Thread: Australian guitar woods

Bob of Tasmanian Tonewoods (the sponsor of this board) is the man to go to for Australian tonewoods. I have successfully used Tassy Oak and Black Heart Sasafraas and can reccomend them both.

What sort of Tassy Oak? There is a lot of difference between Mountain Ash and Messmate and who knows what else they throw in.

Good question, I've used both whatever they were selling at bunnings as a test and would happily use it again, always cut dead on the quarter.

The one that I recommend and supply is Mountain Ash.

Originally Posted by nicthefender

Hey all,
im making a 4string bass and im wondering what a good aus wood to use is
(i dont want to use QLD maple {to pricey})

any suggestions would be greatly aprittiated

as bob says aussie ash is a great tonewood but there are some minor working difficulties

- it is prone to black spot if it gets wet - if it gets hot while sanding, fibres may tear out. - it is susceptible to tearout while routing - after accounting for those issues you will find good quantities of the high quality dar kiln dried stuff just about anywhere they sell timber- quarter sawn is usually available

tim at australian tonewoods is also an excellent resource for local tonewood

Originally Posted by old_picker

as bob says aussie ash is a great tonewood but there are some minor working difficulties

- it is prone to black spot if it gets wet - if it gets hot while sanding, fibres may tear out. - it is susceptible to tearout while routing - after accounting for those issues you will find good quantities of the high quality dar kiln dried stuff just about anywhere they sell timber- quarter sawn is usually available

tim at australian tonewoods is also an excellent resource for local tonewood

And lets not forget Bob is an excellent resource for tonewoods.

Originally Posted by woodturner777

And lets not forget Bob is an excellent resource for tonewoods.

heheh
i doubt you will be forgottem bob
we should give you a nickname "salt and pepper"

thanks for the help guys

heya ive taken a look at some tas tone woods but they're all just drop tops and stuff
im also just looking for an australian slab of timber to use (body blank) any sugestions?

Originally Posted by nicthefender

heya ive taken a look at some tas tone woods but they're all just drop tops and stuff
im also just looking for an australian slab of timber to use (body blank) any sugestions?

you could try hancock guitarswho sell blanks or as suggested earlier go buy some KD vic ash or equivalent at your local timber yard -

the guys who sell figured stuff usually sell it in 20mm or 6mm thicknesses only for obvious reasons - you will pay a bomb for a 50mm slab of figured stuff

cap your ash body with a droptop

Hi Nicthefender, sorry you could not get to find what you were looking for on my website, I do not get to change the photos on the site enough.
But note what Ray says a solid body guitar blank in high figured is expensive, but I have plenty available of solid body blanks if you are interested.
But I would go with what Ray suggests that is a body blank of Tasmanian Eucalyptus and a highly figured drop on the front, my drop tops are 7 mm thickness.
Cheers,Bob