "shop". Two comments; if you use a shop towel on your bending iron, and spritz the towel, then apply the wood, you will not have such a pronounced scorching problem. I'm also concerned with the wood frame being in direct contact with your iron. Seems like a recipe for a fire. Considering your surroundings you might want to find a method to isolate the two parts. Good luck on your journey. You have landed on a good site with many generous builders.

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Brad Hall
Mystic Dawg Guitars

Thanks, Brad!
How well I know the value of this forum; I have been a member for several years, but I have not been around for a long time because I had some health issues.
Thanks for the tip, btw.
The "shop" is something a dearly love myself. I need to build a proper one, but will miss the outdoors.
Only drawback is that top and back work has to wait until winter when humidity in the home reaches proper range and stays there a while. Best I can do right now.
You are right about the bender. It chars a good bit when I use it. I'm thinking of trying to do something simple like putting a good thick layer of aluminum foil between the wood and the pipe. I'll figure something out, but I've got time. Probably won't be bending sides again before next year, but I'd love to get this one done and move on to a second build this year.

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Mike

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

I can't tell from your video what your wood is, but LMI's practice sides can be "any non-exportable wood species" according to their website if shipped within the U.S. Some years ago, I bought four practice side from them and all turned out to be curly maple. Those were kind of challenging for my first attempt at bending sides, but were good practice.

I wish I had a location like that to work at on nice days.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

If the grain of the wood has a fairly coarse texture, it may be meranti, which you can sometimes be found at building supply places. A number of Asian import guitars have been made with it. It is sometimes lumped together with other species and called Philippine mahogany.