Official Luthiers Forum!

Meh. Last night I got an email from my favorite wood supplier saying he'd just gotten in a supply of beautiful fiddleback walnut and he wanted to know if I'd like to look through it before he notified the public. This guy has very high standards for wood and does a lot of work with luthiers.

Today I found out the house we live in and rent has mold. We won't be responsible for fixing it, but we weren't really prepared for moving expenses. I guess the fact that I'm asking here is a psychological cue that I'm looking for someone to tell me I should buy some wood anyway, but I'm thinking it's a bad idea. On the one hand, it's an opportunity to get some choice wood at what will probably be a very good price. On the other hand, I may not even have access to my bandsaw for a few months.

I think I'm just venting. Anybody at least have some sympathy for me?

_________________
David Morris

You have my sympathy.
As long as we have trees, there will be more wood.

_________________
"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

buy it before all the trees are gone. get your landlord to fix the mold. you'll regret it if you don't.

_________________
We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at guitars.

how and why did you determine that "the house has mold"? the "Moldbusters" industry is a huge scam in general....

David,

I feel your pain(s). As an adult, your family and the basic necessities must always come first. I know this is a blanket statement so please don’t tear into me as it is how I feel.

If you have discretionary money that won’t impact your situation then go for it. If this is an investment that will pay dividends in the future and you can squeeze it out then go for it. However as an armature builder (I’m one) you may not be relaying on the income from instruments and it may not be a great investment at the moment.

I just passed up purchasing wood (top quality, handpicked, major luthier supply house) that was being offered at a luthiers group I belong to. After purchasing another home I find myself temporarily in a money choke hold.

Best of luck,

Philip Perdue

_________________
aka konacat

If you think my playing is bad you should hear me sing!
Practice breeds confidence and confidence breeds competence. Unfortunately, I'm stuck in practice.

Explain your situation to the wood vendor. Perhaps he will let you lay some away or make some sort of arrangement.
-C

_________________
Freeborn Guitars
and home of BeauGuard©

I appreciate your advice, guys. You seem as divided as I am. I have some money I could invest in a little wood short term if I need to, but this situation has thrown me for a loop.

nyazzip - We found some standing water the other day during a rainstorm, and after poking around a little (I know that's a bad idea), found black stuff. We rent at the moment, fortunately. The property mgt. co. sent out a state certified mold inspector guy today who confirmed that we have some mold, but his tests won't be processed until Tuesday. A friend told me the big box stores sell mold kits too, so I'm gonna check that out.

Undecided on the wood purchase. If I do something, it certainly won't be today. Maybe in the morning.

_________________
David Morris

David,

Sorry to hear about your situation, but if it helps, you can take me with you to your supplier and that way i can give you my opinion and see if its worth purchasing right now! maybe i can grab me a set too!

I myself have ran into this trouble quite often, so i understand how tough it is!

Jonathan

I just realized that you do live in the vicinity, just north of me! i was playing around in my first post but on a serious note, you can take me with you!

David , hope this helps.My dad grew up during the depression in europe 1930/s. As a kid/teen I/d always get excited abt the next deal etc.My father always reminded me that the deal of the century comes by at least once a week. If you have a family/bills and expenses IMHO that should be your first priority.Like the others mentioned if you have the extra $$, and can afford it go for it. For example I wanted to build gtrs in the early 80/s, in van bc, frankly there was no $$ in it, while I was busy trying to support a family.Now that my kids are grown , I can finally afford to do build gtrs which I /ve wanted to do since the 80/s.

What ernie said, you'll run out of money before you run out of bargains.

_________________
Regards from RangeView, Bill

That wouldn't be Mike Mastin would it? Sorry for your situation but if your not able to purchase....

_________________
No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversation as the dog does.
Christopher Morley

Time to think outside the box....This is really good wood we're talking about here and you need to get those priorities in order. Selling off the wife and kids would reduce the size of on going bills considerably, and if you market them well, you could even raise enough cash to get a couple of extra sets.....C'mon guys, take off ur blouses. Is this a luthiers forum or a Dear Abby blog???

Cheers

Kim

LOL Kim, you're nuts man... but I love that reply.

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

You have my sympathy also. I know a lot of guitar players who suffer from GAS (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome). Perhaps we suffer from WASP (Wood Acquiring Standard Priority). Hope the mold situation get straightened out - believe me, here in the mountains, I can relate!

_________________
"Anything that's worth cuttin' down a tree for is worth doin' right, don't the Lord love a 2 X4?" - The Carpenter - Guy Clark
www.tandnguitarrepair.com

Yeah, well...everybody's got a good point here. As it turns out, the situation may not be quite as dire as I originally feared. I think I'll just drive over in the morning and take a look. I'm pretty conservative financially, so I can afford to do things occasionally. If it's nice, and if the price is right, I'll probably buy something, but no more than 5bf or so.

And to all who have asked, I'm not sure I'm at liberty to say. But let's just say the drive will take less than ten minutes. I'll ask him if I can take some pictures in the morning. I'm sure he wouldn't mind. He tends to sell big boards anyway, so it's unlikely I'll be able to afford the best of the lot. There should be plenty to go around.

_________________
David Morris

I know who it is, but I will respectfully wait for you to take your pick before I call.

_________________
Jason McGowan
M&S Guitars
_____________________________
United States of America, looks like another silent night
As we're sung to sleep by philosophies that save the trees and kill the children....
Casting Crowns

If it is in billet form and it's good stuff

"What Me Worry"

Not like you have to have it stickered.

Consider that the property management company may need to move you to another property... You may not be the one who decides on whether or not you want to move...

Unfortunately, even if they are paying, it's gonna cost you something... It may not be the best time to spend a bunch of money...

I have moved lots of times... never came out making money on the deal... I hope you all the best...

Thanks

I know those moving costs well, truckjohn. Right now we're in a modest 1000sf home on the edge of town. Within a year, at most, we hope to be well outside the city limits, on a small bit of land with a big wood shop and (dare I hope?) a small solar kiln. Oh, and horses. After that, I'd prefer to just plant my feet until the Zombie Armageddon or until I'm so rich that I can afford to commission custom TonyinNYC guitars, at which point I'll need more room for my elephants.

Jmc2010, he didn't actually tell me it was a secret or anything. He just hasn't really notified anyone yet. I just thought it was nice that he let me know about it.

_________________
David Morris

I told him that you recommended him very highly, but couldn't remember your name at first when telling him, and he new exactly who I was talking about. That's actually when he told me about the shipment coming in, and said that he needed to call and let you know about it. Very personable guy, and has a lot of beautiful wood. I ended up picking up a really nice piece of cocobolo, and a really nice piece of pau ferro at a VERY reasonable price.

_________________
Jason McGowan
M&S Guitars
_____________________________
United States of America, looks like another silent night
As we're sung to sleep by philosophies that save the trees and kill the children....
Casting Crowns

I'm glad he was able to help you out. He's great, and I appreciate you mentioning me. Apparently he remembered my name eventually.

_________________
David Morris

It looks like I'm a little late in this conversation, but.............wood grows on trees, money doesn't.

_________________
I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

Technically, isn't money made out of wood pulp?

_________________
David Morris

Actually, US paper money is made from a blend of 25% linen and 75% cotton.

_________________
I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/