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Sorry, not dissing oak. Just never felt the inspiration.

Mike, didn't think that at all. Many share your opinion. Just wanted the OP to know that there's another side to the story too

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Thanks Steve. I wish oak was "prettier". Such a flexible, bendable wood. Evidence abounds. Great domestic wood. As things are going, maybe we'll all be building oak guitars soon.

Oak can be very beautiful on the quarter. Sometimes it can have nice curl too. Makes a great sounding guitar.

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I've got a quartered piece of white oak that has stunning silk (?) figure. I can't get it out of the wood rack right now due to my new shoulder or I would drop a photo. Hopefully next year I will resaw it so I can make a guitar out of it. I think it will make an awesome slope shouldered dred.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I like QS white oak...

Generally speaking, I don't like the look of oak either. Flatsawn, it looks too coarse an unattractive; when it is quartered, I find the rays too large and random for my taste (usually). Rift sawn is my favorite look but still coarser than I like. All that said, I have seen and heard some great oak guitars. One of my favorites form here Is JF's oak parlor form the challenge a few years ago.

A few years ago, my wood supplier cut up a big curly burr oak trunk. I grabbed up a rift sawn board and will hopefully get 2 or 3 sets from it when the time comes. It is nice that even a wood you don't think you like can sometimes still inspire you with the right piece.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

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

I first bought some Oak to build a guitar from but ended up being sidetracked and have not used it yet. I was looking for wood from the local area and we do not have a large selection of trees that grow big enough to build guitars from. Oak is one of them that does although most trees I have seen are smaller than this one so I got lucky. The grain and rays are interesting enough that there will be something to look at but nothing spectacular. Just want to make a few instruments starting from the log. We have a lot of Elm that grow big enough, might try that if I see some being cut.

Could always do a sunburst or Ebonize the wood, We'll see when I get to that point. I have always liked this guitar from the 2012 Round 2 Challenge

Very interesting picture Haans.