Thread: Matthews Timber - What To Look For

I assume, absolutely ALL of those timbers will be available.

Blackwood is cheap over there, Vic Ash is always cheap, though I'm not sure about Myrtle.

I know people like Stu (oz tradie) use timber from there. (i think?!?)

Originally Posted by RGM

I assume, absolutely ALL of those timbers will be available.

Blackwood is cheap over there, Vic Ash is always cheap, though I'm not sure about Myrtle.

I know people like Stu (oz tradie) use timber from there. (i think?!?)

Have they got a website?

The Mathews website doesn't tell you a lot. I know Chris Wynne gets Sitka Spruce from them. Maton also buy from them.
They have great Blackwood, usually lots of. Myrtle they also have and Ash. Talk to Ian or Damian in the yard they'll clue you in. Great guys.
FYI: You can get Victorian Blackwood from the Otways at AFT in Plummer street Port Melbourne.

Regards,

Rob

I have also purchased a lot of stock there. Blackwood supplies fluctuate so you may need to go frequently to get the dimensions you want. They always have heaps of Vic Ash. I have never seen Tas Myrtle there though but they do have African Myrtle when I checked last .

Good luck on the hunt and let us know how you go.

Originally Posted by EtherealGuitars

I have also purchased a lot of stock there. Blackwood supplies fluctuate so you may need to go frequently to get the dimensions you want. They always have heaps of Vic Ash. I have never seen Tas Myrtle there though but they do have African Myrtle when I checked last .

Good luck on the hunt and let us know how you go.

I just want to find somewhere I can buy bodyblanks and neck blanks. I got a quote from trend timbers the other day by email and they were as follows:
Body Blanks $159 either Mahogany (unspecified variety) or walnut (unspecified)
and PNG or Mt ash neck blanks quatersawn for about $25
anyone know of a place to get reasonable timber at reasonable prices? Somewhere that will ship.
Should we start a thread with timber suppliers?
Jason

Hey Telejazzer,
Mathews do stock everything you want, but like Ethereal said Blackwood supplies do fluctuate. If you’re willing to take the trip I would head down to AFT in south Melbourne. I find they have a larger variety of Australian and import timbers, however there Blackwood stock does not compare to Mathews. If you set aside a few hours, and look through the majority of each stack you will defiantly find some gold. It’s out there.

Personally I prefer AFT. There customer service is great, and they are always willing to lend a hand. Also if you want timber thicknessed or cut they will do it on the spot. Unlike Matthews who don’t seem to have the equipment... So I’m told.

Mongrel,
Are those Mahogany body blanks one or two piece?
$159 is crazy; it must be some mighty fine Mahogany.
If you’re going to spend that much, you might as well look at ALS, Queensland maple body blanks. I remember two piece blanks being around $110-120

Originally Posted by Deano

Hey Telejazzer,
Mathews do stock everything you want, but like Ethereal said Blackwood supplies do fluctuate. If you’re willing to take the trip I would head down to AFT in south Melbourne. I find they have a larger variety of Australian and import timbers, however there Blackwood stock does not compare to Mathews. If you set aside a few hours, and look through the majority of each stack you will defiantly find some gold. It’s out there.

Personally I prefer AFT. There customer service is great, and they are always willing to lend a hand. Also if you want timber thicknessed or cut they will do it on the spot. Unlike Matthews who don’t seem to have the equipment... So I’m told.

Mongrel,
Are those Mahogany body blanks one or two piece?
$159 is crazy; it must be some mighty fine Mahogany.
If you’re going to spend that much, you might as well look at ALS, Queensland maple body blanks. I remember two piece blanks being around $110-120

Yeah I know. I believe they are one piece, it is what I requested in the quote. You can get plantation mahogany from gilet guitars for $90 - its what I'll use for my daughters project guitar - or for that matter I would spend a little extra and buy real mahogany from Perry at Ormsbys. I think some timber places hear the words "musical instruments" and think "you little rippa" and pick an imaginary figure out of their heads and then multiply it by the date ...
It makes experimentation REALLY difficult - if you spend hundreds on timber you're a lot less likely to try something truly radical that if you could rip down the local timberyard and get your hands on some timber for $20 or $30.
I eventually want to build a "tribute" (copy) of this famous steve vai guitar,(http://www.vai.com/Machines/guitarpages/guitar048.html) but I'm not real keen on hacking up several hundred dollars of mahogany to make it.
I think I'll invest in a BIG chainsaw and do some of my own deforestation ...

Finding fair prices on luthiers timber is really hard. I no longer tell em what I want it for, if they see me tapping it they inevitably add a couple of bills. I get a really nice piece of quartersawn WRC from a local timberyard for $8, 20mm x 220mm x 1400mm. Any luthiers suppliers would have charged me $45 minimum.

Sebastiaan

I get most of my Australian wood from Tim Spittle at Australian Tonewoods. Maybe not the cheapest around but you get what you pay for. In Tim's case youre getting quality wood from a guy who builds guitars so he knows what a luthier wants. Service is second to none. prompt service and if the wood isnt right hell replace it without question.

Cheers Martiin

Originally Posted by Sebastiaan56

Finding fair prices on luthiers timber is really hard. I no longer tell em what I want it for, if they see me tapping it they inevitably add a couple of bills. I get a really nice piece of quartersawn WRC from a local timberyard for $8, 20mm x 220mm x 1400mm. Any luthiers suppliers would have charged me $45 minimum.

Sebastiaan

Hi Martin,

I also deal with Tim an apart from the tyranny of distance agree with your comments, my reference was to walk in yards, ie retailers. Most in Sydney know when they see someone tapping it close to their ear that they have a timber desperado in their premises and take advantage of the fact.

It is surprising what you can find if you have a bit of patience. You've just got to be discrete,

Sebastiaan

Originally Posted by RGM

I assume, absolutely ALL of those timbers will be available.

Blackwood is cheap over there, Vic Ash is always cheap, though I'm not sure about Myrtle.

I know people like Stu (oz tradie) use timber from there. (i think?!?)

So how much is cheap? I'm looking for a slab that I can build a couple of Tele bodies from. I'm looking at getting Blackwood or Vic Ash.

In my experience, the cheapest place to get good timber is the skip bin outside (or just inside) the old property being renovated. You'd be amazed what gets chucked out. Luckily I have a mate who rescues stuff from the sites he works on in and around Hobart. Last delivery was a bunch of cedar boards 8" wide, 1" thick, about 6 foot long. Age? Anything up to 150 years.

any timber merchant will have good ash
theres 3 within 10 minutes of here [boronia vic]
usually its stacked and you can see the 1/4 sawn stuff easy enough
they usually dont care if you sort through the boards to get the right one
i've also found that they have a set price on the premium timber and dont try to gouge you - um actually they hope you come back -

mathews timber have hundreds of guys through there a week looking for premium timber for all sorts of projects - if they started gouging some people extra just cos they tap the boards word would soon get around - sure they have prices and prices - they wont be charging Maton or Cole Clarke the same price as you on a few sticks of Qld maple

old_picker I'm looking for some timber suppliers close by, any suggestions?