I have an old Stella in my "repair pile" that has birch back and sides. It was stained to resemble mahogany as many of them were. It was in decent shape until some kids played "El Kabong" with it.
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| Author: | orcaburger [ Thu Apr 04, 2013 1:23 pm ] |
| Post subject: | figured birtch? |
Does anyone feel birch is appropriate for guitar construction. I have some wildly figured birch that seems very difficult to bend sides of.It wants to go every direction. Waves and little flat spots galore. It is not quarter sawn but the grain is so pretty I thought I'd give it a try. Thanks all, Jim |
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| Author: | Bryan Bear [ Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:28 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: figured birtch? |
Grain of salt warning -- I am far from an expert on this issue! That said, I have heard that many of the old curly maple Gibson instruments were really curly birch. I'm not sure if that is true or not but I can say that I have some curly "maple" in my stache. It was put aside by the employees but I talked them out of some. It was in a pile of various interesting boards, the guy at the hardwoods store wasn't' sure if it was maple or birch. . . Flatsawn curly woods can be challenging to bend. I suspect, once it is bent, it should work out just fine. If it is too worrisome for you, I'll take it off your hands. |
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| Author: | Glenn LaSalle [ Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:47 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: figured birtch? |
Alot of the Oscar Schmidt Stellas (Galiano, and others too) were made from flat sawn birch - some great guitars! Alot even had birch tops. I have a circa 1930 OS Stella made from birch (spruce top), and love the sound. Glenn |
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| Author: | AnthonyE [ Thu Apr 04, 2013 4:02 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: figured birtch? |
If you're not sure if you trust it in a guitar where you need to bend it around then build yourself a cabinet/box/furniture with it. We are all woodworkers and beautiful wood is beautiful wood. I personally can not pass it up or any other nice wood. |
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| Author: | Sankey Guitars [ Sat Apr 06, 2013 8:33 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: figured birtch? |
It can make a fine guitar. It is tough to plane without tearout (but all the nicest woods are, aren't they) and yes, it did get wonky when bending. Mind you, I chose a set that was very nearly quartersawn. The figure is much more dramatic on quartered wood. I didn't trust my homemade light-bulb bending machine and just did it over the hot pipe. It does bend very easily, just unevenly. I think the best method is to use a spring steel backer over the tighter bends, and leave it extra thick so you can use a scraper afterwards to flatten out the worst humps. It's totally worth it: |
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| Author: | hugh.evans [ Sat Apr 06, 2013 9:23 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: figured birtch? |
Birch has been used in the furniture industry as a cheaper alternative to maple for a long time. It should be perfectly appropriate for use in guitars as well. If Mike's picture doesn't convince you I don't know what will... Beautiful. |
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| Author: | Sankey Guitars [ Sat Apr 06, 2013 9:42 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: figured birtch? |
I forgot to mention, if you use any steel as part of the bending process, you'll want to wrap it with some paper so it doesn't stain the wood. |
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| Author: | FishtownMike [ Sat Apr 06, 2013 11:51 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: figured birtch? |
I own a birch acoustic. Though it's not figured and just plain yellow birch it is a fine sounding guitar....Mike |
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| Author: | Clay S. [ Sun Apr 07, 2013 8:51 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: figured birtch? |
I have an old Stella in my "repair pile" that has birch back and sides. It was stained to resemble mahogany as many of them were. It was in decent shape until some kids played "El Kabong" with it.
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| Author: | grumpy [ Sun Apr 07, 2013 4:53 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: figured birtch? |
It is correct that Gibson did use a LOT of birch backs and sides for their carved instruments, from mandolins to archtop guitars. I've seen some necks, also. The medullary ray structure of birch is very easily distinguished from that of maple, so once you know to tell the two part, it's easy. Suffice it to say that it's good, usable tonewood. Not as dense or hard as maple, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's also one of the easiest bending woods that you'll ever find; in my earliest builds, I was using solid birch linings at a full 1/4" thickness... Most of my go-bars are also birch, as-is much of my firewood... <g> |
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| Author: | Tai Fu [ Mon Apr 08, 2013 4:12 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: figured birtch? |
Nearly all Stellas are made of birch. |
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| Author: | Joe Sallis [ Mon Apr 08, 2013 7:29 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: figured birtch? |
What species of Birch are we talking about here? |
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| Author: | grumpy [ Mon Apr 08, 2013 10:40 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: figured birtch? |
White or yellow birch, with the two often intermixed in wood yards (yellow being slightly harder). And no, the reference isn't meant to reflect the wood's color... |
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| Author: | Herr Dalbergia [ Mon Apr 08, 2013 11:42 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: figured birtch? |
https://picasaweb.google.com/1157931855 ... teEisBirke to be honest I am not for 1005 sure if it is Betula Pendula, but I think so. it works very nice, the taptone is comparable with maple, a bit harder and more heavy. |
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| Author: | orcaburger [ Mon Apr 08, 2013 7:09 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: figured birtch? |
Jo Sallis: Not sure about what species. I bought it in Wa.state. It seems about as hard as the maple we get here in the west. Has a very wavey, loose grain pattern? |
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| Author: | Mike OMelia [ Mon Apr 08, 2013 8:34 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: figured birtch? |
Why do I have trouble reading "figured birtch" properly? 
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| Author: | Tai Fu [ Tue Apr 09, 2013 12:04 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: figured birtch? |
It sounds like this: http://www.engrish.com/2013/03/wheres-my-dinner-birtch/ |
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| Author: | Arnt Rian [ Tue Apr 09, 2013 2:32 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: figured birtch? |
Here's a mandola I made a few years back, with local (knotty!) birch (Betula pubescens). Although similar, it is not difficult to tell birch apart from maple, typically the curl is larger, and it doesn' have the same ray flecks, and it is also a bit lighter. I understand the American birch varieties are denser, but the figure is similar to the European kind. Either way, it can be a fine "tonewood", and as has been said, pleasure to bend and work. Here in northern Scandinavia, it is by far the most common hardwood, and traditionally it has been used for extensively for all kinds of furniture, tools, utensils, wood carvings etc.  
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